Writing Specialist Confidential: Mary Stroud, Public Policy

One prominent buzz word in the field of rhetoric and composition is that of “transfer,” the idea that the writing skills we teach in our first- and second-year composition classes should empower students to communicate effectively in the wide variety of contexts they encounter in the academy and beyond (Yancey, Robertson, and Taczak, 2014). Such work is not only skills focused (i.e., do students know how to cite sources consistently and correctly and use topic sentences to their advantage?), but also seeks to equip students with critical rhetorical knowledge. Effective transfer, then, allows students to deeply consider audience needs and communicate persuasively whether writing a policy brief, delivering research at a poster presentation, or composing a research-based argument.

A strong emphasis of transfer is the idea that the physical “sites” of writing that students find themselves in will have a considerable influence on their writing and communication experiences. Indeed, it is not uncommon for students to anecdotally report feeling suddenly unsure about their writing abilities the moment they arrive in a new academic setting or, for example, begin the challenge of writing an employment cover letter for the first time. One of the great things about the writing specialist initiative is that it places us, as teachers of writing, directly in the sites the students themselves are in. Rather than them coming to us, we go out to them. As the newly minted Writing Specialist for Public Policy this year, I can very much appreciate the unique challenges these various sites and situations present to students. In just the simple act of tracing my own footsteps over the last two quarters, the proliferation of these sites is apparent. I have gone from operating in three primary locations (Sweet Hall, the Hume Center, and quad classrooms) to frequenting classrooms, offices, and labs all over campus on any given day (see map below; new writing sites in orange).

One of these sites new to me is the career center, or BEAM (Bridging Education, Ambition, and Meaningful Work). In my first quarter on the job, the students in Public Policy tasked me with helping them become more comfortable with speaking about their skills in a variety of employment contexts. True to transfer theory, the students reported feeling insecure about interviewing with potential employers and writing cover letters in non-policy related job applications materials. New site. New writing anxieties. In response, I contacted Kathleen Cassidy, the Assistant Director of Career Communities at BEAM, and we collaboratively developed a student workshop titled “Talking Public Policy.” The main goal in this workshop was to help students rethink their skills question, revising it to instead ask the more rhetorically bound version: “What kind of framework for problem solving does a degree in Public Policy give you?” In developing this question, Kathleen and I wanted students to think beyond a finite skillset to more deeply consider their individual and ethical motivations for declaring Public Policy and the goals and outcomes of their specific coursework. In essence, we were asking them to become more critically and rhetorically aware of how their audience of employers would see them as potential leaders and problem solvers. As a writing specialist, my hope is that they will continue to apply this rhetorical knowledge in individually meaningful ways in every site they inhabit. That would be transfer at its best.