In more than forty years, not much has changed: engaging students remains one of the biggest challenges composition teachers face. Frequently, students are indifferent about assigned topics, and as a result, they are also indifferent about the writing process. Because capturing students’ attention is crucial to teaching them how to write, teachers should design assignments with students’ interests in mind. One of the best ways teachers can encourage students to write about something they care about is to use popular culture, particularly music, as a basis for writing assignments.
","abstract_html":"<p>In more than forty years, not much has changed: engaging students remains one of the biggest challenges composition teachers face. Frequently, students are indifferent about assigned topics, and as a result, they are also indifferent about the writing process. Because capturing students’ attention is crucial to teaching them how to write, teachers should design assignments with students’ interests in mind. One of the best ways teachers can encourage students to write about something they care about is to use popular culture, particularly music, as a basis for writing assignments.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kraegel, Rebecca"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. M. Todd Harper","Dr. Mary Lou Odom"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:42:45Z","subjects":["teaching","composition","popular music","education history","English Language and Literature"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd/515","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. M. Todd Harper","Dr. Mary Lou Odom"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kraegel, Rebecca"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-07-16T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["teaching","composition","popular music","education history","English Language and Literature"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd/515"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In more than forty years, not much has changed: engaging students remains one of the biggest challenges composition teachers face. Frequently, students are indifferent about assigned topics, and as a result, they are also indifferent about the writing process. Because capturing students’ attention is crucial to teaching them how to write, teachers should design assignments with students’ interests in mind. One of the best ways teachers can encourage students to write about something they care about is to use popular culture, particularly music, as a basis for writing assignments.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["From Homer to Hip-Hop: Using Popular Music to Teach Composition"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. M. Todd Harper","Dr. Mary Lou Odom"],"dc:creator":["Kraegel, Rebecca"],"dc:date.available":["2017-07-16T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In more than forty years, not much has changed: engaging students remains one of the biggest challenges composition teachers face. Frequently, students are indifferent about assigned topics, and as a result, they are also indifferent about the writing process. Because capturing students’ attention is crucial to teaching them how to write, teachers should design assignments with students’ interests in mind. One of the best ways teachers can encourage students to write about something they care about is to use popular culture, particularly music, as a basis for writing assignments.
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