Four Things I Would Tell a New College Writing Instructor

If I were giving four pieces of advice to a new college writing instructor, I would say this:

1. Use popular movies to introduce writing themes because movies reflect shared obsessions, anxieties, and concerns that will resonate with your students.
2. Since your course content and grading will be on Canvas, give your students feedback as quickly as possible. Don’t make them wait more than 24 hours. Prompt feedback shows students that they matter, especially when you see them only once a week in a hybrid class or not at all in an online course.
3. Show students how AI can produce lame, overwrought writing that is mostly fluff. At the same time, demonstrate how AI can be a useful tool for improving grammar and sentence structure and for learning how to write sandwich paragraphs and follow MLA format.
4. If you’re teaching in a classroom, encourage students to appreciate the rare opportunity to gather with people from different walks of life and engage in civil discussions about the controversies of the day. Such exchanges sharpen their critical thinking and social skills while creating an environment that stands in opposition to the toxic polarization infecting so much of society today.