Teaching Practices in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric
PWR courses are notable for the amount of writing and presenting
students do and for the quantity and quality of response instructors
give to both writing and presentations. Stanford students stand
to learn a great deal by recognizing that they, like all writers
and presenters, have strengths and weaknesses as writers and that
they can improve their writing and presenting, whatever its initial
level, throughout the quarter and their college years. They are
often surprised—and gratified—by having their words
attended to so scrupulously, by having their ideas taken very seriously
indeed, and by being challenged to move beyond old formulas that
worked in high school.
To begin, remember that names are very important. Many Stanford
undergraduates appreciate small classes in which the students and
the instructor know each other’s names. When you get your
class list, take time to go over it, working through any hard-to-pronounce
names and noting any other clues the list can give you. You may
also want to devote a little time during the first few class meetings
to letting the students learn each other’s names.
