Recent research by the Meaningful Writing Project, a project that explores the most meaningful and memorable writing assignments undergraduates remember post-graduation, tells us that “personal connection,” makes a significant difference to student writers in all stages of their degree programs. To be clear, “personal writing” here does not refer to “personal narrative,” but rather to writing that encourages students to connect their writing “to what and who is important in their lives, to their interests, and to their aspirations” (Eodice, Geller, Lerner 326).
In this talk, Michelle LaFrance will explore the potential for engaging students with “public writing” assignments—that is, writing that speaks to local stakeholders and neighbors about shared issues or opportunities—to offer just this site of meaning-making for undergraduate writers in required writing courses. Writers engage public conversations for a number of reasons: to inform community members of the ways policy impacts their lives, to persuade decision-makers, to unpack invisible issues, and to share important resources or strategies. Opinion pieces and Op-Eds, letters to the editor and public authorities, blogs, journalistic pieces, and issue-based reports are just a few of the commonly assigned genres that faculty might turn to offer opportunities for meaningful writing. This talk will focus on a combined assignment, entailing a research-based letter that advocates for a course of action and an informational “one-pager” that distills the most important elements of the letter into succinct form.
Conducting Research on Local Issues