Lunsford, Andrea A. “Cognitive Development and the Basic Writer.” Cross-Talk in Comp Theory, edited by Victor Villanueva and Kristin L. Arola, National Council of Teachers of English, 2011, pp. 279-290.

In the article “Cognitive Development and the Basic Writer,” Andrea A. Lunsford asserts “most of our basic writing students are operating well below the formal-operations or true-concept formation stage of cognitive development, and hence they have great difficulty in ‘de-centering’ and performing tasks which require analysis and synthesis” (282). Lunsford substantiates her assertion by providing anecdotal evidence, referencing pedagogical and psychological theories, and providing assignment examples. Her purpose is to make teachers aware of the cognitive stage that basic writing students are at in order to better help students in their cognitive development and therefore their academic pursuits. She directs her ideas to writing teachers. As a student and possible future teacher, I found her evidence convincing, especially when reviewing her suggested assignment examples.