We at FEN Blog welcome submissions from any one with a stake in writing education and the scholarship of writing education –– students, contingent or tenure track faculty, high school educators, and administrators. We hope that this blog will act as a platform where we can swap ideas about how to write and teach about writing in compassionate, equitable, and effective ways. As a blog, FEN Blog affords writers and readers the chance to address these subjects in timely, shortform pieces that speak to the ongoing opportunities we face every day in our classrooms. 

We are open to submissions on a wide range of subjects, so long as they center how we think about and practice composition or composition education. Authors may 

• Relate an (underappreciated) aspect of composition history, or the history of composition education; tell how it sheds light on our practices and thinking in the current moment 
• Analyze or evaluate a common practice in composition education, including curricular decisions, pedagogy, or assessments 
• Address a particular administrative decision (e.g. placement, curriculum, mission) in light of ongoing exigencies; analyze and make recommendations for administrators
• Discuss a common practice in professional development for writing educators 
• Tell a story about your own experience composing or teaching composition within a particular context; discuss how your experience affirms or challenges a commonplace in our field
• Reflect on a particular commonplace or common practice in (teaching) composition and share how it shapes our approach in problematic or hopeful ways 
• Select a particular scholarly or theoretical text and discuss how it alters our praxis, perhaps in response to a current exigency 

These questions are a starting point, not an ending point! We welcome any piece which engages with ongoing conversation in our field and sharpens our idea of what we are about and how we engage with students. Since this is a blog, geared towards short, conversational exchange, authors are encouraged to pick and focus on one question, practice, or experience to discuss: a single thread woven into a larger quilt. The best submissions include vivid details, particularity, and practical applications or questions for readers to consider.  

We are particularly interested in submissions from authors from nondominant communities and/or that take up these questions in ways that help us think about how to serve students and instructors from nondominant communities. You are welcome but not required to cite scholarship in your piece.

Feel free to pitch us at fenblog.compstudies@gmail.com! 

Or send completed submissions at fenblog.compstudies@gmail.com.

Submission Guidelines

• We are looking for pieces around 1000-2000 words, with plenty of emphasis on praxis and a strong pedagogical or research connection.
• We request submissions in a standard font with a consistent citation method of your choice. Our editors will then work to prepare the submission to match the author guidelines for Composition Studies (which are a modified MLA format).
• We welcome the use of hyperlinks and embedded content, in addition to a more formal works cited. The blog is hosted by WordPress so please consider multimodal selections accordingly.
• We embrace a variety of Englishes and encourage a range of linguistic choices. We welcome authors who choose to write in their home English. We also encourage contributors to employ a relaxed, conversational tone.
• We prefer submission via Google Doc file (docx also accepted; but please no pdfs); submissions method — Google form; share an editable link to your Google doc (preferred); upload a .docx (alternative). Google form — alternative form for pitches (once established)
• We also welcome submissions that integrate elements of visuality and multimodality– your videos, data illustrations, audio, and more are all welcome!
  • Please locate these elements within the document (not as an appendix): go ahead and arrange the piece as you would like readers to see it
  • For images, please use high quality .jpeg and .png file types only
  • For accessibility, please provide captions if you’re using image or video; please provide a transcript if appropriate for audio elements. 
• Each post will include an image above it. We encourage submitters to include an image linked to or representative of their piece in .jpeg or .png, 1200 x 630px. If you choose not to provide your own image, the blog editors will select one for your post.