Call for Papers: Special Issue of English Journal
Writing Is Power: Helping Students Craft Their Wor(l)ds
Dr. Pamela J. Hickey and Dr. Vicki McQuitty are serving as guest editors for this special issue.
Submission Deadline: May 15, 2017
Publication Date: January 2018
As English teachers, we believe strongly in the power of words. We recognize that our words—particularly when written down and then carefully revised—have the power to create new realities and change our world. We strategically use writing to position ourselves within important conversations and add our voices in purposeful, meaningful, and powerful ways.
Yet, too often, our students experience writing as a disempowering act. Though they write constantly, texting and posting to social media, in school they write to get a grade rather than to say something important. They ask, “How long does it have to be?” rather than “How can my words make a difference?” They mechanically follow the rubrics rather than critically and strategically crafting their voices.
This issue of English Journal seeks articles about how teachers empower their students as writers in the 21st century. What writing assignments—including texts that mix images, audio, and spatial patterns of meaning with words—do you use to inspire your students? How do you help them add their voices to important conversations? How do you support them as they learn to think critically and strategically about what and how they write? How can teachers help their students experience writing as meaningful and powerful act?
We invite manuscripts of 2,500-3,750 words, written to an audience of educators in grades 7-12.
For more information, visit http://www.ncte.org/journals/ej/calls
