Douglas Downs and Elizabeth Wardle made interesting points that discussed the crucial need for students to develop research abilities and successfully apply it to rhetorical situations. In their own terms, they refer to this situation as FYC, also known as First-Year Composition. I do concur that instructors should be “expert readers” in the sense that they should be familiar with the content they are teaching. However, I am sure there are educators who tend to teach the same thing every year and to multiple classes so they are more than likely to be familiarized with the content they are teaching. Personally, when I was in undergrad and I took Intro to Writing, we focused on a theme for the whole semester. I do not think that focusing on a theme took away any attainable knowledge or research skills if we had gone a different route. As I stated earlier, I believe an educator must know the content they are providing because it is the only way to efficiently teach a writing course. Elizabeth Wardle also had stated “Reading and teaching the knowledge of the field can change the culture of a composition program, affect its measurable outcomes, and impact the ways that writing teachers view themselves and the ways they are viewed (and compensated) by others.” (13) . I completely agree with the fact that what an educator teaches shapes their outcomes and knowledge in that field. But this is also why advocates are helpful for many institutions because the support support someone has, the more they are able to achieve in their line of work. I feel like this article specifically written by Elizabeth Wardle focused on students outcome yes, but also shined light on the much needed support for educators. Educators are always being criticized for their ways of teaching but society never understands why.
First-Year Composition
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