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In this issue of Writing@Center, we feature articles on assessing writing and what we can learn about our student writers from various data-gathering approaches, such as the graduating senior survey, WI syllabi review, and departmental assessment workshops.
Writing Center Highlights! As of October 24, the Writing Center had seen a total of 526 tutees in Tutors also gave 73 roadshows across the university with 65% in disciplines other than English. Writing Center Tutors Judge Family Essay Contest Writing Center Director Terry Zawacki and Assistant Director Anna Habib were honored to be invited to present at the symposium to celebrate the $10 million-endowed Miami University Roger and Joyce Howe Center for Writing Excellence. They shared their research on non-native students’ perceptions of writing in the disciplines, and across languages and cultures. The title of their talk was Learning to be Original Through Writing: Conversations with U.S. and International Students.
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SOM Implements Writing Assessment Program Most teachers have a store of examples of student papers that consist of one paragraph that runs on for three or four pages, contains seemingly random capitalization or endlessly confuses “their” and “there.” These are the problems we share around the lunch table or in teaching seminars when we complain, “Students today just can’t write!” But are these anecdotal examples representative of a systematic problem or are they just the items that are seared onto our brains? more |
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Developing Students' Capacity for Informed Research by Craig Gibson, Libraries, Associate University Librarian for Research, Instructional, and Outreach Services A take on research that can benefit even advanced researchers... Grammar Corner: Comma, Comma, Comma, Comma, Comma, Chameleon! News from the Center |
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What Graduating Senior Survey Tells Us about Students' Writing Experiences in the Major
by Sarah E. Baker, English, WAC Assistant Each year, the Office of Institutional Assessment (OIA) surveys graduating seniors about their academic experiences at Mason. To learn more about students’ experiences with writing in their major, the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) committee looked at the 2006 survey results for each major. We found the results interesting, encouraging, and sometimes worrisome when it came to students’ recollections and perceptions of their writing experiences. The survey includes three questions that ask about students’ opportunities for revision and feedback in 300-level courses and above (excluding English 302, the required advanced composition class) and the effect of receiving feedback in improving their writing, their confidence, and their understanding of their field. more |
How Well Is the Writing-Intensive (WI) Requirement Being Met?
When contemplating writing about the WI requirement, my thought was, “How am I going to give this information a new slant?” WI requirement, sounds so, well, “required.” And I know that at this busy time of the semester, the last thing anyone wants to read about is another requirement. But, in fact, that is exactly what the WI course is, and making sure that each unit in the university meets the WI criteria constitutes the charge of the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) committee. more |