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Trustee Scholarship recipient Heather Bastian ’03 (Hamburg, Pa.) is finishing her Lafayette career with a flourish — publishing an article in a scholarly journal, earning honors in English, and receiving the English department’s top awards for outstanding students.
Bastian, who will pursue a master’s in secondary education at West Chester University this fall, coauthored “When Peer Tutors Write about Writing” with fellow English major and Writing Associate Lindsey Harkness ’03, which was recently published in Young Scholars in Writing: Undergraduate Research in Writing and Rhetoric.
The article was based on research the students conducted with Bianca Falbo, assistant professor of English, on how Lafayette Writing Associates reflect on their writing before and after an annual summer workshop. They conducted the work through Lafayette’s distinctive EXCEL Scholars program, in which students collaborate with faculty on research while earning a stipend. Many of the more than 160 participants each year present their research in scholarly journals and/or conferences.
Bastian has earned Lafayette’s Class of 1883 Prize, awarded annually to one senior English major who has demonstrated superiority in English, and the Gilbert Prize, another honor for top English majors.
She also has completed a yearlong research project exploring how and why style as traditionally defined is problematic for the field of composition and students. A faculty panel has awarded Bastian honors in English following her presentation and defense of her research paper.
Her mentor for the honors thesis, William Carpenter, assistant professor of English, is co-editor of the Allyn & Bacon Sourcebook for Writing Program Administrators. At the outset, Bastian knew that she was interested in issues of composition, but Carpenter was instrumental in helping her narrow her focus and giving her direction, she says. She spent the first part of her study examining how writing style has been defined and practiced historically.
“I argue that the theory of style has remained problematic because it is not appropriately considered in composition,” says Bastian. “Style and product concerns have been placed in opposition to content and process concerns.”
Bastian explains that style should be understood as a means to aid writers and that misunderstood theories of style impede the process of communicating ideas. She examined several compositional handbooks and found that they maintain and reinforce this dichotomy between content and style that composition theory has created. This is problematic because the two should not be viewed in opposition, she says, and because these handbooks are a major medium for students and writers, they are often misinformed about writing and style.
Also completing a critical examination of her own writing instruction from grammar school through high school, Bastian developed a better method of manual-to-student communication, which she believes in turn will help everyone to communicate more effectively.
“I could not be more pleased working with Professor Carpenter,” says Bastian. “He provides knowledge, support, and direction for my thesis. He is highly qualified in the field of composition, and he continues to publish and write in the field. I was concerned about my knowledge and ability to write on the topic; however, he provided me with an immense amount of support and encouragement, which helped ease my concerns.”
Bastian is also very happy with her English major and the opportunities Lafayette has provided.
“I feel that Lafayette is very helpful in giving students an opportunity to explore unique fields of study,” she says. “The professors are also eager to help and guide students who wish to pursue an honors thesis.”
Experienced and skilled writers and editors, Writing Associates (WA’s) assist fellow students with writing assignments. WA’s are assigned a specific course and meet with each student in the class at least four times a semester in conferences of approximately 30 minutes. Lafayette’s Writing Program helps integrate writing into courses throughout the curriculum.
Bastian spent last spring interning in English teacher Daniel Kaye’s classroom at Wilson Area High School in Easton, Pa. In addition to observing Kaye and other teachers, she put together a lesson plan, taught a few lessons and classes, graded tests, and did other tasks that teachers must complete on a daily basis.
A disk jockey for the campus radio station, Bastian has tutored neighborhood children in reading and math through the America Reads Program and served in leadership of Lafayette Activities Forum.