On "Basic Writing Pedagogy"

Deborah Mutnick’s overview of basic writing pedagogy was most poignant for me in that, it seemed less theoretical, and more practical in its analysis of potential writing students. Of particular interest was her assessment of Mina Shaugnessy’s work in the field, specifically with regards to Shaugnessy’s view that basic writing errors are “a sign of intention and intelligence” (186). This approach, I believe, might be better in determining a student’s ability, and puts the teacher in a better position to recommend a course of study that might help the student improve.

When I consider “basic writing errors,” I am thinking of errors in grammar, sentence structure, or perhaps punctuality. Mutnick cites Mary Epes who attributes basic writing errors to “encoding processes” (187). I like Epes’ view that “encoding,” which has to do with “the visual symbols of written language,” is not the same as “composing” (187). I relate “encoding” to what I call the mechanics of writing, which I believe is a skill that can be taught. I believe that many students have in their mind what it is they want to express, but get caught up with the “encoding”
(187). I agree with Epes that “transcribing and editing” are skills that should be emphasized with regularity, as even more experienced writers can sometimes be prone to mistakes.

Also, the section concerning the research on cultural difference, the “social turn” in composition studies, was interesting. Mutnick cites Peter Rondinone who asserts that students might have to “abandon friends and family in order to acquire literacy skills,” and, Keith Gilyard, who concludes “that biculturalism and bidialectalism are not only possible but preferable to abandoning one’s culture and language of origin” (190). Reading the experiences of these men reminded me of the W.E.B. DuBois quote and theory about “double consciousness”. I truly believe that African Americans have always had to navigate back and forth between the cultural and linguistic reality of their personal lives, and the academic and social world of the dominant culture. This idea was expressed in the poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar¸ “We Wear the Mask,”

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Of course, Dunbar was referring to the social climate of his time which required blacks, who were discriminated against and subjected to Jim Crow laws, to hide their true feelings from public scrutiny in order to have a minimal amount of social mobility. But, Gilyard’s personal experience is an extension of this necessity to negotiate between worlds in order to succeed academically.