AbstractsEducation Research & Administration

The English field has long been fragmented, with the subfields of creative writing and composition separated due to their different pedagogical approaches and goals. Even so, in an effort to encourage better student writing, scholars from as early as the 1960s have explored the benefits of integrating techniques from the creative writing class for use in the composition class. Composition writing instructors, tempted to encourage students to experiment with creative ways of writing, have had to do so behind the closed doors of their classrooms so as not to detract from the composition class’s purpose to teach the traditional conventions that follow the strict standards for academic writing. However, current writing scholars are calling to reform academic writing to appeal to a general audience by changing traditional writing conventions to integrate and accept the use of creative writing elements in formal academic writing. Consequently, popular composition textbooks should reflect this modern trend through their treatment of creative writing elements in composition instruction. This project will examine five commonly used composition textbooks to determine if current composition instruction answers the call from recent scholars to create academic writing that is appealing to a wide audience, through the use of creative writing elements. Although all of these textbooks include instruction and explanation regarding the use of creative writing elements, they differ in their treatment of the elements and their pedagogical implications in the composition class, suggesting that composition instruction must evolve to reflect the reformed expectations of academic writing Advisors/Committee Members: Bates, Courtney (Committee Chair), Tulley, Christine (Advisor).