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Questions and Answers About Writing in WI Courses and Writing Across the Curriculum — Page 3

Will adding writing compromise course content, and won’t that reduce students’ subject mastery?

In-class writing enhances lecture/demonstration effectiveness by increasing student involvement. Adding writing justifies the time spent because writing requires students to generate ideas, clarify thought, and engage meaningfully with the subject matter, thus increasing their mastery of the subject.

What types of writing can be included in the 15 typed pages?
The guidelines specify two or more pieces of writing or, as an option in upper division courses, a single project that students submit in multiple drafts and that instructors respond to in stages.

A good rule of thumb is to fit the type of writing you assign to your purposes of teaching. Ask yourself what subject matter learning you want to happen. Then develop writing assignments that will enable that learning. For example,

• A sociologist who wants students to become familiar with the ways sociologists do their work and report will ask them to write a short paper (3 pages) summarizing an original source journal article and discussing the implications of the research for observed behaviors in everyday life.

• A political scientist who wants students to be able to understand issues and debate them in writing will ask the class to read critically ten partisan essays and identify, summarize, and categorize as pro or con each of their major arguments in a series of microthemes, or short “mini-essays,” typed or handwritten on 5 X 8 inch note cards.

• A biologist who wants upper-level students to go beyond a critical review and synthesis of primary scientific literature will assign them a research proposal and then ask them to conduct the research and write up their findings.

The length of the papers also depends on your purpose. A professor whose aim is to promote growth in a variety of specified thinking skills might assign fifteen one-page microthemes, whereas a teacher who wants students to learn how to synthesize large amounts of information might require a five-page essay and a ten-page term paper.

See the Bibliography of Sources for a list of books and articles that provide clear, useful advice on how to write for college courses in a variety of academic fields. You can also obtain useful materials by calling the English Department (x4307).

The types of writing covered include: