Gae Lynn Henderson, Wayne State University

Writing assignments carry political ramifications even when they attempt neutrality: students should learn that all writing occurs within larger contexts of power. To accomplish his goal, I advocate instruction derived from practices of critical rhetoric, critical revision, and critical discourse analysis. Rhetoric education, based on Donald Lazere's Reading and Writing for Civic Literacy, trains students not only for academic writing, but for citizenry. Students write what David Bartholomae calls "practical criticism," critically revising their own texts. Also, students may practice the methodology of critical discourse analysis as prescribed Thomas Hucklin, in a course that integrates civic literacy with introductory CDA assignments.