Autobiographical Writing: A New Method to Approach Reading and Writing in College Writing Courses

1. Introduction

In most lower-division university writing or composition courses in Korea, the primary focus is placed on sentence-building techniques. Students learn to practice basic sentence patterns and learn how to express their thoughts in writing. Needless to say, such activities are a fundamental step toward mastering the written English language. When a student has acquired a satisfactory command over the written language, however, he or she can profit further by looking at the composition process from a holistic point of view. In upper-division writing courses, ideally, an important part of class time and the writing task should be devoted to the rhetorical analyses and strategies of writing. Thus the instructor can initiate many activities such as "invention" to stimulate the students' interest and discuss the various writing assignments in depth. In recent composition studies, the significance of "invention" or prewriting exercise is greatly emphasized. Invention is des...