Interesting visual argument. A man in a cap and gown stands atop a castle tower; it's difficult not to read him as symbolic of the academic powers that be. From there, people walk across what appear to be final papers and essays; the artifacts go from being handwritten to being typed. The textual component of this image frames these artifacts as "[a] bridge." People then fall off this bridge on their way to Web 2.0 technologies, because the bridge does not carry them there. Of course, this is all anchored to an extent by the textual component - "College writing: A bridge too short." The visual argument I'm seeing is, the college fails to bridge connections between composition and Web 2.0 technologies, and this proves to be an issue, since students - and ultimately the scholars of tomorrow - are missing out on valuable information about rhetoric and composition.
Aw man, did my post get deleted? I had a whole paragraph-long thing.
Anyway, to repeat. It looks like a chronological narrative from left to right. On the left, there's certainty, writing is happening, confident strides are taken. On the left, chaos, falling, the pages disappear, writing gets more difficult. The cause of the progression suggests that ideas make a lot of sense in the ivory tower (in the professor's office), but while in the 'real' world, with technology and distractions, things make less sense.
I think the argument is that there is a disconnect between writing taught in college and writing in the real world. The professor looks stubborn, which suggests that there's an unwillingness to change, and the student is suffering for it. I also like that the college side of it is black and white while the "real world" objects are in color, suggesting that "real world" writing is a lot more dynamic than what is taught.
This visual seems to be making an argument that, in general, college writing courses and assignments don’t prepare students to write well outside of academics. On the left is a tower representing college. Images representing students are walking over a bridge of papers. The bridge ends before it reaches a series of images that seem to represent the world outside of academics: jobs, the digital writing environment, and so on. The argument that the visual seems to be making is that something (perhaps WAC/WID programs) needs to be done to help bridge the gap between college writing and writing after one leaves academics. - Jenny Moore
I've definitely been on both sides of this visual argument. As a student, I feel like I ended my BA with a league less skill than I needed to enter the very competitive Professional Writing work space (or to enter FT grad school!). That's me, tumbling down that gap there where I can write a fine undergrad essay, but I have no idea how to throw together web content for a PR firm, or a grant proposal for a large company. I don't feel like I can do much of anything!
On the other hand, the other side is when I'm at work, helping students who can barely put together a full paragraph try and write a full academic essay. I don't know if I'm preparing them for work, but you have to crawl before you can walk. Maybe there's just not enough time to break into a sprint before school is over?
I think this is a very interesting argument that could be read several different ways. First, I think it speaks to the disconnect between "traditional" writing instruction and digital writing. The old man in the cap and gown represents the old vanguard keeping that infernal technology out of the ivory of academia. However, the ones who suffer from this attitude the most are the students, who fall into this unnecessary gap we have created.
.jpg)
Interesting visual argument. A man in a cap and gown stands atop a castle tower; it's difficult not to read him as symbolic of the academic powers that be. From there, people walk across what appear to be final papers and essays; the artifacts go from being handwritten to being typed. The textual component of this image frames these artifacts as "[a] bridge." People then fall off this bridge on their way to Web 2.0 technologies, because the bridge does not carry them there. Of course, this is all anchored to an extent by the textual component - "College writing: A bridge too short." The visual argument I'm seeing is, the college fails to bridge connections between composition and Web 2.0 technologies, and this proves to be an issue, since students - and ultimately the scholars of tomorrow - are missing out on valuable information about rhetoric and composition.
ReplyDeleteAw man, did my post get deleted? I had a whole paragraph-long thing.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, to repeat. It looks like a chronological narrative from left to right. On the left, there's certainty, writing is happening, confident strides are taken. On the left, chaos, falling, the pages disappear, writing gets more difficult. The cause of the progression suggests that ideas make a lot of sense in the ivory tower (in the professor's office), but while in the 'real' world, with technology and distractions, things make less sense.
I think the argument is that there is a disconnect between writing taught in college and writing in the real world. The professor looks stubborn, which suggests that there's an unwillingness to change, and the student is suffering for it. I also like that the college side of it is black and white while the "real world" objects are in color, suggesting that "real world" writing is a lot more dynamic than what is taught.
ReplyDeleteThis visual seems to be making an argument that, in general, college writing courses and assignments don’t prepare students to write well outside of academics. On the left is a tower representing college. Images representing students are walking over a bridge of papers. The bridge ends before it reaches a series of images that seem to represent the world outside of academics: jobs, the digital writing environment, and so on. The argument that the visual seems to be making is that something (perhaps WAC/WID programs) needs to be done to help bridge the gap between college writing and writing after one leaves academics. - Jenny Moore
ReplyDeleteOuh- right in the feels!
ReplyDeleteI've definitely been on both sides of this visual argument. As a student, I feel like I ended my BA with a league less skill than I needed to enter the very competitive Professional Writing work space (or to enter FT grad school!). That's me, tumbling down that gap there where I can write a fine undergrad essay, but I have no idea how to throw together web content for a PR firm, or a grant proposal for a large company. I don't feel like I can do much of anything!
On the other hand, the other side is when I'm at work, helping students who can barely put together a full paragraph try and write a full academic essay. I don't know if I'm preparing them for work, but you have to crawl before you can walk. Maybe there's just not enough time to break into a sprint before school is over?
Great argument! 10/10.
I think this is a very interesting argument that could be read several different ways. First, I think it speaks to the disconnect between "traditional" writing instruction and digital writing. The old man in the cap and gown represents the old vanguard keeping that infernal technology out of the ivory of academia. However, the ones who suffer from this attitude the most are the students, who fall into this unnecessary gap we have created.
ReplyDeleteIf success is measurable through consistent agreement on meaning, then you have succeeded. Nicely done.
ReplyDelete