Bullshit in Academic Writing: A Protocol Analysis of a High School Senior's Process of Interpreting Much Ado about Nothing

• Published in: Research in the teaching of English Vol. 44; no. 4; pp. 368 - 405
• Main Authors: Smagorinsky, Peter, Daigle, Elizabeth Anne, O'Donnell-Allen, Cindy, Bynum, Susan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Urbana National Council of Teachers of English 01.05.2010
• Subjects: Academic Discourse; Academic Language; Academic writing; American literature; Basic writing; British & Irish literature; Coding; College professors; Competition; Conference Papers; Content Analysis; Conventions; Core curriculum; Credibility; Cultural Capital; Diplomatic protocol; Drama; Eliot, T S (Thomas Stearns) (1888-1965); English Curriculum; English instruction; Essays; Ethics; Goal Orientation; High Achievement; High School Seniors; High School Students; Humor; Irony; Knowledge Level; Perspective Taking; Persuasive Discourse; Phenomenology; Protocol Analysis; Reputation; Secondary Education; Secondary School Curriculum; Secondary Schools; Social Environment; Students; Theater; Validity; Writing; Writing assignments; Writing Instruction; Writing Processes; New York; United States > US

This article reports a study of one high school senior's process of academic bullshitting as she wrote an analytic essay interpreting Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing. The construct of bullshit has received little scholarly attention; although it is known as a common phenomenon in acad...