FAQs about the National Day on Writing & UT Writes

Click the images below to learn more about the National Day on Writing, UT Writes, and more.

Q: What is NDOW or the National Day on Writing?
A: According to the United States Senate:

• Whereas people in the 21 st century are writing more than ever before for personal, professional, and civic purposes;
• Whereas the social nature of writing invites people of every age, profession, and walk of life to create meaning through composing;
• Whereas more and more people in every occupation deem writing as essential and influential in their work;
• Whereas writers continue to learn how to write for different purposes, audiences, and occasions throughout their lifetimes;
• Whereas developing digital technologies expand the possibilities for composing in multiple media at a faster pace than ever before;
• Whereas young people are leading the way in developing new forms of composing by using different forms of digital media;
• Whereas effective communication contributes to building a global economy and a global community;
• Whereas the National Council of Teachers of English, in conjunction with its many national and local partners, honors and celebrates the importance of writing through the National Day on Writing;
• Whereas the National Day on Writing celebrates the foundational place of writing in the personal, professional, and civic lives of Americans;
• Whereas the National Day on Writing provides an opportunity for individuals across the United States to share and exhibit their written works through the National Gallery of Writing;
• Whereas the National Day on Writing highlights the importance of writing instruction and practice at every educational level and in every subject area;
• Whereas the National Day on Writing emphasizes the lifelong process of learning to write and compose for different audiences, purposes, and occasions;
• Whereas the National Day on Writing honors the use of the full range of media for composing, from traditional tools like print, audio, and video, to Web 2.0 tools like blogs, wikis, and podcasts; and

• Whereas the National Day on Writing encourages all Americans to write, as well as to enjoy and learn from the writing of others . . .

Resolved, October 20, 2009 became the very first National Day on Writing.

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Q: What is UT Writes?
A: UT Writes is the University of Tennessee’s campus-wide celebration of the National Day on Writing. In 2010, UT Writes will host a series of events from 9am to 5pm in Hodges Library. Highlights include a graffiti walk and a spoken word poetry open mic. For more information visit the 2010 UT Writes website.

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Q: What kinds of writing does UT Writes and NDOW celebrate?
A (short version): UT Writes and NDOW celebrate all kinds of twenty-first-century writing.
A (long version): UT Writes and NDOW recognize that twenty-first-century writing includes a great range of both alphabetic and nonalphabetic languages as well as a diversity of print and nonprint multimedia forms. Writing scholars Marvin Diogenes and Andrea A. Lunsford offer a useful definition of writing their essay “Toward Delivering New Definitions of Writing,” which appears in Delivering College Composition: The Fifth Canon edited by Kathleen Yancey:

Writing: A technology for creating conceptual frameworks and creating, sustaining, and performing lines of thought within those frameworks, drawing from and expanding on existing conventions and genres, utilizing signs and symbols, incorporating materials drawn from multiple sources, and taking advantage of the resources of a full range of media.

To learn more about twenty-first-century literacy, visit the NCTE page for Writing in the Twenty-First Century.

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Q: What is TN12, and how is it related to UT Writes and NDOW?
A: TN12 is a photo contest created in conjunction with UT Writes 2010. It invites students, faculty, staff, and alumni to write a photo essay by taking one picture of one person, place, or thing every day for 12 days. Entries in this contest are due 10/10/10 to utwrites@gmail.com. The top 12 entries will go on display in Hodges Library for the National Day on Writing, and there will be prizes for the top 3. More details including contest rules can be found on this site.

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Q: What is Trace and how is it related to UT Writes?
A: Trace or the Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange is UT’s recently established open-access digital archive. It includes the most ambitious UT Writes 2010 project of all: a community-wide collection of UT writing. A university first, UT Writes will be using Trace to collect one piece of writing with personal significance from as many UT community members as possible throughout the 2010-2011 academic year. To participate:

• First, think about the different kinds of writing you do and have been doing throughout your lifetime;
• Second, identify the writing you do that is most important to you;

• Third, out of all the writing you consider important, identify a piece that makes you especially proud.

For UT Writes, the writing you choose might be a copy of your first publication or Powerpoint slides from the best talk you have ever given. Your contribution might be the scan of an architectural drawing or a scrimmage plan, or it might be a copy of your latest musical composition. You might pick a string of code, a set of mathematical equations, or notation that represents your favorite choreography. Once you have chosen, you can send your contribution to the UT Writes Trace archive by emailing utwrites@gmail.com and following these instructions.

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Jenn Fishman, PhD

FAQs about the National Day on Writing & UT Writes