Thesis (M.F.A.)--Boston University. Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the locked Download file link and fill out the appropriate web form. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Boston University. Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the locked Download file link and fill out the appropriate web form. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Boston University. Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the locked Download file link and fill out the appropriate web form. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Boston University. Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the locked Download file link and fill out the appropriate web form. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Boston University. Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the locked Download file link and fill out the appropriate web form. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Boston University. Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the locked Download file link and fill out the appropriate web form. / 2031-01-02

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Boston University. Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the locked Download file link and fill out the appropriate web form. / 2031-01-02

This study aims to investigate the effect of a writing program in the mind mapping approach on the linguistic creativity and writing attitude of third-graders in primary school, that employs a nonequivalent pretest-posttest experimental design to examine how mind mapping method affects the linguistic creativity and writing attitude of students. Two groups of 30 3rd students are separately instructed in writing planning which lasting 12 weeks, 80 minutes per week. One group is instructed in mind mapping method for writing as experimental group. The other group is taught regular method without mind approach as a control group. The instruments includes: (1) Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, TTCT; (2) Writing attitude scale; (3) Mind mapping worksheets; (4) The evaluation sheet of mind mapping; (5) Feedback questionnaire; (6) Teacher¡¦s manuscript. The data were analyzed by one-way ANCOVA and frequency ratio analysis. The main findings were as follow: 1. Students who write with mind mapping method perform significantly better on fluency, flexibility and originality of linguistic creativity. 2. Students who write with mind mapping method perform better on writing preparation and motivation, learning attitude and evaluation as well as self-reflection and thinking ability in writing. 3. The fundamental elements of mind mapping which are association, keywords, hierarchies and categories as well as use of color, are helpful learners to complete mind mapping drawing and writing. 4. Results of students work collaboratively more superior than results of students work individually in mind mapping assessment and quantity of key words, thus it can suggest that group working is more suitable for teaching in mind mapping drawing and linguistic fluency. 5. ¡§Keywords¡¨ helps learners increase their writing capacity; ¡§hierarchies and categories¡¨ help learners sense how to write paragraphs and arrange them properly. 6. It finds a high percentage of the experimental group students agree that applying mind mapping method in writing promotes their writing motivation, creative ability and is helpful in developing their writing performance. Keywords: mind mapping, writing program, linguistic creativity, writing attitude

This dissertation centers on the value of work in the institution and composition and rhetoric in the same vane as texts such as Evan Watkin's --Work Time-- and Ernest Boyer's --Scholarship Reconsidered--. The major difference between this project and the others is that I choose the writing center as the site through which I examine academic work. The project is specifically attentive to the hierarchy of research, teaching, and service. It examines how the hierarchy plays out in the center and how writing center workers interpret and apply the hierarchy. While in many instances, the writing centers conform to it, they also resist it and revise it to suit their needs. The institution and composition and rhetoric can learn from and apply their acts of resistance to strengthen higher education as a whole.

Writing program administrators (WPAs) work in constant negotiation with institutional forces outside of individual control, where the concerns of infrastructure impact writing programs continuously. In periods of transition, where new WPAs are entering a program, or the institution itself is shifting around the established program of a seasoned WPA, the ability to understand and rhetorically act in concert with one's infrastructure can often determine the success of a writing program. In this dissertation, I conduct a mixed-methods examination of the phenomenon of WPA infrastructure, situating infrastructure as a rhetorical lens for understanding writing program administrators' work as they face moments of transition in their career. Through a combination of meta-analysis of a subcorpus of WPA lore and stimulated recall interviews with current WPAs in the field, I form a picture of the phenomenon of infrastructural rhetoric and promote its use as a holistic lens to rhetorically engage with complex institutional systems. / Doctor of Philosophy / A writing program administrator (WPA) is an individual who oversees, manages, and implements a writing program on a college campus. Whether they are the organizer of a writing center or the administrator for a first-year writing program, often their job is to direct the vision and resources of the college to achieve goals in writing knowledge. Throughout their operations, WPAs must work within the constraints set down by their institution, colleagues, and physical space. However, while WPAs are often well prepared by their training and education to deal with teaching and writing issues, interactions with these surrounding "infrastructural" constraints often leave WPAs feeling blindsided. In this dissertation, I explore moments of WPA breakdown in their engagements with larger institutional forces. I do this both through a detailed examination of a wide range of personal accounts from WPAs, as well as a series of interviews with members of the field. After finding patterns in these breakdowns and gaining a deeper understanding of WPA work, I work within the accounts of these WPAs to conceptualize the term infrastructural rhetoric to understand institutional forces as relational components essential to persuasion.