Readings about FYW
8 Writing Knowledge Transfers Easily
Ellen C. Carillo
The title of Ellen Carillo’s essay, “Writing Knowledge Transfers Easily,” may be misleading until you read it in its entirety. Her argument is that for writing knowledge to transfer—move from one class, situation, or paper to another, we have to work really hard. Ultimately, Carillo recommends that faculty and students work together to be metacognitive about writing, that is, be acutely aware of our thinking throughout the process.
Read Ellen Carillo’s “Writing Knowledge Transfers Easily.”
Listen to Kyle Stedman’s audio-version of this text.
Keywords from this chapter in Bad Ideas about Writing
composition studies, metacognition, transfer of learning, vertical curriculum
Author Bio from Bad Ideas about Writing
Ellen C. Carillo, Ph.D. is an associate professor at the University of Connecticut and the writing program coordinator at its Waterbury Campus. Her administrative work involves directing the Writing Center, supervising the first-year writing program, and supporting faculty who teach writing-intensive courses across the disciplines. She has written a book, as well as articles and chapters about the importance of teaching for transfer. She incorporates this approach into the literature and writing courses she teaches. Ellen has earned two grants to explore transfer in different settings and has served as an advisor for graduate students who are completing dissertations on transfer.
the professional field and academic discipline that revolves around writing, research into writing, and instruction of writing
awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes
the act of bringing knowledge or skills from one context to another; the goal of a first-year writing course is to transfer the writing skills developed in the class to other writing situations
a learning plan through which what students learn in one lesson, course, or grade level prepares them for the next lesson, course, or grade level
