The CEA Forum - Winter/Spring 2007 - Special Section: Empathy and Ethics - Empathy, Ethics, and Writing Instruction

Oct 15, 2026

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Empathy and ethics are presented as inseparable in writing instruction, grounded in the responsibility to respect differences among students while maintaining clear standards. Through a classroom example, the text contrasts ethical listening with objective evaluation based on intelligibility and coherence. It draws on L. M. Toner’s framework, mapping eight composition theories to three ethical viewpoints—deontological, virtue, and consequentialist—and explains how each orientation shapes teaching goals, methods, and expectations for student writing.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

Special Section: Empathy and Ethics

Empathy, Ethics, and Writing Instruction

The Situation

Toner's First Ethical View

Toner's Second Ethical View

Toner's Third Ethical View

The CEA Forum Winter/Spring 2007: 36.1 SPECIAL SECTION: EMPATHY AND ETHICS EMPATHY, ETHICS, AND WRITING INSTRUCTION Carole Pelttari Empathy and ethics can and must co-exist in regard to writing instruction in order to respect the differences among us. My abilities to practice this in both attitude and principle have been stretched a time or two. For instance, while teaching academic English at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, one student was certain I had assigned him a low grade merely because he criticized United States policies in a paper. In reality, I appreciated the passion with which he presented his case. Instead, the paper received low marks due to its unclear language and the run-on sentences that often produced incoherent paragraphs. Still, I read and re-read the paper carefully, and I asked colleagues for advice because I recognized that the student and I held differing ethical views. L. M. Toner's dissertation has been a helpful resource for me in college classrooms. Toner provides categories that can assist college writing instructors as we seek to practice empathy and apply ethics. Although Toner's work is more than a decade old, it has not been duplicated. EBSCOHost cites1161 peer-reviewed articles dealing with ethics and writing, but most of those articles discuss student plagiarism. Further, the discussion of writing instruction and ethics is apparently missing since 319 entries can be found under "writing instruction" but none under "writing instruction AND ethics." The Situation Instruction is guided by beliefs, and beliefs in regard to the teaching of writing will vary because writing is essentialist and constructivist, a discipline and an art, process and product, and is dependent upon cognitive, affective, and volitional processes. Essentialism cannot be excluded from writing because writing does not communicate unless the writer adheres to intelligible conventions. At the same time, writing, by its very nature, is constructive. Before the act of writing, nothing tangible exists; however, in each stage, from planning to drafting, to revising and beyond, a new essence takes shape, a tangible something is constructed. This construction may be used to produce rhetoric that is in line with divergent ideologies such as conservative thought, Marxist methods, or liberation pedagogy. Toner identifies and describes eight theories of composition (current-traditional, civic education, expressionist, feminist care, heuristic inquiry, socio-cognitive, Marxist cultural studies, feminist sophistic) and divides the theories among three overarching ethical viewpoints: deontological, virtue, and consequentialist. Toner's First Ethical View In a deontological view, duties and rights are emphasized. Current-traditional and civic educators belong to Toner's deontologists. Current-traditionalists are described as those who place emphasis on universal standards for writing while seeking to guide students to "represent truth (or 'facts') clearly and accurately and present that truth in very clearly organized textual form" (Toner 39) that carefully conforms to prescribed norms of composition. The civic educator also adheres to universal writing standards and seeks to enable students to apply those rules to their own writing while instilling in "students a sense of their obligations as public servants" (51) which can be fulfilled through their writing. Conservatives promote deontological views when they suggest that language and literature "should celebrate the achievements of the past ... and the heroes and heroines who best exemplify the group's values and aspirations" (Gutek 201) . Therefore, when I emphasize grammar and traditional organization of content, my deontological view is showing. When another professor, hoping to instill a sense of civic responsibility, prompts students to write letters to an editor or requires students to prepare a biography of an esteemed individual, that

FAQs

Why does the text argue that empathy and ethics must coexist in writing instruction?

It argues that ethical instruction requires respecting differences among learners while still judging writing by intelligible conventions and coherent communication. Empathy supports fair engagement, and ethics guide responsible evaluation.

What classroom example is used to illustrate empathy and ethical evaluation?

A student believed a low grade resulted from his criticism of U.S. policies. The instructor explains the grade reflected unclear language and run-on sentences, while also showing empathy by reading carefully, re-reading, and seeking colleague advice because differing ethical views were recognized.

How does Toner’s framework connect composition theories to ethical viewpoints?

Toner identifies eight composition theories and organizes them into three overarching ethical viewpoints: deontological, virtue, and consequentialist. Each viewpoint is linked to different teaching emphases and goals for how students learn to write.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by SANS