Student's Research on Blogs Published in Print and Online
A little more than a year ago, Monique Shetayh '09 felt unsure about her ability as a writer. But that's changed, she says, thanks to Joel Wingard, professor of English and director of the Writing-across-the-Curriculum Program, and his class, "Theories of Composition and Rhetoric Writing."
Shetayh's persuasive article about the use of blogs as a teaching tool—written originally for Dr. Wingard's class—is one of twelve articles in the current issue of Young Researchers in Writing: Undergraduate Research in Writing and Rhetoric, a peer-reviewed journal that is indexed by the Modern Language Association and is part of the MLA Bibliography.
"Through classroom discussion and research, I decided to focus on blog-writing for the assignment," she said. "When we talked about blogging in class, there were many different opinions about the quality of the writing. But I found a lot of good writing in blogs." Shetayh compiled additional research on the topic from education and language journals.
"Dr. Wingard thought my paper was good and he encouraged me to submit it for publication—even though I didn't feel that it was good enough to be published." After making suggested revisions and receiving additional encouragement from Professor Wingard, "I finally submitted it to YSW last spring." Over the summer, Shetayh worked with the journal's editors to revise and refine the article for publication.
"Having my article published has given me more confidence in my writing, and motivates me to continue," she says. Shetayh hopes to study political science in graduate school this fall.
Read Monique Shetayh's article "Wrapping Up in the Online World: Technology, Communication, Blogging, and Youth Today" in the current issue of YSW.
Submissions for Young Scholars in Writing Volume 8 will be accepted until June 30, 2010. Address all inquiries to Dr. Jane Greer, editor, at greerj@umkc.edu.