Melodic Expressions: Empowering First-Year Writers through Songwriting

Authors

  • John Ryan Hrebik Hrebik Writing Academy

Keywords:

first-year writing, songwriting, music

Abstract

This article examines how using songwriting in the first-year composition class inspires students to begin utilizing their unique ideas and perspectives when crafting original texts. Moreover, it maintains that songwriting places emphasis on content, while encouraging students to craft the concise, detailed texts associated with academic writing. In particular, the forthcoming discussion highlights three specific songwriting assignments that can be implemented in the first-year writing course, as well as the in-class activities and writing prompts that help inform the subsequent assignments.

Author Biography

John Ryan Hrebik, Hrebik Writing Academy

Dr. John Ryan Hrebik, a writer and musician, holds a Ph.D. in Composition and Rhetoric from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, as well as a M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Chatham University. Currently, John owns and operates the Hrebik Writing Academy, a private tutoring business designed exclusively for students struggling with the writing process. His emancipatory teaching style encourages students to use their own inimitable experiences to shape and construct new knowledge when crafting both creative and academic texts. When he is not teaching writing, John plays drums for the local rock band, Mile Post 6, in Pittsburgh, PA.

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Published

2019-11-16

Issue

Vol. 48 No. 1 (2019): Winter/Spring 2019

Section

Articles

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