The Basics of Basic Writing

We can find instances of writing intervention mechanisms in place as far back as 1874 (Rose; Ritter; Mutnick)[1]. Basic writing (BW), as it is recognized today, was largely injected into composition studies curriculum as a “response to economic interests” (Mutnick 20) and through the work of Mina Shaughnessy. Four approaches to teaching BW advanced alongside the repositioning of theoretical thought within the field of composition studies–each influencing BW pedagogy in differing ways. Emerging pedagogies have come to be known as error-centered, academic-initiation, critical, and spatial approaches. Both the error-centered and critical approaches can be categorized as ‘error’ models; however, the error-centered approach looks at the individual and the critical approach examines BW through a societal lens. The academic-initiation and spatial approaches might be thought of as literacy models; however, like the error-centered approach, the academic-initiation approach looks at BW through the lens of individual autonomy, whereas the spatial approach is more ideological.

A review of the BW scholarship makes clear there is no one-size fits all approach to teaching BW that works for all institutions, that satisfies all curriculums, and that transfers to all BW classrooms. Tate refers us to James Berlin’s suggestion that what “differentiates pedagogies from each other is their vision of the world, and specifically the vision of the writing process that each pedagogy advances” (Berlin 1977; Tate 2). This implies that writing instructors are at risk of building bias into a student’s learning experience. Tate makes the perceptive observation that grasping “the nuances and historical contexts of these approaches is important as we engage in day-to-day instruction, deciding for ourselves how be­st to shuttle between individual and societal dimensions of error or autonomous and ideological models of literacy" (Mutnick 32).

While a number of BW pedagogies may be blended to design bespoke approaches to teaching BW, one principle all pedagogies should share is that BW approaches to teaching must be student-centered. As Tate suggests, we must be mindful of how and why we choose a particular pedagogical approach; how the nuances and historical contexts of our personal life experiences inform our practice. Mutnick and Lamos refer us to Salvatori’s work to highlight what a successful pedagogy “imbues in students” (Mutnick 21); that is, the “ability to understand first of all,” the ability to “interpret that understanding,” and the ability to “apply knowledge gained in the act of reflexivity . . . to the subject matter under investigation and to life experiences” (Mutnick 21).