Research in the Teaching of English Nov 2004

Developmental Gains of a History Major: A Case for Building a Theory of Disciplinary Writing Expertise

Anne Beaufort Stony Brook University

Abstract

In literacy and composition studies, efforts to develop data-driven theories of disciplinary writing expertise and of writers’ developmental processes in joining specific discourse communities have so far been limited. This case study, of one writer’s experiences as an undergraduate history major, parses the multiple knowledge domains comprising disciplinary writing expertise and compares his beginning and later work for signs of developmental progress. A conceptual model of five knowledge domains writers must draw upon—discourse-community knowledge, subjectmatter knowledge, genre knowledge, rhetorical knowledge, and writing-process knowledge—is applied to the data both for analysis of the case and for exploring the usefulness of the conceptual model for further empirical and theoretical work. What results is a fuller depiction of the complexities of gaining expertise in any given discourse community, as well as an indication of the importance of educators across all disciplines considering the multi-dimensional and developmental nature of their curricula for building literacy skills.

Journal
Research in the Teaching of English
Published
2004-11-01
DOI
10.58680/rte20044467
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis empirical research qualitative research literacy studies
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Citation Context

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  3. Doolan (2023)
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    Written Communication
  4. Park (2023)
    Agency, Identity, and Writing: Perspectives from First-Generation Students of C…
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  5. Austin (2022)
    Traversing Academic Contexts: An Egyptian Writer’s Literacy Learning Trajectory…
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  1. Tardy et al. (2020)
    Teaching and Researching Genre Knowledge: Toward an Enhanced Theoretical Framework
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  2. Mlynarczyk (2018)
    Making Meaning in (and of) Old Age: The Value of Lifelong Literacy
    Literacy in Composition Studies
  3. Bivens et al. (2018)
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  4. Kelly-Riley (2015)
    Toward a validational framework using student course papers from common undergr…
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  5. Watts et al. (2012)
    Pairing Courses Across the Disciplines: Effects on Writing Performance
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  6. Wardle et al. (2012)
    Addressing the complexity of writing development: Toward an ecological model of…
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  7. Harwood et al. (2012)
    Performance in the Citing Behavior of Two Student Writers
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  8. Roozen (2010)
    Tracing Trajectories of Practice: Repurposing in One Student’s Developing Disci…
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  9. Angouri et al. (2008)
    This Is Too Formal for Us...: A Case Study of Variation in the Written Products…
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