When basic writers write about literature: Self-expression or self-destruction?

The dissertation considers how I dealt with the problem of helping former basic writing students meet academic standards when they began their academic study of literature in my Freshman Composition Course. The methodology of research was based on ethnographic methods where the teacher of the course is conducting the research, and the students consider the research question as they fulfill the academic requirements of the course. To describe what happened in the class, I presented a detailed analysis of the writing of five of my former basic writing students and a general analysis of the writing of the class. I also considered the trends I found in my journal on my teaching, tapes of class discussions and questionnaires. When I completed my analysis, I found that the attitude of my students changed from being concerned about making errors to a feeling of confidence that they can improve their writing. I also noted that I changed from being concerned about academic requirements to caring more about my students. These developments led me to conclude that the methodology I used in the course were factors in the changes which took place in the classroom. Responding to my students\u27 freewriting, providing writing conferences and allowing for revision helped, but the use of literature which dealt with the unequal treatment of women and minority groups in our society provided the opportunity for the students to deal with the differences between their culture and the academic norms of college. I hope that after reading what happened in my course, other part-time instructors will want to write about what happened in their classes, so that a body of research literature will exist which deals with the ways a teacher can help these basic writing students meet the academic requirements of college