Writing Opportunities: Writing, Learning, and Rightful Presence in College Transitions

Writing Opportunities presents in-depth text histories illustrating the interrelationship of writing, identities, and belonging in college writing transitions. Drawing on more than two years of research with three Latinx/a/o students transitioning from the same high school class to the local university, Brad Jacobson brings together analyses of interview transcripts, student writing, classroom genres, and institutional policies to foreground a sense of belonging as central to writing development and learning.

Including interviews with students and their instructors, Jacobson traces writing opportunities that Hercules, Jain, and Lucy were afforded as they transitioned from high school to college writing, particularly in general education courses. Chapters attend to multiple levels of interaction to show how policies, practices, and social histories can impact opportunities for learning. With attention to dominant discourses of writing that narrow what counts as good writing as well as positive opportunity structures that extend possibilities for identification, engagement, and deep learning, Jacobson also posits writing as an opportunity for writers to explore possibilities for who we are and who we may become.

Jacobson’s humanizing research invites readers to consider opportunity from multiple perspectives and shows how subtle shifts in relationships among students, instructors, and institutions can increase meaningful learning and provide a sense of belonging in educational contexts.

Brad Jacobson is assistant professor of English at the University of Texas at El Paso. His research on college transitions, school writing opportunities, and teacher development has appeared in Written Communication, The Journal of Literacy Research,Composition Studies, English Education, and other journals and edited collections.