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Uses June Jordan’s teaching experience and Black English to illustrate how race can create classroom discomfort while also enabling collaborative engagement with language, race, and literacy.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/standards-of-english-literature-as-language-standard/598764/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/standards-of-english-literature-as-language-standard/598764.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"awa","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",6,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why has literature historically been used to define “correct” language in American composition programs?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"For nearly 200 years, American composition programs have used literature through textbooks, entrance examinations, and writing credit systems to characterize competent language use and literary analysis.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How does the essay argue composition teachers should use literature differently?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"It argues that teaching with literature that represents nonstandard dialects can work against students’ assumptions, foster inclusion, and raise all students’ rhetorical awareness.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What example does the essay use to show how language standards and race affect classroom discussion?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It discusses June Jordan’s experiences teaching stories written in Black English, including students’ initial negative reactions focused on language and the later realization of why Black English was 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nearly 200 years , American composition programs have used literature as a measure of “correct” written and spoken language use. Through Hugh Blair’s and George Campbell’s 18th century textbooks , which featured excerpts of belletristic literature (Brody 102 09; Connors 72 9); Harvard’s 19th century entrance examinations , which tested students ’ aptitude for literary analysis (Miller 63 4); and today ’s granting of college writing credit for A. P. literature exams , familiarity with literature has come to characterize competent student writers and their writing. Because of this vexed history , the question of whether to teach literature in composition courses has elicited considerable discussion within English Studies , with no clear resolution (Crowley; Elbow, 2002; Gamer; Lindemann; Steinberg; Tate) . Significantly , literature’s status as the benchmark against which other language use should be measured represents one of the many reasons composition theorists like Crowley , Lindemann, and Steinberg oppose its use in writing courses .  \nThe variety and constant change within “literary” language, however, complicates literature’s possible contributions to composition. Following Mark Richardson’s recent suggestion to “look beyond ‘should we teach literature in composition or shouldn’t we’ to the question of if we teach literature, how should we do so?” (279), this essay considers how writing classes that routinely include literature representing non standard dialects might serve various first year populations . Students who routinely use non standard forms typically come to college aware of the practical consequences of language choices yet socialized to reject alternative standards within academic settings . Many privileged students assume standard English represents the correct language and perceive other forms as incorrect versions of it (Barnett 33) . By including literature with multiple standards in composition classes , teachers may work against both groups ’ assumptions and, in so doing, foster a more inclusive view of language. Such an approach could empower users of non standard forms , who may benefit from seeing the language they use represented in print; help privileged students to recognize that language varieties are always socially constructed; and, most importantly , foster dialogue that raises all students ’ rhetorical awareness .  \nIn this essay , I suggest recent developments in English studies and popular culture create an opportune moment for writing teachers to welcome such literature in composition curricula. I then describe how studying stories by John Edgar Wideman enabled first year composition students to engage political and interpersonal issues surrounding language choice, specifically in the case of Black English. Despite teachers ’ intentions of promoting diversity and empowering non white or non privileged students , however, my experience illustrates the extent to which the subject of race remains a source of discomfort for students and instructors—to the point where a class taught in the late 1990s , at which time I was a graduate instructor, continues to shape my pedagogical approach. With reference to this discomfort , I conclude by arguing that exploring literature in writing courses could encourage members of the classroom community , teachers and students alike, to collaboratively confront concerns about language, race, and literacy.  \nLiterature as Language Standard  \nDespite its use in pedagogies designed to indoctrinate students into standard language use, free of regional , racial , or class based dialects , literature—ironically—has always representedlinguistic diversity. One need look no further than Chaucer’s and Shakespeare’s canonical texts to see literary representations of disparate, even clashing, literacies . Recent curricular expansions and multicultural ped","cbCaimEYfREuMqf5","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimEYfREuMqf5","pdf",288023,"English","# Standards of English: Literature as Language Standard\n## Literature as Language Standard","[{\"question\":\"Why has literature historically been used to define “correct” language in American composition programs?\",\"answer\":\"For nearly 200 years, American composition programs have used literature through textbooks, entrance examinations, and writing credit systems to characterize competent language use and literary analysis.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the essay argue composition teachers should use literature differently?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that teaching with literature that represents nonstandard dialects can work against students’ assumptions, foster inclusion, and raise all students’ rhetorical awareness.\"},{\"question\":\"What example does the essay use to show how language standards and race affect classroom discussion?\",\"answer\":\"It discusses June Jordan’s experiences teaching stories written in Black English, including students’ initial negative reactions focused on language and the later realization of why Black English was needed to convey identity and experience.\"}]","Standards of English: Literature as Language Standard | PDF",1792087555,23]