Ilka Luyt

I teach live and online writing courses at Queen’s University and the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, where I also serve as a tutor in the RMC Writing Centre. I also teach courses for the State University of New York and the University of Maryland and more recently with Professors Without Borders. My doctoral work focused on gender studies, composition and rhetoric, and distance education. My primary interests are helping novice writers develop their emerging voices in the multiple discourse communities that bridge the gap between their academic and non-academic lives. My most rewarding moments are spent chatting with students about their writing, helping them decide how to approach a writing task, and finding those moments of insight or discovery about how to use language effectively. 

Teaching Approach 

My teaching philosophy is based on the premise that everyone can improve their learning over time and with effort.  This premise is simple, yet the ability of students to achieve success remains indeterminate.  I find that academic writing mystifies many first-year students. Traditionally, academic writing has, and in many ways continues to be a complex, jargon-ridden language that varies from discipline to discipline. In my writing classes, I teach strategies and skills that will hopefully help students grow and flourish in their self-definition and personal awareness of their place in a community of learners.

Dialogue is a key element in all my classes.  Whether I am teaching a business writing course or a literature class, I firmly believe that learning involves an ongoing, dynamic, mutual exchange of knowledge between individuals and learning communities.  I take pride in my ability to interact with students and to encourage student participation and reflection. I encourage students to express their questions and concerns about writing tasks and contexts, and I ask students to both explore and consider their lives as sources of knowledge within an academic environment.