• Introduction
• A rationale for teaching HTML in a web writing class
• Activities for integrating HTML tags into writing
• Conclusion
• Sources for this hypertext
• Site Index

Introduction

Writing for the web is writing in code. Sometimes writers don't know this: authoring programs enter code as users write and design, and they don't have a clear sense what's going on behind the page. Sometimes writers do know this, particularly when the authoring program makes a mistake or uses an outmoded convention, and they end up with something demonstrably not what they expected. For many writers, the HTML code behind web pages represents an impediment—an annoying speedbump in the system that prevents them from producing exactly what they want on their pages. Moreover, teaching HTML in the writing class seems to go against all the traditions of writing instruction, to turn the class into something approaching computer science. In 1999, Morgan Gresham lamented "As a writing instructor, my concern is that the goals I hope technology will foster are beginning to be overshadowed by the technology itself" (398). Similarly, Nicholas Mauriello, et al. comment, "Unlike other pedagogical tools [. . .] HTML seems to blur the lines of our discipline. It turns the traditional composition course into a hybrid language/writing/computer course" (410). Mauriello, et al. also point out the most common charge against HTML: teaching it means losing valuable time that should be spent teaching writing. "What is clear is that whenever an educational technology is brought into the classroom, this change causes a displacement of curricular content. Because teachers have a limited amount of time for each course, every curricular addition comes at the expense of something else" (411).

As a member of the (undoubtedly small) HTML fan club, I find myself on the other side of this argument. I would suggest that teaching HTML is less roadblock than opportunity. HTML, for all its arcane conventions, can be used in teaching writing; moreover, for those teaching web writing, HTML should at least be introduced as part of the writing process. In this hypertext I will suggest some ways of integrating various HTML tags into writing instruction as part of the web writing process. In addition, I will present a discussion of some reasons for teaching HTML in a web writing class. I will suggest some specific activities for using some HTML tags within writing class topics. Finally, I include both a list of the sources used in this hypertext and a general index of the major sections and subsections.

Citation Format: Batschelet, Margaret. "Learning To Love the Code: HTML As a Tool in the Writing Classroom." The Writing Instructor. 2004. http://www.writinginstructor.com/files/batschelet/ (Date Accessed).
Review Process: Margaret Batschelet's hypertext was accepted for publication following blind, peer review.