| Although writing often circulates beyond the control and intentions of the writer, writers do have some agency in publication. And by “publication,” we do not mean only mass reproduction. Publication can be any way that we “make public” our texts, even if they never reach multitudes of readers. Publishing final versions of students’ writing validates them as writers and also helps convey to them a sense of the communicative purpose of writing. And by publishing students’ texts as essays to be read, just like essays in a magazine or book, we hope to heighten students’ sense of themselves as real writers with real audiences interested in their ideas. |
