On Students’ Authority: Writing Works

by Karen Sesterhenn I am the writing coach for an undergraduate syntax course, but I am not a syntactician. The first time I had even studied the subject at length was only the semester before, so I didn’t feel qualified to be a TA for the course as the academic year approached. And I couldn’t follow…

Confessions of a Former Composition Border Collie: Losing and Finding the Edge in Writing Instruction

by Richard Milligan In the iconic Cold War American military drama Top Gun, the most renowned pilot in an elite flight training school, Cougar, played by John Stockwell, remarks: “I’m holding on too tight, I’ve lost the edge.” In my experience as a Writing Intensive Program (WIP) coach, I have had a welcome opportunity to reflect…