Being Civilly Offensive,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Being Civilly Offensive, Michael O'Shaughnessy
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Michael is a Chemistry student from Middleboro, Massachusetts, who is very passionate about science and fine arts. He is a talented musician who has played several different instruments since he was six years old. Michael also invests time in drawing and writing. He is in his Junior year, is interested in organic synthesis and pharmaceuticals, and hopes to teach chemistry one day in order to share his passion for science. Michael says that this paper was actually very important to him as he reflected on some of the challenges that he was experiencing in his life at the time. “The …
Play-Based Literacy Learning In Early Education,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Play-Based Literacy Learning In Early Education, Sarah Dickinson
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Sarah is an Early Childhood Education major from Warwick, Rhode Island, and ever since she was little, she knew she wanted to have a job in which she was able to help others. After attending freshman orientation she realized she wanted to pursue a teaching career. Sarah says “I have worked in numerous classrooms over the last few years and have noticed the negative effects that didactic teaching practices have on children’s development, as well as their relationship with learning.” Sarah’s goal with her paper was to bring attention to the ways in which play can be reintroduced into early …
Getaway,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Getaway, Callia Chow
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Callia is a first-year student who currently lives in Indonesia and who hopes to study Entrepreneurship in the College of Management. She has an interest in music and languages, and feels that this class was the first time she was “encouraged to think about the connections between her two passions and to create something in both writing and song.” Callia grew up speaking English and Chinese, and through the years she has spoken Indonesian and Korean; she also has learned German and Japanese. She has a great interest in learning new languages and hopes to become fluent in many more. …
2020 Editor's Introduction,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
2020 Editor's Introduction, Lauren M. Bowen
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
No abstract provided.
Possibilities Of Being: Black Women's Storytelling As Archival Undoing,
2026
CUNY Graduate Center
Possibilities Of Being: Black Women's Storytelling As Archival Undoing, Dasharah Green
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
This dissertation constructs a discursive genealogy of Black women’s storytelling, positioning its art and aesthetics as a form of colonial archival undoing. Each chapter explores how transmission and documentation can transform—and circumvent—traditional colonial archives. Beginning at the start of the twentieth-century to present, this project traces the discursive legacies of Zora Neale Hurston, Audre Lorde, Michelle Cliff, and Staceyann Chin, examining each writer as a site of becoming as they individually (and collectively) seek to articulate an expansive idea of a Black world that constitutes a broader understanding of Black freedom. They each share a common goal of creating a …
La Citación En Educación: Funciones Retóricas En Textos Académicos Escritos Por Expertos Y Estudiantes Universitarios,
2026
CUNY New York City College of Technology
La Citación En Educación: Funciones Retóricas En Textos Académicos Escritos Por Expertos Y Estudiantes Universitarios, David Sanchez-Jimenez, Juan Antonio Núñez Cortés, Enrique Alonso Sainz
Publications and Research
The present study aims to investigate the differences in citation usage and frequency among university students and expert writers in the field of Education. The analyzed corpus comprises 50 papers written in this discipline and is divided into two sub-corpora: one consisting of 25 TFGs and the other one formed by 25 articles published in specialized journals. To examine this phenomenon, a qualitative and quantitative methodology was employed, performing a textual analysis of the rhetorical functions of citations. This analysis is based in the typology proposed by Petrić in her 2007 article, slightly modified for the purpose of the present …
Note-Taking Is Not Universally Applicable,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Note-Taking Is Not Universally Applicable, Chloe Tomasetta
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Chloe is a communications major who lives in Braintree, Massachusetts. Chloe wrote this essay in her Composition II course because she “genuinely wanted to explore the typed versus handwritten notes debate.” She said that researching this essay “gave me clarity in my preferred note-taking method,” and she adds: “I hope this essay can be helpful for students who struggle to take notes or choose a note-taking method.” Chloe loves spending time outside, as it “allows me to hear my own thoughts, which can provide clarity in my otherwise chaotic life.”
The Languages We Speak And The Biases That Erase Them,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
The Languages We Speak And The Biases That Erase Them, Siena Santos Edmunds
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Siena is a biology major on the pre-medical track living in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Her essay grew out of her own experience, as she found the language she used with her peers “seemed to me to be filled with all the best modes of storytelling and socializing,” but it seemed to her that her teachers “didn’t always hear what I did and thus missed out on what the language I use has to offer.” Siena is also passionate about social justice, especially in the realm of education. Her mother lacked access to school in her home country of Brazil, and that …
Romanticized Communication: Why Does Modern Dating Suck?,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Romanticized Communication: Why Does Modern Dating Suck?, Brianne Riccio
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Brianne is a nursing major living in Holbrook, Massachusetts. Brianne wrote this essay because “dating in 2019 is insanely difficult and more complicated than it has to be,” and she admits that her research revealed “more faults in my own personal dating life and mentality than I had previously known.” Brianne is deeply passionate about caring for others, and enjoys writing both as a way to help her relieve her own emotional burdens and as a way to connect with other people.
American Arms: A Soldier's Perspective,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
American Arms: A Soldier's Perspective, Steve Prochniak
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Steve is a political science major from Andover, Massachusetts. Steve’s experience in the military had given him an understanding of the practical aspects of the weapons he was trained to use, but his essay came out of a desire to understand the societal impacts of these weapons. Writing this essay both helped Steve develop a better understanding of this complicated issue, and helped him find his passion in exploring “issues and topics that face my community.” In addition to exploring these complex issues, Steve enjoys science fiction, exploration, and just hanging around in the city of Boston.
What Are The Benefits Of Reading For Pleasure?,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
What Are The Benefits Of Reading For Pleasure?, Abigail Pineau
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Abigail is a nursing major living in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Abigail enjoys reading for pleasure, but before researching this essay she “never knew just how impactful it was.” She said that after researching this subject it became “important for me that students and parents know just how impactful pleasure reading is.” In addition to reading, Abigail’s other passion is nursing, as she loves both helping people in need and learning how we function as humans.
Nota Bene: A Study On Latin And Its Influence,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Nota Bene: A Study On Latin And Its Influence, Ashley Kim
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Ashley is a psychology major currently living in Natick, Massachusetts. Ashley took Latin at her high school in Georgia, where she found it to be “one of the most insightful and unique courses I had ever taken.” She was disheartened that her Latin teacher had to struggle to find students to fill her class, and she wrote this paper with that teacher in mind to share “the message of Latin’s intrinsic benefits.” Ashley says that writing is very important for her, and she says “there can be great significance in small moments, and instead of letting those moments slip by, …
English Language Learners Marginalized In Classrooms,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
English Language Learners Marginalized In Classrooms, Nayelis Guerrero
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Nayelis is an undecided major living in Everett, Massachusetts. Nayelis was an English language learner when she first came to the United States, and her essay was inspired by this experience. She says that researching and writing this essay “made me realize the ways in which English language learners can better incorporate themselves socially.” Nayelis is also passionate about helping her community, serving both as a coordinator of a group of Hispanic women that want to jump-start their own businesses and as part of a coalition that works with police in her city to change policies around the police’s interaction …
Letters To My Unrequited Love,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Letters To My Unrequited Love, Ogadimma Ebele
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Ogadimma is a political science major living in Hyde Park, Massachusetts. Writing is her passion and she credits this assignment with helping to further her composition skills. In 2019, she plans to focus all of her energy on pursuing her dream of landing a career in comedy writing.
2019 Editor's Introduction,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
2019 Editor's Introduction, Lauren M. Bowen
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
No abstract provided.
2018 Editor’S Introduction,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
2018 Editor’S Introduction, Lauren M. Bowen
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
No abstract provided.
Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers Of Writing, Native-Speaker Ideologies, And Feedback Uptake In First-Year Composition,
2026
University of Texas at El Paso
Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers Of Writing, Native-Speaker Ideologies, And Feedback Uptake In First-Year Composition, Mustapha Bannerman
Rhetoric and Composition PhD papers
Research on non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) and writing feedback has rarely examined how students’ perceptions of multilingual instructors shape feedback uptake. This critical literature review synthesizes scholarship from composition studies, second language writing, translingualism, and NNEST research to examine this relationship in first-year composition. The review argues that native-speaker ideologies may shape perceptions of instructor credibility in ways that could influence students’ willingness to trust and apply feedback during revision. It identifies a significant gap in existing scholarship and calls for empirical research and pedagogical practices that promote linguistic justice, multilingualism, and equitable writing instruction in higher education.
It All Begins With A Dream,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
It All Begins With A Dream, Eileen M. Riley
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Eileen is an English major from a military family near Fort Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts. Her interest in vintage fashion led her to research representations of women in early 20th century advertisements for the Maidenform bra for her Composition II class. Impressed by the beautiful artwork she discovered in these depictions, Eileen was intrigued by the portrayals of women in roles that were traditionally held by men. Her essay explores how “these ads fed women’s desires for the gender norm dictates of that post-war time in America [and] went beyond these norms by depicting aspirational scenarios.” Eileen lives in Dorchester, …
A Close Look At The Function Of Slang,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
A Close Look At The Function Of Slang, Ana Radonjic Sabbagh
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Ana is an undecided major, born and raised in Boston to Serbian and Lebanese parents. Writing has always been a passion of Ana’s, and she created this research essay as a final project for her Composition II course. She notes that “it was a topic that became increasingly interesting the more I researched it. I was thoroughly surprised by the complex history and function of slang, and I gained a new perspective on the role of language in our daily lives.” Other than writing, Ana’s biggest passion is traveling, and she loves discovering new places, meeting people from all around …
Profanity And Perceptions,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Profanity And Perceptions, Elizabeth Lefrancois
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Lizzie is an Exercise and Health Science major from Blackstone, Massachusetts. Assigned by her Composition II instructor to research an aspect of language that interested her, Lizzie chose to research swearing, which was never allowed in her home. Lizzie’s research enabled her to “open [her] eyes and see much more than a lack of vocabulary” when she heard others using profanity. She explains, “I felt as if I was programmed to think that swearing was this terrible thing that no one should do, and, because of that, I never thought about the positive side of this language.” Lizzie’s essay explores …
