One of the most common metaphors students rely on in my composition classroom is that of “flow.” In the first peer reviews they write for each other, many will include some variation of, “Your paper flows really well,” or “You need to work on your flow.” It is seemingly the only metaphor at their command when talking about organization or readability. The comment, however, doesn't serve the writer because as my students understand it, flow is a received state of being rather than an active one, and accessing it is akin to magic, luck, or both.
Read Full Article »
