But You Are a Writer: Analyzing First-Year Composition Courses to Foster Student Confidence in Writing

Abstract

Students in first-year composition courses sometimes discuss their confidence in academic writing with instructors and tutors, but instructor and student perceptions of first-year writing and student confidence are often separated. Literature in the field of rhetoric and composition does not directly explore or define student confidence in writing. This article uses student perceptions of confidence in writing to find the best teaching practices that foster student confidence in writing in first-year composition. The study aims to discover the effects of various teaching styles on student confidence and provide concrete definitions of confidence. Three “Seminar in Writing and Rhetoric” courses participated in this study. Surveys at the start and end of the semester were administered to students, and interviews with four students and each instructor were conducted. After analyzing and interpreting the data, four categories of confidence emerged: personal belief confidence, emotional confidence, skills-based confidence, and risk-taking confidence. Students also identified classroom activities related to brainstorming/topic discussion, professor feedback, and embedded tutoring as the most helpful in fostering their confidence in writing. With this new knowledge of student confidence, instructors can adapt their pedagogies to include teaching practices that intentionally help students become more confident in their writing.