Bartholomae Summary

             In the academic article “Inventing the University” Bartholomae speaks to the audience aiming to define a manner in which to better novices’ writing skills. He aspires to properly analyze the causation of university student’s academic deficiencies in formulating essays.  The author states that writers have to “invent the university” each time they write an essay, meaning that students have to create an audience for which the essay will be directed to. To this he adds the idea of students learning to “speak our language”, which is basically to appropriate the way of writing used by the branch being written about. However, given the fact that the knowledge necessary to write from an academic perspective in the topic isn’t adhered until the end of the college career, the student rather replicates the tone and perspective of the topic’s “language”, what Bartholomae calls carrying “out the bluff”.

           

            Bartholomae studies two excerpts to show flaws of beginner writers. The author notes that in the first essay, written by a freshman on clay models, he attempts to enter the setting of a researcher and duplicate the discourse utilized in that area. However, he fails to play the role of a scholarly individual, rather recurs to the voice of teacher authority failing to deliver an academic conclusion. The beginning writer fails to adhere to the role; while the expert writers understand the goals they share with the reader and structures their essay to resemble such. When Bartholomae views the essay of the beginning writer he highlights that the author of that essay fails to use “commonplaces”, these allow a writer to highlight points which have preconceived explanations to disseminate and arrange ideas of accepted conclusions and analysis. The fact Bartholomae used two excerpts of beginners’ essays may limit his conclusions, as he can be generalizing and oversimplifying the mistakes of novice writers highlighted in the article. To further strengthen his conclusion he could have looked at more essays, or surveyed freshmen university professors about students’ writing skills.

            Bartholomae concludes that learning should require invention and discovery. Students should emerge themselves in the discourse community of their branch and learn the conventional writing commonplaces, conclusions, and tonality. As a student writer Bartholomae’s conclusion is one I agree with, given it would aid my writing process. It is true that many times I attempt to replicate the diction and tone accepted within the topic I am writing for, which creates a disjointed and unclear essay. As we discussed in class discourse communities are important to clearly communicate or transmit one’s message. To become a better write I should become familiar with the academic discourse community and conventions for the topic which is being dealt with.