A Reflection on the Basic Writing Course

It’s funny, when my friends found out I was taking a Basic Writing class their first response was “Basic writing? You don’t need a basic writing class.” However, when I described to them the purpose behind the basic writing class it all made sense. I noticed that the term Basic Writing had a negative connotation to my friends that it must also have to the students who actually need to learn basic writing skills.
Mina Shaughnessy set a foundation at City College that still continues today. And as graduate students in this program, we play a role in making sure the instruction that basic writing students receive is beneficial to their academic growth. It is in our classrooms the students will learn the skills that will carry them to their next classes and hopefully make their writing successful. That’s the goal. But I’ve learned Basic Writing isn’t just about writing, it’s also about reading well, pulling out information to draw on and expand on. Sometimes, I think, the focus on writing overshadows the art of reading. I am left wondering if we can teach basic writers to read for meaning instead of reading and looking for content.

In Murray’s Making Meaning Clear I found that one of his revision principles from the check-list that I use most when tutoring is “simplicity is best.” I find that student try so hard to SOUND academic with words that they are not sure how to use. Somehow it is the belief that the longer or more complicated the word, the better chances there are for the word to show up in their writing. When reading, I tell them I don’t understand what they are trying to say. There is a line in the movie Philadelphia, with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, where Washington’s character says “Explain this to me like I’m a four year old.” This may sound self-deprecating but it isn’t. I find it allows the student to get at the most basic meaning of what they are writing and often their simple explanation is far better than the convoluted sentence they tried to create.

There is something to be said about revision that I did not take into consideration before attending this class. Revision is as necessary as reading well. This course forced me to revise my literacy narrative 2 times. Each time, I saw something different, something not covered or conveyed in the previous draft. I think when one has a tendency to write well, revision becomes an afterthought. It did for me. However, this process left an indelible mark especially after reading the texts we had on revision and how the faculty of University of Pittsburgh made it a significant component in their basic reading and writing course in the 70’s. I’ve told my students I tutor that the real writing happens when you edit (now I should say revise) and I see I must hold on to that thought as well when I write. Revision is a necessary evil and yes, it is time consuming and very detailed oriented but what emerges from it is richer and more focused text than the original. I see it in my own writing and I’m sure basic writing students will notice it in theirs.