Tell Me a Story: Using Narratives to Break Down Barriers in Composition Courses

Stories have great power. This book attempts to harness that power to help students grow and develop as writers. It argues that stories and narratives can be utilized in the composition classroom, specifically first-year composition (FYC) to break down barriers. Throughout a given semester, stories and narratives can help students in composition courses to overcome academic, personal, and creative barriers, establishing a space for developing as writers and thinkers. Providing theoretical approaches, practical methods, and implications for using stories in FYC, this book explores the versatility of stories as teaching tools.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements Introduction: The Role of Stories and Narratives in Composition Section One: Breaking Barriers Chapter 1: Breaking the Ice: The Teacher as “Story” Chapter 2: Using Narratives in First-Year Composition Courses to Allow Students to Confront the Traumatic Chapter 3: Narratives as Gateways to Reflection Chapter 4: Narratives as a Catalyst for Research Chapter 5: As the Semester Ends: The Writing Portfolio as Narrative Chapter 6: Stories in an Online Environment Section Two: Implications and Conclusions Chapter 7: “Why Did You Give Me Such a Bad Grade?”: Providing Constructive Assessment of Narratives Chapter 8: “Yes, But…”: Establishing a Language Base for Working With Stories Chapter 9: Implications for New Teacher Training Bibliography About the Authors Index

About the Author :
Anthony Fulton received his PhD in English from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in 2015, specializing in Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC). He teaches composition and argumentation courses at Prince George’s Community College. Christopher B. Field received his PhD in English from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in 2015, his MA in English from the University of Dayton in 2005, his BA in English from the University of Cincinnati in 2003, and his AA from Sinclair Community College in 2001. He has served as an Assistant Professor of English in the Languages, Literature, and Philosophy department at Tennessee State University since 2015. Michael MacBride received his PhD in English from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in 2014, his MA in literature from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and his BS in creative writing from Eastern Michigan University. Since 2005, he has taught a variety of English, literature, and humanities courses at six different institutions.

Review :
Beyond ‘What I Did on My Summer Vacation’ -- finally, a text that makes a convincing case for integrating narrative writing with research and argumentation in English Composition. Fulton, MacBride, and Field firmly root their book in composition and rhetoric scholarship while offering practical, useful teaching tools for FYC instructors. A confessed skeptic on the uses of narrative in English Composition, by the time I finished reading I was coming up with my own ideas for how narrative might be repurposed for argumentative essays. Tell Me a Story is persuasive. I tend to shy away from teaching forms of narrative in my first-year composition classes, mainly because the genre has potential for raw, intimate, and even uncomfortable story lines from students. This text dismantled my skepticism by offering practical pedagogy that validates the rich benefits that narratives can offer both teachers and students. Outlined in such a way that it reads like a ‘guide to the semester,’ this text offersactivities from day one in the classroom, to the process of understanding and affirming the narrative genre, to writing narratives, and then to reflecting on the writing process and including the narrative in a writing portfolio. The authors have carefully constructed an activity-based text crafted from tensions, uncertainties, and learned lessons that are relatable and perfect for any instructor who wants or needs guidance through the narrative genre.