Written Communication Jan 2020

Toward Wayfinding: A Metaphor for Understanding Writing Experiences

Jonathan Alexander ; Karen Lunsford ; Carl Whithaus University of California, Davis

Abstract

In this essay, we map out four major approaches to the study of writing experiences: (a) worlds apart, (b) literacy in the wild, (c) ecologies and networks, and (d) transfer. We examine how the primary metaphors used in each approach have contributed to our field’s understanding of writing. In focusing on specific dimensions of writing, each framework privileges a different aspect of the writing process, writing development, and/or writers’ context(s). Building on these approaches, we propose the concept of wayfinding to emphasize how writers navigate their own writing development, skills acquisition, and changing knowledge about writing over time. Wayfinding offers a metaphor that resonates with recent work on lifelong learning and meaningful writing. Among other characteristics, wayfinding emphasizes how writers encounter a continuous potentiality in writing and how they navigate unanticipated challenges and opportunities.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2020-01-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088319882325
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
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