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Publish superior quality argumentative research papers of undergraduate student writers, and to provide
resources for students and teachers around the world.
Since its beginning in December of 2003 this website has grown in popularity more than expected. At this
writing, February of 2004, English Discourse receives almost 10,000 visitors per month.
Mission:
As graduate students advance in their studies they encounter significant and increasing
pressure to publish their research. And certainly there exists a heirarchy of journals, refereed
and non-refereed, where beginning scholars may find a home for their writings. However, I have found that few outlets
exist for undergraduates to prepare for the publication pressures of graduate studies. English Discourse -
the e-journal was created to provide such an outlet, its ongoing mission to assist undergraduate
students in preparing for upper-division undergraduate classes and graduate studies, as well as the publication process they will negotiate in the coming years.
The group of undergraduate-scholars published in English Discourse is limited to the students enrolled in the classes
I teach. English Composition I students are often being asked for the first time in their academic
careers to write thesis statements--to make a turn in their writing that evinces a shift from book report style summaries
to writings that frame a debatable point and advance a focused and convincing argument. In effect,
they must learn how to write first year college level papers. As such, the first edition of any given volume number of this e-journal reflects the challenges of
writing solid academic/argumentative prose. As we continue to publish subsequent editions within the same volume, what becomes evident is that students' prosaic skills
progress, as do the fundamentals of proper formatting.
Composition II students also negotiate similar challenges, but at a higher level insofar as Comp II offers more comprehensive training in structural and organizational skills,
MLA Style guidelines, and writing effective academic/agrumentative prose. Just like Comp I students, their skill levels advance from
one edition to the next.
It is my hope that the articles herein are read with a spirit of scholarship appropriate to this e-journal's mission.
--J.R.S.
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