Journal 3

When Bartholomae states that students must “invent the university” he is referring to the idea that they must speak the same language as the community and the various discourses that come along with it. The student must in a sense put themselves in the audiences “shoes”, as individuals and as a whole. This must be done with a certain poise and ease and in a sense look effortless. In order to help with this process Bartholomae suggests set phrases, rituals, gestures, habits of mind, tricks of persuasion, obligatory conclusions, and necessary connections.
In the first example of student writing, in which a student followed the prompt of describing a creative time and to draw some general conclusions about creativity, the student referred back to a time in which at a football game he decided to switch up the uniform by wearing white socks and white shoes instead of black shoes and the traditional team socks. His idea of creativity was once you come up with something in your head it will be “original and unique” because it came about from your own “imagination”. He continues on to state how he believes if anyone tries to copy the idea it wouldn’t matter because it was your own original first thought. My translation of what he says is no idea can necessarily be copied because they all come from each individuals mind and can be perceived as something completely different as how the “first” perceived it.
The second student chosen wrote about her love for music and how it continued on until she began to start creating music of her own. She stated that at the time she felt her ideas were original but as time continued she began to feel as if her songs were oversimplified versions of songs she listened to at the time. But she then continues to bring about the idea that since she did not purposely copy these songs, she was effectively originating these ideas from her own “process of creativity”, she referenced the more highly equipped songs as her ideas for “inspiration”.
Bartholomae’s opinion of the first writer was not a fond one stating that his paper did not seem tidy but yet the discourse seemed natural and smooth. He also goes on to state that he believes some students are able to enter this discourse with more “stylistic maneuvers” as the second writer did. Bartholomae not only complements the vocabulary but the way she refers to her own language and that of others as well. The first writers sentences were ones of less control.