Going Fishing with Author Michal Brody: A Q&A on Selecting Model Readings for Students 

A reading should also be relevant to a critical mass of our student readers. And that's an interesting part because “student readers” doesn’t mean “college age”—that doesn't mean anything anymore. There's this image of your classic “four-year liberal arts student,” but that’s a small proportion of who our intended audience is.

“Write What’s Not Fair”: On Obsession, Paradox, and Permission in the Classroom

Passionate student writers rarely lack ideas, but instructors can help them narrow those ideas down by choosing to write what makes them feel the most. Authors Matthew Clark Davison and Alice LaPlante instruct students to write what’s “not fair.” Unresolved emotions, from hatred to love, offer great fuel to new writers seeking direction.

Teaching Students to Write Award-Winning Essays

In Spring 2020, I started teaching in the Second Chance Pell program, and I was fortunate to have some gifted students. I decided to submit a couple student essays to the Norton Writer’s Prize competition. One of those essays won the First-Year Writer category, which recognizes original nonfiction by undergraduate writers, and another one was selected for publication in The Norton Field Guide to Writing (with Readings), Sixth Edition. 

The Ultimate Remix: A Student’s Journey from Final Project to Published Author

Katelyn is a senior at Miami University studying Emerging Technology in Business & Design, as well as Digital Marketing. When I clicked the submission button on the final project of my senior year of high school, I wiped my hands clean and promptly pushed that assignment to the back of my mind like any other …

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Getting to the Heart of Positioning Language: Who Is “They”?

Deanna Brossman started teaching English in Geneseo, Illinois, in 2001. She earned her MA in English literature in 2007 and National Board Certification in 2012. She teaches dual credit composition, AP English Language and Composition, and a transitional English course for seniors wanting to strengthen their fundamental reading and writing skills before college. She and …

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