Discussion: View Thread

This is an invitation for those of you who are interested in writing and
communication issues to join the H-Rhetor listserv. There is a contingent of a
few tech writing and college writing instructors/professors who address the some
of the same issues raised here. If some one will raise a question, these
experts might be willing to work toward some sort of collaboration--if the
specific criticism of the business writing styles used by students were made
known to them.

mailto:listserv@h-net.msu.edu

In the message include subscribe H-Rhetor firstname lastname

Warning: this listserv contains a heavy dose of liberal arts! Do not attempt to
operate heavy machinery within one hour of reading about the "phronesis and
practical rhetoric question" thread.

My own observations on this topic would be to teach students to use the tools of
forensic inquiry and encourage them to become better historians. I say this
because the moment an email is sent or a report hits the print queue these
become documents that are a part of the historical record--or primary texts, if
you will.


ICQ #26317826
__________________________________
Great Optimism,

Dutch Driver
Abilene, TX 79605
mailto:Choragus@email.com
Home Page: http://home.att.net/~Choragus

Wish I could remember all the details, but here are some clues to the most
elegant solution I've seen to this issue. Perhaps a fellow list member can
fill in the gaps in my memory.

One of my colleagues in Entrepreneurship (can't remember who!) showed me a
course outline last year. I noticed that the usual university code string
ended in a W, and asked if that meant it was a Winter course. No, I was
told, that meant it was a designated Writing course. He had received this
designation forr the course because he required a high level of written
composition in the course exercises. Apparently any course could be so
designated IFF it met the standard for writing intensity. And the trump
card was that students had to take at least (4, was it?) W-designated
courses as part of their degree requirements. It didn't matter which
courses they presented as Ws; they just had to take enough of them (and
achieve some performance standard in them).

It's a kind of matrix solution, but one which rewards both students and
faculty for an important secondary learning objective, and teaching style.

Wish I could remember who it was, and which institution ...

Maybe I should have written it down (:->>)

Tom.

+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/+/
Prof. Thomas A. Bryant, Ph.D., Visiting professor and
State of New Jersey Chair in Small Business & Entrepreneurship
Faculty of Management, MEC 326
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
111 Washington Avenue, NEWARK, NJ 07102-3027 U.S.A.
Tel: (973) 353-1062; Fax: (973) 353-1664
e-mail: tabryant@andromeda.rutgers.edu

The tall oak of today was yesterday's nut that stood his/her ground.
EMEIG, Nov. 18, 1998