Pedagogy Oct 2016

Metafictional Narrative and Teaching Writing as Process

Jason J. Gulya

Abstract

This article uses Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy to explore how literature instructors can use eighteenth-century novels, many of which bring attention to themselves as creations of the writing process, to encourage their students to reflect on their position as writers in the twenty-first century. Gulya proposes teaching Tristram Shandy and other self-referential texts within the context of writing studies. This approach helps our students recognize the close relationship between writing and cognition and, by so doing, brings their attention to writing as a process as well as a product. Gulya also outlines some of the major benefits of encouraging students to think about writing as a process, including more vibrant peer-revision sessions and an increase in students' tendencies to take intellectual risks in their writing.

Journal
Pedagogy
Published
2016-10-01
DOI
10.1215/15314200-3600925
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
composition theory writing pedagogy teacher development revision
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References (7)

  1. Bartholomae (1986)
    “Inventing the University.”
    Journal of Basic Writing  ↗
  2. Carr (2014)
    “Composition, English, and the University.”
    PMLA
  3. Flower (1981)
    “A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing.”
    College Composition and Communication  ↗
  4. Pinker (2014)
    The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the Twenty-First Century
  5. Shaughnessy (1979)
    Errors and Expectations: A Guide for the Teacher of Basic Writing
Show all 7 →
  1. Sommers (1980)
    “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers.”
    College Composition and Communication  ↗
  2. Sterne (2003)
    The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
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