Writing at the State U: Instruction and Administration at 106 Comprehensive Universities

by Emily Isaacs

Writing at the State U presents a comprehensive, empirical examination of writing programs at 106 universities. Rather than using open survey calls and self-reporting, Emily Isaacs uses statistical analysis to show the extent to which established principles of writing instruction and administration have been implemented at state comprehensive universities, the ways in which writing at those institutions has differed from writing at other institutions over time, and how state institutions have responded to major scholarly debates concerning first-year composition and writing program administration. Isaacs’s findings are state university writing programs give lip service to important principles of writing research, but many still emphasize grammar instruction and a skills-based approach, classes continue to be outsized, faculty development is optional, and orientation toward basic writing is generally remedial. As such, she considers where a closer match between writing research and writing instruction might help to expose and remedy these difficulties and identifies strategies and areas where faculty or writing program administrators are empowered to enact change. Unique in its wide scope and methodology, Writing at the State U sheds much-needed light on the true state of the writing discipline at state universities and demonstrates the advantages of more frequent and rigorous quantitative studies of the field.

249 pages, Paperback

Published February 21, 2018

Reviews

[Karen Adkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure: the author is a friend of mine. But Emily's research on what writing instruction looks like at comprehensive universities is useful not just for professors at those schools. Her data is exhaustive, and she compares ways in which infrastructure at universities (e.g. whether or not courses are taught by full-time faculty, how extensive/required professional development is for FYC profs, class size, skills or process focus, etc.) connects to how effective or ineffective the curriculum is. She also makes concrete and constructive recommendations at the school and national level in her conclusion. This book would be a worthwhile read for anyone who care about college writing instruction.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The data is at times exactly what we'd expect but often surprising. The methods section was so interesting that I skipped several chapters to read the appendix material—including an expanded methods section—before returning to the core of the book. I hardly ever do that. Isaacs mentions at some point that it may be more useful to some as a reference text—find the topic of interest in the TOC and go find the data for that particular issue—and this is true, but her analysis of the data throughout is valuable. I appreciate the consistent attention to her methods and their limitations, as well. Isaacs makes sure to provide a level of confidence in her analysis based on the limits and strengths of her methods.