Write an essay in which you analyze the various arguments perspectives—and weigh in—on the debate over whether writers should use they own English or what colleges should teach when it comes to writing.

Required Texts
You must use both of the following texts:

“What Should Colleges Teach?” (Stanley Fish) AND
“Should Writers Use They Own English?” (Vershawn Ashanti Young).

Required Elements
Include several quotations from each reading in your essay, using the methods described in the hand-out QUOTING OTHERS (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Also see RULES FOR QUOTATIONS AND MORE.
Include a thesis at the end of the introduction:
Your thesis is your answer to the central question: should writers use their own English (at home, at school, in the workplace)?
Tie each body paragraph to your thesis somewhere in the paragraph:
Especially if you agree with Young, you are encouraged to include some of your own dialect in (only) one paragraph of your discussion.
Include a Works Cited: Basic Format
Length: 3-4 pages plus Works Cited.

Introduction: your job is to situate the reader
topic of the essay—what is the question, concern, problem?
introduce the article/s and author/s
author’s full name and credentials (very briefly)
title of article in quotation marks
what do these experts say about the problem—or how do they state the problem?
quote them, briefly
thesis statement at the end of the introduction
this may grow during the process of writing the essay
Body Paragraphs
OPTION: you may choose to follow the sequence of discussion of one of the articles, bringing the other articles into the discussion, as well as your own knowledge, experience, observations, thinking, etc.
ANOTHER OPTION: you may want to look at each source and see how each source answers the question (what should composition teachers teach?—or, should writers use they own English?) and whether you agree or disagree, and why.
Possibilities
CREATE A SIMPLE PLAN OR USE THIS POSSIBLE PLAN—simplified, divided into parts:
What does Fish say the problem with college writing/writing classes is? And what is his remedy?
What does Young say the real problem is? And what does he think should happen instead?
How do the other writers support or oppose Fish or Young?
What do I think?
USE QUOTATIONS
Introduce each writer as you go to quote them for the first time, along with their credentials, and the text they have written:
EXAMPLE: Cultural critic and author James Baldwin provides even more evidence of the power structure Young refers to, delineating the history of dialects in this country in “If Black English Ain’t English, Then Tell Me—What Is?” . . .
INCLUDE YOUR OWN REASONING, EXPERIENCE, OBSERVATIONS, KNOWLEDGE, ETC.
My own experience in writing classes has taught me that . . .
Conclusion