Write a paper you could submit to the Illinois Senate proposing a useful working definition for basic writing. In this paper, you should provide some context, thinking about how the field developed, how the definition has changed throughout the 20th century (offering any context needed) and contemporaneous debates over the term (be sure to consider nuances in these disagreements and/or apparent agreements). Note: this is not about whether basic writing should or shouldn’t exist, but about what it is and is not. Once you’ve established the broader context and scholarly perspectives on the definition of basic writing, propose your own unique definition of basic writing. While you may certainly draw on and align yourself with what other scholars have said, you should also aim to contribute something new. Spend the rest of the paper staking out out your definition of basic writing, defending it, and making a case for why the Illinois Senate and its appointed Taskforce may find this definition useful. Another note: I am not requiring any particular number of sources, but you should draw heavily on readings in class for this essay. Be careful, however, to ensure that the voice we hear in this essay is your own. Don’t let the voices of other scholars drown you out. Link to SJR0041: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp? DocName=&SessionId=108&GA=101&DocTypeId=SJR&DocNum=41&GAID=15&LegI D=121316&SpecSess=&Session
