Cooper (Intro and "Ecology") Key Terms and Guiding Questions-
Why, according to Cooper, do her critiques of the cognitive model also extend to other supposedly "social" models like Suassure's account of language (Intro, ix-x) or Burke's "Dramatistic Pentad" ("Ecology," 367-68)? Why does she stress that ecological not be seen
as another term for contextual ("Ecology," 367)? Do you think this distinction is important? Why or why not?
What do we learn about creativity from Cooper's statement that "one does not even begin to have ideas about a topic, even a relatively simple one, until a considerable body of already structured observations and experiences has been mastered" ("Ecology," 369)?
How is the ecological nature of writing related to your open letter? How can you delve more into the ecology in which you are interacting? What ideas do you need to "master" to speak effectively about writing instruction with your audience (what terms/concepts should you talk about)? What purposes emerge in your efforts to connect with your readers? What is your relationship to your readers? What are the power dynamics of your relationship, and how might that change how you write? What cultural norms are involved in your interaction? What group are you writing from? What group or groups are your readers members of? What expectations for evidence, level of formality, style, and tone arise from the conventions of these groups? How can you perform the form of the open letter in a way that is "conventional enough to be comprehensible and flexible enough to serve the changing purposes of [your] writing" ("Ecology," 370)? How might thinking of your audience as real readers and your writing as the negotiation of social relationships lead to revision?