A Love Affair with Words

As an instructor of writing, I have a love affair with words. I regularly shift roles with regard to words, from reader to writer, professor to consumer, and I see tremendous value in teaching my students how to do the same.  Because composition is my discipline – and words are everywhere! – I find myself constantly editing the world around me. I find typos on billboards, hear grammar errors on the radio, and I have to force myself to put away the red pen when I read a novel. I’m not ashamed to admit that the revisionist hat is on even when I read letters from my young children (in these times, I believe wholeheartedly in censorship).

I have a world view that puts rhetoric on the center of the map. Because words and messages are coming at us from all directions, we must be very much in tune with how these words can be used, misused and abused. We must be mindful of the power that words give us and the weaknesses our words expose. We must learn how NOT to be manipulated by other people’s words. If we are ever to distinguish ourselves in society, we must be effective and proper in how we use words. Words must be our ally.

In order to be effective writers, we must hone our skills of observation and analysis and evaluate how others use words, both correctly and incorrectly. I teach this concept by having students read…a lot! We read from a variety of genres, styles, purposes and periods, which gives students a solid foundation of language. I even ask them to imitate accomplished writers sometimes.

Reflection is another meaningful way for students to sharpen their critical and analytical skills; we reflect on what we read, on what we’ve written, and on our experiences beyond the classroom. Through reflection, students can find meaning in everything, often in ways that they otherwise might have missed. Once students have linked meaning with course objectives, then they are invested and motivated to grow. My hope is that my students will fall in love with words as I have, but most of them simply choose to use words in a way that effectively serves their own interests, and that’s ok with me, too.