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CompositionstudiesWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Compositionstudies
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Compositionstudies(alsoreferredtoascollegecomposition,writingstudies,orsimplycomposition)is
theprofessionalfieldofwriting,research,andinstruction,focusingespeciallyonwritingatthecollege
levelintheUnitedStates.InmanyAmericancollegesanduniversities,undergraduatestudentsmusttake
freshmansometimesevenhighercompositioncourses.Forexample,inCalifornia,allpubliccolleges
anduniversitieshavefreshmanandsophomorecompositioncoursesasrequirements.Compositionstudies
isamajorareaofresearchwithinthedisciplineofRhetoricandComposition(alsoreferredtoas
compositionandrhetoric).
OverseventyAmericanuniversitiesofferdoctoralstudyinrhetoricandcomposition,[1]programswhich
usuallyincludestudyofcompositionpedagogicaltheoryandhistoricalrhetoricaltradition.Many
compositionscholarsstudynotonlythetheoryandpracticeofpostsecondarywritinginstruction,butalso
theinfluenceofdifferentwritingconventionsandgenresonwriters'composingprocesses.[2]Composition
scholarsalsopublishinthefieldsofTeachingEnglishasasecondorforeignlanguage(TESOL),writing
centers,andnewliteracies.[3]

Contents
1Firstyearcomposition
2Advancedcomposition
3Graduatestudies
4Secondlanguagewriting
5Writingacrossthecurriculum
6Writinginthedisciplines
7Writingcenter
8Seealso
9References
10Furtherreading
11Externallinks

Firstyearcomposition
Mainarticle:Firstyearcomposition
MostUSuniversitieshavearequiredfirstyearcompositioncourse,alsoreferredtoasFYC.Thisisnotthe
sameasaliteraturecourse,whichfocusesonliteraryanalysisandinterpretation,althoughsomecolleges
anduniversitiesdoincorporateliteratureandotherhumanitiesintotheircompositioncoursesoften,
however,compositioncoursesofferintensiveinstructioninwritingnonfiction,expositorytextsusing
academicdiscourseconventions.Writingcurriculavaryconsiderablyfrominstitutiontoinstitution,butit
mayemphasizemanystagesofdifferentwritingprocesses(inventionorbrainstorming,drafting,revision,
editing,proofreading),differentformsofwriting(narration,exposition,description,argumentation,
comparisonandcontrast),differentportionsofthewrittenproduct(introductions,conclusions,thesis
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statements,presentationanddocumentationofformsofevidence,inclusionofquotations,etc.),alongwith
differentmodalitiesofcomposingtoexpandtheconceptof'writing'.Pedagogiesorapproachestoteaching
writingaregroundedinarangeofdifferenttraditionsandphilosophies.

Advancedcomposition
Someuniversitiesrequirefurtherinstructioninwritingandoffercoursesthatexpandupontheskills
developedinFirstyearcomposition.Secondleveloradvancedcompositionmayemphasizeformsof
argumentationandpersuasion,digitalmedia,researchandsourcedocumentationformats,and/orgenresof
writingacrossarangeofdisciplinesandgenres(seealsoWritingacrossthecurriculumbelow).For
example,theskillsrequiredtowritebusinesslettersorannualreportswilldiffersignificantlyfromthose
requiredtowritehistoricalorscientificresearchorpersonalmemoirs.

Graduatestudies
DoctoralprogramsinCompositionStudiesareavailableatmorethanseventyuniversitiesandMasters's
programsareavailableinover170universities.[4]SuchprogramsarecommonlyhousedwithinEnglish
StudiesorEducationprograms,althoughitisincreasinglythecasethattheyfoundtheirowndepartments
(e.g.,ofCompositionStudies,Writing&Rhetoric,Composition&Linguistics,andsoon).

Secondlanguagewriting
SecondlanguagewritingisthepracticeofteachingEnglishcompositiontonovicespeakersandwritersof
English.

Writingacrossthecurriculum
Becauseacademicdiscourseisnotmonolithic,manycompositionistshavecreatedawritingacrossthe
curriculum(WAC)movementthatsituateswritingintensiveinstructioninspecificacademicdiscourse
communities.

Writinginthedisciplines
Manyuniversitywritingprogramsincludewritinginthedisciplines(WID)courses,whichfocusonthe
genresandwritingproceduresthatoccurwithinspecificfieldsofresearch.

Writingcenter
Manycollegesanduniversitieshaveawritingcenter,whichofferssupplementarytutorialsupportfor
writingspecificallyinEnglishclassesand/oracrossthecurriculum.ManyuniversitiesnotinNorthAmerica
onlyofferwritinginstructionviawritingcenters.TheEuropeanAssociationfortheTeachingofAcademic
Writing(http://www.eataw.eu/)(EATAW),forexample,specificallyconcernsitselfwiththestudyand
advancementofwritingcentersinEurope.

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SincemultimodalityhasresonatedwithCompositionStudies,manywritingcentershavedeveloped
associatedcenterstosupportstudents'multimodal,multimediacomposing.Somemodelsforthiswork
includethedigitalstudioandmultiliteracycenters.

Seealso
Cognitiverhetoric
Comicsstudies
Communicationstudies
Composition(language)
ConferenceonCollegeCompositionandCommunication
Contrastiverhetoric
Digitalrhetoric
Englishstudies
Formalisttheoryincompositionstudies
Mediatheoryofcomposition
NationalWritingProject
Professionalcommunication
Rhetoric
Secondlanguagewriting
Technicalcommunication
Technicalwriting
Theoriesofrhetoricandcompositionpedagogy
WritingAssessment
Writingcenter
WritingAcrosstheCurriculum

References
1. DoctoralConsortiuminRhetoricandComposition
(http://www.cws.illinois.edu/programs/rc_consortium/members.html),UniversityofIllinoisUrbanaChampaign,
CenterforWritingStudies
2. GenreAcrossBorders(http://genreacrossborders.org/)
3. CompFAQsfromCompPile(http://compfaqs.org/CompFAQs/Home?from=Main.HomePage)
4. Master'sDegreeConsortiumofWritingStudiesSpecialists(http://www.mdcwss.com)

Furtherreading
Berlin,JamesA.RhetoricandReality:WritingInstructioninAmericanColleges,19001985.
Carbondale:SouthernIllinoisUniv.Press,1987.
Connors,RobertJ.CompositionRhetoric:Backgrounds,Theory,andPedagogy.Pittsburgh:Uof
PittsburghP,1997.
Corbett,EdwardP.J.ClassicalRhetoricfortheModernStudent.OxfordUP.Severalmisseditions
lastin1999.
Crowley,Sharon.CompositionintheUniversity:HistoricalandPolemicalEssays.Pittsburgh:Uof
PittsburghP,1998.
Faigley,Lester.FragmentsofRationality:PostmodernityandtheSubjectofComposition.Pittsburgh:
UofPittsburghP,1992.
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Horner,WinifredBryan,andLyneeLewisGaillet,eds.ThePresentStateofScholarshipinthe
HistoryofRhetoric:ATwentyFirstCenturyGuide.UofMissouri,2010.
Miller,Susan.TextualCarnivals:ThePoliticsofComposition.Carbondale:SouthernIllinoisUP,
1991.
North,Stephen.TheMakingofKnowledgeinCompositionStudies.UpperMontclair,N.J.:
Boynton/Cook,1987.
Phelps,LouiseWetherbee.CompositionasaHumanScience.NewYork:OxfordUP,1988.
Tate,Gary.TeachingComposition:12BibliographicalEssays.FortWorth:TCUP,1986.
Miller,Susan.TheNortonBookofCompositionStudies.NewYork,NY:W.W.Norton&Company,
2009.

Externallinks
RhetoricandCompositionatWikibooks
CCCOnlineArchive(http://inventio.us/ccc/)
CompositionStudies(http://www.compositionstudies.uwinnipeg.ca/)
ComputersandComposition(http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/home.htm)
ConferenceonCollegeCompositionandCommunication(http://www.ncte.org/cccc)
JournalofSecondLanguageWriting(http://www.jslw.org/)
RhetoricSocietyofAmerica(http://rhetoricsociety.org/)
IEEETransactionsonProfessionalCommunication(http://ewh.ieee.org/soc/pcs/?q=node/24)
EuropeanAssociationfortheTeachingofAcademicWriting(http://www.eataw.eu/)(EATAW)
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