Writing Experiences and Expectations of African American Students: Two Year College Composition Course

This dissertation study has sought to understand both the experiences and expectations provided to students participating in a single basic writing course at a two- year college. Analysis of student writing artifacts, with the goal of comparing 21st century student written purpose with the written purposes shown in19th century African American writings undergirds the study. This study enacts qualitative methodology, three data sources were used to inform the study’s questions: observation, interview and analysis of writing. Study results provide cogent information that show several factors competing against one another in a course that is paradoxically labeled basic and developmental. Observations of class discourse, participant interviews and analysis of student writings show that students expected that instruction emphasize the basic skills of writing. In spite of this, students suggest the basic writing experiences in the course countered their expectations. Equally, students participating in this course wanted strengthening of writing skills and expansion of knowledge – content knowledge and writing technique. The basic expectations of the course barred this type of expansion, thereby offering students partial writing benefit. Taking from the historical writing purpose of 19th century writings, this dissertation offers a reconfigured view on basic and developmental courses.