Reframing First-Year Composition: A Translingual Approach to Writing About Writing

This thesis introduces a course design that brings together two successful approaches to teaching First-Year Writing, Writing about Writing Studies and Translingual Writing, to encourage transfer of writing knowledge and ultimately help students be the best writers they can be. The course situates translingualism within the Writing about Writing approach and suggests assignments that will allow students to recognize their language differences as resources to help create new meanings and fight against the discriminatory expectations of “standard” English often seen in academia. By the end of the course, students will gain agency in their writing allowing them to take greater risks in their use of language to inform their writing processes. Students will also gain practice in using linguistic strategies, regardless of being multilingual or not, so they can write successfully across the curriculum.