Interdisciplinary Themes and Metacognition in the First-Year Writing Classroom

Authors

  • Danielle Nielsen Murray State University

Keywords:

composition, theme, metacognition, transfer

Abstract

Looking to the possibility that interdisciplinary, thematic courses can build student confidence in the writing process, this essay argues that a first-year writing course that combines close attention to rhetorical skills, readings about an interdisciplinary field, and a carefully scaffolded assignment sequence enhances the potential transfer of rhetorical skills through student attention to boundary practices, the ability to analyze multiple rhetorical situations and discourse communities, and the opportunity to engage in sustained research and writing.

Author Biography

Danielle Nielsen, Murray State University

Danielle Nielsen is Associate Professor of English at Murray State University (KY). Dr. Nielsen’s research interests include colonial rhetoric, literacy practices, and accessibility. Her most recent research has appeared in Rhetoric Review, Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, and the Journal of Technical and Professional Communication. She teaches courses in rhetoric and composition, Victorian and 20th century British literature, and professional writing.

A typewriter divided into red, blue, and yellow, as if through a prism.

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Published

2021-03-22

Issue

Vol. 48 No. 2 (2019): Summer/Fall 2019

Section

Articles

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