Reframing Student Writing in ‘Writing Studies’ Composition Classes

In this chapter, we hope to extend and develop the discussion, initiated in part by Douglas Downs and Elizabeth Wardle, of a writing studies approach to first-year writing (FYW). As Downs and Wardle suggest in their 2007 article, "Teaching about Writing, Righting Misconceptions: (Re)Envisioning 'First-Year Composition' as 'Introduction to Writing Studies,'" the term writing studies signals the grounding of FYW classes in the scholarly knowledge of the field of composition studies. As such, writing studies names approaches that seek to transform the current situation in which the goals of learning about writing as a cultural practice and learning how to write more effectively too often operate as mutually exclusive emphases within writing programs. Extending this work, our chapter seeks to help readers think about the ways student writing can play a central role in writing classes that are consistent with current composition theory and that also prioritize improved student writing.