Writing in My Language : Students' Perceptions of Informal Writing in the Composition Classroom

Abstract

This classroom study examines students' perceptions of informal writing in a first-year composition classroom. Informal writing, as defined in this study, includes any in-class exercises that provide students the freedom to communicate on paper using their own, familiar discourses. These assignments allow students to be creative, as they can write, draw, map, doodle, etc during these exercises. An analysis of student work, including informal writings, essays, and reflective cover letters, and anonymous surveys suggests that students were able to make meaning in these sometimes dismissed informal exercises.