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Student Writing And Non-Traditional Writing Media And Environments, Suzanne Paola, Lori Brock

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: What happens in students’ descriptions of their generative writing when the physical materials of or the environment for writing are de-familiarized?

Method & Data Studied: Writing exercises in English 460: Multi-Genre Creative Writing and English 101: Writing and Critical Inquiry asked students to participate in two material/environmental disruptions. The first exercise consisted of writing with non-dominant hands (brain hemisphere switch) through typing (English 460) or handwriting (English 101). In English 460, the environment was altered from the classroom norm of silence by playing atonal music during the writing exercise. The second exercise offered non-standard paper with the option …