Inventing the University

I do not want to be known as just a basic writer. Bartholomae describes a basic writer as someone who does not quite understand the discourse he or she is writing for. He explains that it is very hard for a basic writer to take a role when writing a paper. It is common that he or she will switch from one person to another in their writing. I want to be able to recognize who the group is I am writing for; understand the language they use, take on a specific role and stick with that role. I want to be able to please every discourse I write for. I do not want to enter a discourse and not successfully execute it. He describes a successful writer as someone who can successfully manipulate an audience, accommodate their motives to the reader, and imagine and write from a position of privilege. I need to understand how to be an “insider” like Bartholomae describes. An insider is granted a specific right to speak inside an established and powerful discourse.