写作何以成为哈佛大学唯一一门必修课程--南希·萨默斯与赫明珠、于海琴的对话

How Expository Writing Has Become the Only Required Course at Harvard University:A Conversation between Nancy Sommers and He Mingzhu,Yu Haiqin

写作是一种用文字和隐喻标记世界的方式,是一个引领学生批判地、深度地阅读和有效地、清晰地书写的过程,是一个让学生发现自己真正关心所在和写出自己所思所想的路径。写作课在美国高校通常是必修课,旨在培养学生的书面沟通能力和批判性思维。哈佛大学说理文写作课程创建于1872年,如今是本科生的唯一一门必修课。对话从南希·萨默斯完成的著作以及她对中国的关注开始,依次展开缘何倾情于写作教育、为何关注修订和反馈研究领域、如何创立哈佛本科生写作工程、因何设立研究生写作工作坊等话题。在对话过程中,萨默斯将所获成功归结为喜爱阅读、喜欢写作,指出学习写作是本科生学习科目的一种方式,认为写作是帮助学生确定人生方向的力量,强调写作是本科教育的核心、修订是写作的核心。另外,萨默斯还对学生写作者的修订策略、对学生写作者的反馈、工作坊中的写作伙伴、一万个小时定律、说与写的关系、写作时内心的恐惧、避免抄袭或剽窃等话题进行了阐述。

Writing is a way to both literally and metaphorically put a mark on the world.It is a process to lead students to read critically and deeply,and write effectively and clearly.It is also an approach to figuring out what ideas students really care about and guiding them to write about these ideas with care and depth.Writing courses are usually required in American colleges and universities,which aim to cultivate undergraduates’written communication ability and critical thinking.The Harvard College Writing Program was founded in 1872,and its expository writing course is the only academic experience required of every undergraduate today.Beginning with her college writing handbooks and expectations for cooperation with China,the interview was carried out with a focus on the following themes:why Nancy Sommers has devoted herself to writing education;why she has focused her research on revision and responding;why she set up the Harvard Writing Project;why she created the Harvard Study of Undergraduate Writing;and why she set up the Writing Workshop for graduate students.In this profound and impressive interview,Sommers attributed her success to loving to read and loving to write.She pointed out that learning to write is a great way for college undergraduates to learn more effectively about the various other subjects which they study,and regarded writing as the power that helps students set a course in life for themselves.At the same time,she stressed that writing is the center of undergraduate education,and that at the heart of writing is really revision.Sommers also elaborated on revision strategies of student writers,responding to student writers,writing partners in the Writing Workshop,the idea of ten thousand hours of practice,the relationship between speaking and writing,“personal dragons,”and avoiding plagiarism.