Language Power

Dana Ferris is Professor and Associate Director for Lower-Division Writing in the University Writing Program at the University of California, Davis. An applied linguist by training (Ph.D., University of Southern California), she has many years of experience teaching in ESL/multilingual writing programs and in mainstream composition programs. She also has spent over 20 years as a teacher educator, working with future K-12 teachers, with M.A. students in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), Composition, and Reading, and with Ph.D. students in Linguistics, Education, and English.Her research has focused extensively on response to student writing and on written corrective feedback in second language writing. Her work has been published in a range of journals including TESOL Quarterly, Research in the Teaching of English, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Journal of Second Language Writing, Across the Disciplines, Writing and Pedagogy, TESOL Journal, and CATESOL Journal. She has previously published seven books. These teacher preparation and reference books have focused on the needs of multilingual/second language writers and readers and on responding to student writing. Titles include Teaching L2 Composition: Purpose, Process, and Practice (3rd Ed. 2013, with John Hedgcock, Routledge), Treatment of Error in Second Language Student Writing (2nd Ed. 2011, Michigan), and Teaching Readers of English (2009, with John Hedgcock, Routledge).

Pinpoint both your strengths and areas for improvement as Language Power helps you take control of your own writing by providing the tools for understanding and improving your vocabulary usage, grammar, and style.