Roberta Raymond

Roberta Raymond

Dear Application Committee: Re: Writing and Its Relevance to Higher Education Jacques Derrida discussed the importance of the signature as a symbol of presence, immanent to a piece of written material. In lieu of the importance of writing as a lexicon of documentation within Western cultures, Writing as an academic discipline is paramount within the context of any collegiate English Curriculum. My own experience of completing a PhD through research demonstrates the relevance of mastering the technical aspects of scholarly writing in order to articulate ideas and concepts through diverse jargons. My current project, a second Post-Graduate Degree in International Relations, in which I must assimilate and accommodate a diverse voice, reinforces the idea that writing is significant as a primary method of personal creative development as well as a tool for shared discourse within –and between – disciplines. Although contemporary culture relies upon visual stimulation, one must admit that the audience views what writers and authors have constructed through the written word. The written word is the foundation of cognition. One imagines her world in terms of pictures, but explains and clarifies relevancy through words. The documenting of these images, into histories or memories, as ideas permeates temporal, geographical and political boundaries. The role of writing within a collegiate environment is a necessity. I have the opportunity to be working with high school students at the moment. Most of these students are presently applying to colleges. When they first come into my Writing for College Class, they struggle against any hint of academic exercise. However, once students gain awareness into writing their own thoughts, sculpting the tone and voice of the content, and reflecting upon their thoughts through their writing, a change occurs. Once students become capable of articulating their ideas through the written word, and within a framework of formal standards of English, their pride is that of the artisan – the craftsperson whose skill produces a body of work within which rests the artist’s expended energy. These students become proud of their craft and delight in its manifestation as a piece of textual language – something to be measured and which has value. As an Adjunct Professor who teaches two college courses per semester, writing is an indispensable tool for the student evolving into the scholar. Students who engage with the subject content during class discussions discover a new dimension of understanding as they craft their ideas into narrative explanations. Within the college environment, writing reaches its apex as a process, not merely as an exercise. Immanent to the process of writing, the individual engages with the developing text with cognitive intimacy. The research, which marks the stage of prefiguration, informs the student’s process of configuration. During the second stage of writing, through scaffolding, students construct and develop 1

ideas into theories. Configuration represents an exciting moment in the creative process; it is the moment of praxis. Theory and experience are indelibly interwoven through the embodiment of ideas into text. Finally, the reflective stage, through editing, empowers a student to revisit her own ideas, further deconstructing them into episteme, and gaining an awareness of the Self as it develops and reconstructs new ideas as a Present. This mimetic moment is the culmination of the writing process. It is imbued with satisfaction, success, and pride – characteristics which will encourage and inspire the student to write again. Whether the writing is used as a tool of scholarly discourse or developed as a creative enterprise for imagination to free itself from the bonds of disciplinary jargon, writing represents the greatest accomplishment of the engaged mind. It offers a conduit through which ideas become sempiternal and challenge the bonds of temporal and historical context. It creates and leaves a record of thought to be shared with a past, discussed through a present, and challenged by a future. Writing fixes ideas within the universal discourse of life. Everyone can write and has ideas that demand elucidation. Whether these ideas manifest through a classical plot or as discursive elements, reflecting traditional or popular culture, writing as a form of communication and expression is paramount to the survival of cultures. Whether the form is text, text language, IM, or posting, all are forms of writing - forms that create and implement a person’s identity and communicates that identity to a world of others who writewho think. Writing has survived the technological revolution and has emerged as the unsung hero of New Media. Whether one is writing a Short or Long Report, a Business Plan, a Scholarly Article or a work of fiction, writing is a skill that begins as a hieroglyph, is transformed into a sign, and carries meaning to future generations, through semantics and hermeneutics. For me, writing is not only a subject to be taught, it is a passion. It allows us to be heard and to be remembered. Dr. Roberta Raymond-Nolan

2