ROWAN UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF WRITING ARTS
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Codes & Code-Meshing - Marissa Stanko and Connor Buckmaster

4/20/2020

0 Comments

 
Codes are distinct means of communication you’ve absorbed through your life — through where you grew up, the people you grew up with, your friends, your education; each represents a possible “code” you’ve picked up. Think of them like tools — and in your toolbox you have many. How you speak (the code(s) you use) with your friends is likely different than how you would “speak” in a college essay. How you text is different from how you speak to your parents. But why? 

Here, try this on. When writing an essay for one of your classes, the voice you used may have sounded something like this. Read it out loud! 
“These methods of communication are central to one’s identity, way of being, and understanding of themselves. To move beyond this reasoning…”
Does that sound like how you talk? Probably not. Right there, you’ve discovered a code. The one above could be considered “academic speak,” or Standard American English. You’ve probably come across this code reading scientific articles or stiff theoretical papers. 

As a college student, you may have encountered writing assignments that made you feel like you had to shed the language you are comfortable with and adopt an “academic” tone, to use “better” vocabulary.

But no code is inherently “better” than another; codes aren’t in a hierarchy, they just work more effectively in different rhetorical situations. 

Every person has their own set of codes that is integral to their identity. The way you speak or write, in different situations and to different people, reflect pieces of who you are. Every single code that is a part of you is unique and valuable, and most importantly, equal. 

It’s not wrong to have different codes, or to have trouble with academic codes. A lot of college students get the idea that the writing code used for academic papers is better then whatever they use at home, and that is not true. An academic tone has its rhetorical situation, and it can be learned without discarding more personal codes. 

And it also doesn’t mean that you have to leave your personal codes at home. That’s called “code switching” — switching between the different codes you have. Your codes can be integrated into your college work through “code meshing” — meshing different codes into a work. The difference between code switching and code meshing is kind of like this: code switching is painting in one color, but code meshing allows you to paint in all different colors! Sure, maybe your teacher wouldn’t be very happy if you wrote your research paper on snake reproduction in your local slang, but wouldn’t that slang be great in a flash fiction piece? It all depends on the rhetorical situation, the “picture” you want to paint. 

This is where it gets really interesting, and empowering. You, yes you, can use whatever code you want when you're writing. Whatever codes are inside you, you can paint them on the page. But before writing a paper, paragraph, or even a sentence, ask yourself this: what am I trying to say, and to who? And then: how am I trying to say it; what code could I use? For many assignments, the code you use may be clearly defined and expected. But there is always room to play. See what works!
​

Learning how to write in an academic code means you can add it to the repertoire of codes you have built up. It doesn’t mean that you have to leave your own codes behind to succeed. Embracing your own codes and yourself will give you a huge confidence boost. It’s a shift from “I have to say it like this” to “How do I want to say this?” Choice is empowering, and you have the choices at your disposal.
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  • Home
  • Programs
    • Creative Writing Minor
    • WA Major
    • Minors >
      • Publishing and Writing for the Public
      • New Media Minor
      • Technical & Professional Writing Minor
      • Writing Arts Minor
    • Certificates of Undergraduate Study >
      • CUGS in Creative Writing
      • CUGS in Publishing and Writing for the Public
      • CUGS in Technical and Professional Writing
      • CUGS in Writing Studies for Educators
      • CUGS in Professional Communication
      • CUGS in Writing for the Environment
    • 4+1 (B.A.+M.A.) Program
    • Degree in 3
    • Graduate Programs
  • Advising
  • WA Major
    • Writing Arts Journey
    • Required Courses >
      • General Education >
        • Science and Mathematics
        • Social and Behavioral Sciences
        • Literature, History, Humanities, and Language
      • Introduction to Writing Arts >
        • History & Materiality of Writing
        • Issues in Writing
        • Technologies & the Future of Writing
      • Methods Choice >
        • Communication Theory
        • How Writers Read
        • Tutoring Writing
      • Creative Choice >
        • Creative Writing I
        • Writing Children's Stories
      • The Writer's Mind
      • Writing, Research & Technology
      • Literacy Studies >
        • Situating Writing
        • Writing With Technologies
      • Senior Seminar: Methods of Analysis and Evaluation of Writing
      • Portfolio Seminar
      • Free Electives
    • Elements of Language >
      • American English Grammar
      • Editing for Publication
      • Introduction to Anthropological Linguistics
      • Linguistics
      • Rhetorics of Style
      • Semantics
    • Concentrations >
      • Creative Writing >
        • Creative Writing I
        • Creative Writing II
        • Film Scenario Writing
        • Fundamentals of Playwriting
        • Magazine Article Writing
        • Professions in Writing Arts
        • The Publishing Industry
        • Screenwriting I: Writing the Short
        • Screenwriting II: Writing the Feature
        • Tutoring Writing
        • Teaching the Writer's Workshop >
          • Publishing & Writing for the Public >
            • Applied Media Aesthetics: Sight, Sound and Story
            • Editing the Literary Journal
            • Environmental Writing & Rhetoric
            • Fiction to Film
            • Introduction to New Media
            • Media Law
            • Online Journalism I
            • Participatory Media
            • The Publishing Industry
            • Publication Layout & Design
            • Photojournalism
            • Professions in Writing Arts
            • Rhetorical Theory
            • Self Publishing
            • Writing for Popular Culture
            • Writing for the Workplace
            • Internship
            • Research Practicum
        • Writing Children's Stories
        • Writing Comedy
        • Writing Creative Nonfiction
        • Writing Fiction
        • Writing Genre Fiction
        • Writing Poetry
        • Writing the Young Adult Novel
        • Internship
        • Research Practicum
      • Technical & Professional Writing >
        • Developing Health and Scientific Literacy
        • Introduction to Technical Writing
        • Medical Writing and Rhetoric
        • Professions in Writing Arts
        • The Publishing Industry
        • Scientific Writing and Rhetoric
        • Tutoring Writing
        • Writing to Bear Witness
        • Writing for Nonprofits
        • Writing for the Workplace
        • Internship
        • Research Practicum
    • WA Learning Community >
      • Publishers
  • Internships
    • Internal Internships
    • External Internships
  • Careers
  • Faculty
    • Faculty Resources >
      • Best Practices in Online Learning
      • Syllabus Requirements
      • HyFlex/Remote Learning
      • Canvas Support >
        • Writing Comedy
      • Accessibility in Online Courses
      • Racial Equity Online
      • Supporting Developmental Writers Remotely
      • Building an Online Classroom Community
    • Acknowledgements
  • Blogs
    • Writer's Insider Blog >
      • Spring 2022 >
        • Writing Diverse Characters
      • Fall 2021
      • Spring 2021
      • Fall 2020
      • Spring 2020
      • Fall 2019
      • Spring 2019 >
        • An Interview with Devon James & Rachel Barton
        • Confession Travel Writer
        • Self-Publishing: A Change in Perspective
        • CCCA Career Fair: Having Your Future in Mind
        • Alumni Success: Entering the Working World
        • Behind the Scenes of Rowan's Hiring Process
        • Writing Comedy
      • Fall 2018 >
        • Singularity Press: Rowan's New Start Up
        • Writing Arts Club
        • How Can We Evaluate Creative Writing?
        • More Inclusive Events for Technical Writers
        • Guest Speaker Manuela Soares
        • Glassworks Reading
        • Spotlight: Taylor Henry, Recently Published Rowan Alum
      • Spring 2018 >
        • Publishing and Writing for the Public: A Reconstructed Concentration
        • What You Think You Know About Technical and Professional Writing is Wrong
        • The Toni Libro Medallion Award Winner: Myriah Stubee
        • An Interview with a Publisher
        • Excellence in Writing Arts Medallion Winner: Sara Skipp
        • The College of Communcation and Creative Arts 6th Annual Student Awards and Showcase Ceremony
        • Rowan Alum, Marissa Cohen, On Self Publishing and Advocacy
      • Fall 2017 >
        • Upcoming Classes in the Writing Arts Department
        • The Writer's Journey Blog by Earl Garcia
        • Rewriting The Department's Social Media Platforms
        • Rowan University Writing Arts Club Reinvents Mission
        • Glassworks Launches Issue Fifteen
        • For Futuristic Consideration: An Exploration of Careers in Writing
      • Spring 2017 >
        • Technical Communication: An Overview
        • A More Inclusive Future for Technical Writers
        • Easing the Tension: Breaking Down Technical and Professional Writing
        • Growing the Technical and Professional Writing Concentration
      • Fall 2016
      • Spring 2016
      • Winter 2015
      • Fall 2015 >
        • 2014 and Prior >
          • Archive
    • The Bulletin Board
    • RU Writing? Podcast
  • Creative Writing
    • CW Faculty Publications
    • CW Course Offerings
  • Writing Center
  • Alumni
    • Undergraduate
    • Graduate
  • Awards
    • 2022 Emerging Writers Scholarship
    • Denise Gess Literary Awards
    • Excellence in Writing Arts Medallion Award
    • AnToinette Libro Graduate Medallion Award
    • Past Awards >
      • 2008 Hollybush Writing Competition
      • Write Rowan, Right Now! Contest
  • Student Groups
    • Writing Arts Club
    • Avant Literary Magazine
    • The Whit Newspaper
    • Her Campus Rowan
    • Odyssey at Rowan
    • Singularity Press
  • Events
  • ECCCA
    • RU Deptartment of Writing Arts - Home
    • News & Announcements
    • Rowan University - Home
    • Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts at Rowan University - Home
    • Student Groups
  • About Us
    • Our Vision and Mission
    • Land Acknowledgement
    • Our Call to Action