Writing is not just about conveying 'content' but also about the representation of self. (One of the reasons people find writing difficult is that they do not feel comfortable with the 'me' they are portraying in their writing. Academic writing in particular often poses a conflict of identity for students in higher education, because the 'self' which is inscribed in academic discourse feels alien to them.)The main claim of this book is that writing is an act of identity in which people align themselves with socio-culturally shaped subject positions, and thereby play their part in reproducing or challenging dominant practices and discourses, and the values, beliefs and interests which they embody. The first part of the book reviews recent understandings of social identity, of the discoursal construction of identity, of literacy and identity, and of issues of identity in research on academic writing. The main part of the book is based on a collaborative research project about writing and identity with mature-age students, providing: - a case study of one writer's dilemmas over the presentation of self;- a discussion of the way in which writers' life histories shape their presentation of self in writing;- an interview-based study of issues of ownership, and of accommodation and resistance to conventions for the presentation of self;- linguistic analysis of the ways in which multiple, often contradictory, interests, values, beliefs and practices are inscribed in discourse conventions, which set up a range of possibilities for self-hood for writers.The book ends with implications of the study for research on writing and identity, and for the learning and teaching of academic writing.The book will be of interest to students and researchers in the fields of social identity, literacy, discourse analysis, rhetoric and composition studies, and to all those concerned to understand what is involved in academic writing in order to provide wider access to higher education.

"When Josie and her brother Fox discover the truth behind the legend of the Mothman, they must stop a disaster in order to break the curse that has been afflicting their town."--

"In the United States, we are constantly defining and redefining who we are to each other. As quick as we are to pull ourselves together as "Americans" in times of war or natural disaster, we also incessantly define the other, at times favorably, at other times not so much. We band together as "us" to defend our freedoms and safety from outside threats, yet we also move away from each other and maintain our differences, our uniqueness, our independence. We are a nation of commonalities, differences, natives, immigrants, and visitors. We recognize that our strength is our ability to intelligently negotiate our independence and dependence, and similarities and differences with each other. The negotiation process takes place because we are a nation of readers and writers. We inform ourselves to understand issues important to us, and we then share our thoughts with others, trying to inform or persuade them of what we believe is the correct way to understand or act in a situation. To understand our ever-changing society, the issues important to it, and take stands on issues, we by necessity must read. To get our views out there, we write. In order to read and write well, we must understand rhetorical principles, our roles and identities, and the writing processes that are the foundations of literacy and writing practices. Why learn to read and write, or become more sophisticated readers and writers? Take a moment to think about what we could not do if we could not read or write. Could we shop online? Could we read the text that helps as we play a video game? Could we read or send an e-mail, a text or tweet, or post to our Facebook or Skype accounts? The answer to all of these is, No. Nothing in these environments would make any sense. Imagine trying to make a résumé or write a research paper or lab report. Our world and work possibilities would diminish substantially from how we experience them now. The more schooling we have the better and more varied are our reading and writing skills, and from these refined skills more opportunities exist for us. The processes that we go through to become highly literate are many and complex. Traditional literacies, the abilities to read and write, and digital or electronic literacies, the abilities to communicate and understand using multimodal means, are a vast network of possibilities and challenges that we must learn at increasing levels of sophistication and complexity. Throughout our years in school we will need to advance our critical reading and writing skills through study and practice. Each chapter's title in Identity: A Reader for Writers is a question about our identity, from "What's in a Name? The Role of Language and Identity" to "Where Do You Draw the Line? Privacy, Socializing, and Life without Boundaries." The Second edition of Identity includes three new chapters: Chapters 6 explores readings that help us talk about gender: "Who Decides Gender? Notions of Gender & Identity," Chapter 7 "How Are Your Political Views Formed? Political Identity, Alliance, & Exclusion" helps us find common language among the complexities in identifying and taking political stances, and Chapter 8 "How Can I Become a Better Writer?" guides us to better understand what is involved in transitioning from student writers to experienced writers"--

In this book, Hertha D. Sweet Wong examines the intersection of writing and visual art in the autobiographical work of twentieth- and twenty-first-century American writers and artists who employ a mix of written and visual forms of self-narration. Combining approaches from autobiography studies and visual studies, Wong argues that, in grappling with the breakdown of stable definitions of identity and unmediated representation, these writers-artists experiment with hybrid autobiography in image and text to break free of inherited visual-verbal regimes and revise painful histories. These works provide an interart focus for examining the possibilities of self-representation and self-narration, the boundaries of life writing, and the relationship between image and text. Wong considers eight writers-artists, including comic-book author Art Spiegelman; Faith Ringgold, known for her story quilts; and celebrated Indigenous writer Leslie Marmon Silko. Wong shows how her subjects formulate webs of intersubjectivity shaped by historical trauma, geography, race, and gender as they envision new possibilities of selfhood and fresh modes of self-narration in word and image.

Black Women Writing and Identity is an exciting work by one of the most imaginative and acute writers around. The book explores a complex and fascinating set of interrelated issues, establishing the significance of such wide-ranging subjects as: * re-mapping, re-naming and cultural crossings * tourist ideologies and playful world travelling * gender, heritage and identity * African women's writing and resistance to domination * marginality, effacement and decentering * gender, language and the politics of location Carole Boyce-Davies is at the forefront of attempts to broaden the discourse surrounding the representation of and by black women and women of colour. Black Women Writing and Identity represents an extraordinary achievement in this field, taking our understanding of identity, location and representation to new levels.

This book presents the innovative pedagogy of Writing Fantasy: a method for exploring and shifting one’s identity as a writer. The book draws on qualitative research with undergraduate creative writing students and fills a gap in the literature exploring creative writing pedagogy and creative writing exercises. Based on the potential to shift writer identity through creative writing exercises and the common ground that these share with the stance of the Lacanian analyst, the author provides a set of guidelines, exercises and case studies to trace writing fantasy, evidenced in one’s creative writing texts and responses about creative writing. This innovative work offers fresh insights for scholars of creativity, Lacan and psychosocial studies, and a valuable new resource for students and teachers of creative writing.

In this practical, engaging book, former elementary school teacher and university professor Brian Kissel asks teachers to go back to the roots of writing workshop. What happens when students, not planned teaching points, lead writing conferences? What happens when students, not tests, determine what they learned through reflection and self-evaluation? Writing instruction has shifted in recent years to more accountability, taking the focus away from the writer. This book explores what happens when empowered writers direct the writing workshop. Through stories from real classrooms, Brian reveals that no matter where children come from, they all have the powerful, shared need to be heard. And when children choose their writing topics, their lives unfold onto the page and teachers are educated by the young voices and bold choices of these writers. Written in an engaging, teacher-to-teacher style, this book focuses on four key components of writing workshop, with an eye on what happens when teachers step back and allow students to drive the instruction: Conferring sessions where students lead and teachers listen Author's Chair where students set the agenda and ask for feedback Reflection time and structures for students to set goals and expectations for themselves Mini-lessons that allow for detours based on students' needs, not teacher or curricular goals Each of the chapters includes practical ideas, a section of Guiding Beliefs, a list of Frequently Asked Questions, and some Digital Diversions to help teachers see the digital possibilities in their classrooms.