My Challenge
Gretchen Bunde, Instructor, University of Mississippi Department of Writing and Rhetoric
I guess I’m supposed to avoid favoritism in the classroom. But I can’t help it–I love analysis. As a student, it was my favorite type of writing. I enjoy analyzing an author’s choices, whether they occur in the form of precise diction, expertly developed ethos, or strong organizational choices. Now, analysis is my favorite to teach. In class, my students and I can analyze print advertisements, commercials, songs, videos . . . the possibilities are both endless and fun. I find that students are engaged in class and contribute more readily when we analyze a visual text together.
My challenge, though, is helping students transfer that sense of fun to the more traditional texts they may analyze in a college setting. How can I show them the subtle joy of noticing an author’s choices? How can I help them experience the similar joy of deliberately making those choices as authors?