Editor’s
note: First-year students, prospective students (and some of their
parents) wonder and worry how they will handle the academic transition
from high school to college. In a series of stories, UDaily speaks with
University of Delaware professors who teach courses commonly taken by
students during their first year on campus. In this story, Délice
Williams, associate director of composition and assistant professor of
English, explains how she teaches writing. The class, called "English
110 - Seminar in Composition," is the only course required for every UD
undergraduate.
A universal truth about writing is that if you consider it easy, you
are not likely all that good at it. Putting pen to paper (or fingers to
keyboard) is trying at the best of times. But in middle school and high
school, this difficulty is sometimes compounded by the way the subject
is taught — as a set of rules to be adopted and meticulously followed.
Your thesis goes here. Your main point goes there. The final product
must be five paragraphs long — no more, no less. You want an A? You
better conform to these rigid constraints.
This means many students enter their college’s general-education
writing requirement with an attitude of, well… ugh. The breadth
requirement is seen merely as something to suffer through. To check off.
To move on from as quickly as possible before getting to the fun and
exciting work of a chemistry or music or mechanical engineering major.
But, at the University of Delaware, anyone with this outlook entering
English 110, a seminar in composition required for every student on
campus, is sorely mistaken.
“This course is not a hoop to jump through,” said Délice Williams,
associate director of composition and assistant professor of English.
“It is an empowering, enriching experience. It has the power to ignite
something in students. It opens their eyes to opportunities for growth
and discovery.”
A former K-12 teacher, Williams is familiar with the formulaic way
high school students are sometimes led to think about writing, and she
knows this type of instruction has its value. She said high school
teachers “are not being mean.” Rather, these educators are laying the
necessary groundwork, readying their pupils for what comes next: Writing
2.0. Or, as Williams referred to it, the place where you “rediscover
the joy” of the subject while honing skills necessary for a variety of
disciplines.
Consider Michael Mallozzi, a first-year student who entered one of
UD’s leadership classes in the fall of 2020 feeling fairly confident in
his writing abilities. But once that first assignment got returned to
him — complete with a disappointing grade — a sense of fear settled in.
He had gone into this particular writing task with the strategies he
gleaned from high school — or, as he called them, a “cookie-cutter
approach.” He soon realized this would not cut it in a university class.
Fortunately, at the same time, Mallozzi was enrolled in English 110.
“The course gave me insight into what my work should look like in
college, and it helped me overcome any anxieties about writing at this
level,” he said. “It gave me a new-found confidence in my abilities and a
set of skills I will apply in courses throughout my academic career.”
So how does it work? How do initially reluctant writers at UD come
out of Williams’ English 110 class feeling more empowered and more
competent? Much of it is down to the level of freedom they are afforded.
Take the signature research assignment, in which students need to pen
a persuasive argument. The topic is largely up to the individual Blue
Hen. In the past, science majors have gravitated toward the value of
genetically modified organisms or colonizing Mars. Sociologists have
explored American culture’s nonchalant attitude toward bingeing of all
kinds — from alcohol to TV. And aspiring business tycoons have tackled
the idea of a universal basic income. In each case, agency is with the
writer.
Freedom comes in, also, when composing the paper. No longer are
students forbidden to write in the first-person — indeed, this is
encouraged. Incorporating one’s own voice — rather than attempting to
channel some perceived writerly, academic voice — allows for a level of
comfort and ownership that is novel for many.
“This is not the research paper you wrote in eighth grade,” Williams
said. “You are entering the conversation with other scholars and
positioning yourself as best you can in that conversation.”
As for structure, there is room for creativity there as well —
Williams encouraged one student to write her paper in the form of an
open letter.
“I wish more of them would look at the assignment and ask the
question: ‘What can I do with this? How can I turn this into something
cooler than what the professor imagined?’ ” Williams said. “Please, be
willing to talk to me. I’m always open to hearing: ‘Can I do it like
this?’ I think the best papers come from that kind of creative
thinking.”
This focus on freedom applies for other assignments as well, which
include writing an Instagram story and completing a multi-modal project
that could incorporate video, podcasting, even Tweeting — the medium to
which a student is most drawn.
“One of the positives of a college writing course is definitely how
open it is,” said Mallozzi, whose work explored the use of Native
American mascots in professional sports. “The class allowed me to take a
step back and critically examine my preconceived notions. I learned
there is more than one way to write.”
As much as this license is appreciated, there is one area where students do not want to forego formula: assessment.
“If you are resistant to English class, often this resistance is
articulated as: ‘It’s too wishy washy. There’s no one answer like there
is in my math class. My English teachers are just too subjective’,”
Williams said. “But I reject that.”
To give her students a firm handle on the grading process, she offers
them clear-cut rubrics which incorporate technical aspects (yes, you
get points just for formatting correctly and citing the required number
of sources), and the class spends time looking at model papers in
advance, noting elements of the writing that are working and vice versa.
Additionally, students go through several drafts before turning in a
final version of their work for assessment, meaning there is ample
opportunity to conference with Williams for feedback: “I don’t think you
can teach writing well without a lot of conversation around it,” she
said.
Throughout the course, Williams emphasizes her role not just as a judge of the students, but as their advocate.
“I frequently compare writing to athletic training,” she said. “No
one is naturally good at every sport — but with coaching, you can
improve. Transferring this analogy over to writing makes it easier for
them to see: If they are struggling, it is not because they are
failures. They simply need coaching. I will be there to provide this
guidance and to cheer you on.”
For Nicole Gill, a first-year, chemical engineering major, this support was key.
“Writing has never been my strongest subject,” she said. “I would
consider myself more of a STEM person, so I was anxious at the beginning
of this class. But I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying it.
Professor Williams made herself very available, and I met with her
twice. She helped me to clarify my writing, to see where there might be
gaps in a reader’s understanding and to turn in a much stronger paper.”
By the last class session — or, in writing parlance, by the kicker —
engaged students do not feel simply as though they’ve checked off a
required box. Rather, they view English 110 as an important stage in
their personal character arc.
“I think very few students imagine they will discover anything about
themselves in a first-year writing course,” Williams said. “But one of
the delights of teaching is seeing the lights go on when they realize
they can do more with this. This can build on this. They can use the
skills in this class to do more cool stuff throughout their college
careers. That’s what college is all about. That is why you are here. And
we are certainly excited you are.”
How I Teach — Series
Biology: In the first story in the How I Teach series, Associate Professor Oyenike (Nike) Olabisi explains how she teaches an introductory course in biology.
Article by Diane Stopyra
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson and courtesy of Délice Williams; photo illustration by Kate Dempsey
Published
Feb. 26, 2021