Tell Me a Story

Anthony Fulton received his PhD in English from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in 2015, specializing in Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC). He teaches composition and argumentation courses at Prince George’s Community College.Christopher B. Field received his PhD in English from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in 2015, his MA in English from the University of Dayton in 2005, his BA in English from the University of Cincinnati in 2003, and his AA from Sinclair Community College in 2001. He has served as an Assistant Professor of English in the Languages, Literature, and Philosophy department at Tennessee State University since 2015.Michael MacBride received his PhD in English from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in 2014, his MA in literature from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and his BS in creative writing from Eastern Michigan University. Since 2005, he has taught a variety of English, literature, and humanities courses at six different institutions.

• AcknowledgementsIntroduction: The Role of Stories and Narratives in CompositionSection One: Breaking BarriersChapter 1: Breaking the Ice: The Teacher as “Story”Chapter 2: Using Narratives in First-Year Composition Courses to Allow Students to Confront the TraumaticChapter 3: Narratives as Gateways to ReflectionChapter 4: Narratives as a Catalyst for ResearchChapter 5: As the Semester Ends: The Writing Portfolio as NarrativeChapter 6: Stories in an Online EnvironmentSection Two: Implications and ConclusionsChapter 7: “Why Did You Give Me Such a Bad Grade?”: Providing Constructive Assessment of NarrativesChapter 8: “Yes, But…”: Establishing a Language Base for Working With StoriesChapter 9: Implications for New Teacher TrainingBibliographyAbout the AuthorsIndex

Beyond ‘What I Did on My Summer Vacation’ -- finally, a text that makes a convincing case for integrating narrative writing with research and argumentation in English Composition. Fulton, MacBride, and Field firmly root their book in composition and rhetoric scholarship while offering practical, useful teaching tools for FYC instructors. A confessed skeptic on the uses of narrative in English Composition, by the time I finished reading I was coming up with my own ideas for how narrative might be repurposed for argumentative essays. Tell Me a Story is persuasive.