All College Writing students at Southwestern College have been busy this spring semester preparing for the “Writing Matters” conference series.

To prepare for the conference, students in each of the eight sections of College Writing selected a theme and then researched their own topic within that theme. Themes are diverse and span from conspiracy theories and the environment, to health, students today, and technology.

“The ‘Writing Matters’ conference is the first of what will become a central component of the College Writing sequence,” says Alice Bendinelli, associate professor of English at Southwestern College.  “Students here have an opportunity to share their voice and place it within a wider scholarly community, therefore broadening the scope of assignments beyond the confines of the classroom. There have been some logistical issues that had to be overcome and the whole project would not have been possible without the team effort of all College Writing instructors (Alice Bendinelli, Michelle Boucher, Nathan Clements, and Suzanne Webb), the support of the administration, and the timely help of Sodexo.”

This series of conferences culminates in two student presentations. The first, open to the public, is a research poster presentation. Posters will be on display in the President’s Art Gallery and on the second floor of Christy Administration Building, Thursday through Monday, April 11-15 for viewing, coinciding with Founders Day Weekend. Also, students will present their research to visitors during their scheduled class times on Thursday (8-10:40 a.m.) and Friday (8-11 a.m., and 1:10-2 p.m.).

“Students, when working with a visual display of their research, really have to stop and think about invention, arrangement, style, and delivery— four of the five canons of rhetoric and concepts that truly matter when presenting research in any form,” says Suzanne Webb, college writing instructor. “Furthermore, sharing their research via poster lets all College Writing students learn from one another--also an invaluable experience.”

Before semester’s end, the students will create a second presentation of their research, an electronic piece that will be viewed and reviewed by their peers.