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Discussion Lead: Lu, Redefining the Legacy of Mina Shaughnessy

Questions for discussion: 1. Do you agree with Shaughnessy’s that among the “varies” of English there is the “academic English” (774), the mastery of which could enhance students’ writing abilities, and therefore should be introduced into composition courses? 2. Do you agree with Lu’s criticism of Shaughnessy’s “essentialist view of language”? Do you find her …

Response to Lu, Redefining the Legacy of Mina Shaughnessy

In this piece, Lu sets out to reexamine Mina Shaughnessy’s Error’s and Expectations. Using recent theories which view language as inherently suspect, Lu critiques Shaughnessy’s concept of “linguistic innocence,” or “a policy which preempts teachers attention from the political dimensions of the linguistic choices their students make in their writing” (27). At stake is the …

Faigley, Competing Theories of Process

According to Faigley, the positioning of writing as a discipline depends upon an understanding of the writing process. Current understandings of writing as a discipline rest upon underlying assumptions about the importance of the writing process. Faigley situates himself within current criticism by citing a lengthy quote from Henry Giroux. Giroux laments the separation of composition from literature, saying …