THE NATIVE CHORD: PROGRESSION OF CRITICAL THINKING AND WRITING.

摘要

The use of literature to teach composition concerns many instructors of Freshman English. Excluding departmental guidelines, how this literature is used often depends on individual inclinations of instructors. Whether the instructor uses the literature as a model for imitation, as a subject for writing, or as a repository of ideas for discussion, he must face the difficult task of integrating the literature with the composition process. This study looks at the interrelationship between literature and composition in the classroom and shows ways by which first, students can learn to appreciate literature as a reflection of the day-to-day activities of man in general; second, how this appreciation can, in turn, broaden students' thinking; and third, how students learn to express these expanded thoughts in effective writing.;The major findings include: one, literature, the literary essay included, is perhaps one of the swifter avenues to good critical thinking and, since it concerns life-matters, provides the student with a link to expressed ideas which easily become subjects for thought and, therefore, also for writing; two, as a repository of ideas, literature becomes the catalyst to an otherwise untapped reservoir of ideas, emotions, and expressions; and three, literature offers a precedent for students who need reassurance of their innermost thoughts. Having this opportunity to view within literature experiences similar to their own encouraged students to engage in an exchange of reactions to what they have read. These findings are directly related to several major conclusions. First, open exploration of literature as an art form and of reading as a human activity. . . . (Author's abstract exceeds stipulated maximum length. Discontinued here with permission of author.) UMI.;This study is theoretically based on Piaget's idea of self-regulation as it relates to the three basic principles of learning: one, learning as an active process; two, the relativity of perspectives; and three, intellectual activity based on actual experience. The aims and ideas of this study adhere to the premise that one's intellectual development and reasoning ability advance from a less to a more integrated, universal level and rest on the Native Chord: Questions by Which to Explore Literature, to Gain an Understanding of Values Through Association, and to Increase Critical Thought in Writing.