What is the thesis to your article for this course? What support will you cite to help you make your case?

Like Nancy, I do not yet have a central thesis but am gathering ideas. I've been interested all semester in how to incorporate creative writing into the first year writing classroom, and in whether or not it might be a more effective introduction to composition. We've talked extensively about writing not being a "trap" for students and ensuring they feel both nurtured and empowered by writing, especially as it is new to most of them.

With this in mind, I want to write about the intersection of expression and discipline, and how that can best be taught through creative writing. This is not to eschew form, grammar, or rhetoric, but rather to teach it through a more expressivistic mode. I've been exited by two papers, one by Danita Berg titled "Re-Composition: Considering the Intersections of Composition and Creative Writing Theories and Pedagogies," in which she explores how "Maintaining composition studies and creative writing as discrete disciplines may not be in the best interests of either field." She asserts that the incorporation of "traditional" composition genres such as the essay can be equally well-taught if introduced as creative writing. She also examines how the workshop setting, moreover, can teach social and collaborative techniques invaluable to student development.

I also enjoyed Patrick Sullivan's "The UnEssay: Making Room for Creativity in the Composition Classroom." His central question is, essentially, what makes writing creative? This is one I would seek to explore in-depth, if not answer, in my paper, with the help of these two scholars as well as some work by Michael Salerno, Carolyn Forche, and also some ideas from Lavona L. Reeves's "Minimizing Apprehension in the Composition Classroom." The last one I'm interested in because apprehension is an issue for writers across the learning spectrum, much less those new to it, and I think that's invaluable to discuss in tandem with creativity.