Service-Learning and Writing: A Happy Marriage
Composition scholars point to several features of both service-learning and writing instruction that support a convergence of service and writing in college-level courses:
- The critical awareness demanded for college-level writing is similar to that required for effective community participation.
- Like service-learning, writing instruction bridges academic and nonacademic communities because communication and writing skills are in wide demand and are frequently observed in assessing higher education.
- Multidisciplinary in nature, service-learning and composition programs are in positions to facilitate institutional and community cooperation; conversely, both are challenged to secure their positions without strong ties to a single discipline.
- Both service-learning and composition are relatively undertheorized, and their union helps to raise questions about each, as well as about larger issues.
View Benefits of Service-Learning in Writing Courses