iWrite Cool:
Teaching Academic Writing through Conventions of Social Media Discourse
Up until this semester, I, like many of my colleagues, have taught students how to write for the web via the conventions of academic discourse. After four years’ teaching this way, I’ve concluded that this approach is backwards. The way to bridge the gap between the language of the academy and that of the Web is not by beginning with academic discourse. By merging conventions of electronic discourses with those of the academy we can more effectively teach students both communication styles.
Students don’t understand academic discourse. Their daily reading and writing are more grounded in the conventions of social media discourse. They recognize the value of hyperlinks. They don’t question Twitter’s citation style. They understand the ways in which images and symbols, communicate meaning. They understand the concept of audience because they are constantly adjusting the privacy settings on their facebook statuses. They don’t understand how MLA citation works or why they must adhere to its standards instead of just linking to a source, they don’t understand how to create mood in their writing without the symbols they’ve come to rely on, and they have a hard time imagining that they are writing to anyone other than their teacher or classmates.
When we talk about “cool” writing, cool cannot merely be the subject of the writing classroom nor the location where writing takes place; cool should be the very means by which we compose. This enhances the effectiveness of both our teaching and our writing.
Students don’t understand academic discourse. Their daily reading and writing are more grounded in the conventions of social media discourse. They recognize the value of hyperlinks. They don’t question Twitter’s citation style. They understand the ways in which images and symbols, communicate meaning. They understand the concept of audience because they are constantly adjusting the privacy settings on their facebook statuses. They don’t understand how MLA citation works or why they must adhere to its standards instead of just linking to a source, they don’t understand how to create mood in their writing without the symbols they’ve come to rely on, and they have a hard time imagining that they are writing to anyone other than their teacher or classmates.
When we talk about “cool” writing, cool cannot merely be the subject of the writing classroom nor the location where writing takes place; cool should be the very means by which we compose. This enhances the effectiveness of both our teaching and our writing.
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