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September 06, 2005
Unwanted Expertise
One of the first goals of Basic Writing is to convince students that they will be better writers if they write about an area of expertise. Somehow, the natural flow of information has been oddly and artificially altered in the world of the academic term paper. Only there does information routinely flow from a person who knows less (a freshman Old Testament student) to a person who knows more (a professor with a Ph.D. in Old Testament). I'm hardly calling for the erradication of the "research paper," nor is it an all-encompassing dismissal of students writing standard expository prose on an assigned subject. But, for these kind of freshmen -- students who dread writing because of past failures -- telling them to write an academic paper about something they know well often proves liberating and fascinating.
So, we tell them to make a list. "What are your areas of expertise? Give me five things." The lists from the American students generally tout their athletic backgrounds, their ability to make friends easily, or the ease with which they drive a stick shift. The lists from the international students highlight their knowledge of their homeland's history, culture, or food. There are generally a couple of items that pique my interest on each list, and I encourage the students to write a draft on those unique topics. I'm expecting drafts on everything from untying knots to writing in Chinese.
The last list I received was from a young African man who had arrived at school almost a week late. He handed me his list, scribbled in pencil on a small yellow piece of notebook paper:
- Poverty
- Riots
- Strikes (student and worker)
- Being a TCK
- Being African
I told him he could choose whichever one he wanted.
Professorial Masquerade | By elissa | 01:44 PM
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Comments
what's a TLK?
Posted by: JosiahQ at September 6, 2005 01:53 PM
Oops, sorry. That's supposed to be "TCK;" I changed it. A TCK is a "Third Culture Kid," usually used to describe misionary children or folks from mixed backgrounds. I'm not sure yet what his background is...maybe he'll write about it!
Posted by: elissa at September 6, 2005 03:54 PM
I was sort of hoping he was a "TCB," one of the Elvis Presley lackeys charged with supplying the King with food and barbatuates.
(In case you were wondering, Elvis' other accociates were referred to as "TLCs" and were asked to provide the singer with emotional support. This, according to Presley's biographer, often meant pretending that he was able to read their minds. Elvis was really into the occult.)
Posted by: mesh at September 6, 2005 04:07 PM
And no, I haven't a clue why I spelled "associates" as "accociates." The dictionary is staring at me and crying. I hurt her again.
Posted by: mesh at September 6, 2005 05:40 PM
