Smart Writing: Demonstrable and Measurable Skills for More Sophisticated Writing

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Description

Language arts teachers face a complex task in writing instruction, balancing grammar, mechanics, arrangement, coherence, genre, research, technology, and syntaxall while addressing an elusive quality often labeled richness, sophistication, rigor, complexity, or depth, and sometimes wrapped into the broader concept of critical thinking. This intellectual or epistemic dimension, long considered central to writing and consistently emphasized in learning outcomes, has proven difficult to define, model, or assess. Despite efforts through critical thinking models and taxonomies, translating those abstract qualities into concrete writing instruction remains a challenge. Smart Writing addresses this persistent dilemma by identifying specific, demonstrable, and measurable skillsclear rhetorical moves that students can practice and teachers can assess. These moves inherently foster intellectual complexity, helping students produce deeper, more sophisticated writing that aligns with educational goals and prepares them for academic and professional success.

Author Bio

John Mauk began professional life as a liaison between university initiatives and school curricula. As a graduate student in rhetoric and composition, he worked closely with public school teachers and their students. Later, with a PhD, he taught writing and rhetorical theory at three different colleges. He was twice elected professor of the year and received numerous commendations for teaching excellence and student support. He also served as co-director of a National Writing Project site and as the coordinating advisor for Professional Writing majors at Miami University. Mauk also wrote three successful college textbooks: The Composition of Everyday Life (Cengage Learning), Inventing Arguments (Cengage Learning), and Culture: A Reader (Oxford University Press). His pedagogical approach became known for its practical application across curricula and institutions. In recent years, Mauk took up literary writing, publishing stories, essays, and articles about multi-genre writing. He now teaches for adult continuing education programs.