GMU: Writing across the Curriculum

Writing @ Center Newsletter

Published once a semester, the newsletter features articles describing "best practices" in courses across the university; tips on teaching with writing; discussions of issues related to responding to, evaluating, and assessing student writing; tutors' observations on sessions with their University Writing Center clients; and summaries of brown bag discussions on WAC topics.

Current issue: Spring 2008.
This issue focuses on the ways that critical thinking is being taught and assessed through writing across the curriculum. We invite you to adapt the rubrics printed here for student writing and critical thinking in your courses.

Below you can find an archive of past issues, which you can choose to browse by either date or topic:

Date
Topic

SPRING 2008 ISSUE (Online, or as a PDF)

FALL 2007 ISSUE (Online, or as a PDF)

SPRING 2007 ISSUE (Online, or as a PDF)

FALL 2006 ISSUE (Online, or as a PDF)

SPRING 2006 ISSUE (Online, or as a PDF)

FALL 2005 ISSUE (Online, or as a PDF)

SPRING 2005 ISSUE (PDF only)

Honesty through Ownership: Increasing Student Involvement to Reduce Plagiarism
Tutor as Teacher: A Typical Writing Center Session, Dramatically Condensed
In Preventing Plagiarism, An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure—and Supports Other Teaching Goals, Too!
Librarian's Corner: Endnote: More than One-Click Bibliographies
Grammar Corner: Perfect English

FALL 2004 ISSUE (PDF only)

Are We Helping Students Think Critically? Ways to Evaluate Assignments and Assess Students' Responses
How to Help Students Give Effective Peer Response
Students Writers Make Good Student Readers: Guidelines for Helping Students Form Writing Groups
Grammar Corner: Passive v. Active: The Jury Is In
Writing Fellows: Who They Are and How They Help Faculty
WAC Committee Conducts Third Review of Writing-Intensive Syllabi: Excerpts from the 2003-04 Report

SPRING 2004 ISSUE (PDF only)

WAC and TAC: What's the Connection?
Using Digital Images in Critical Papers
Writing About Mathematics: Proofs, Images, and "Plain Words"
Librarian's Corner: Tips for Searching Databases
Surfer's Guide to the Universe
Grammar Corner: Ending Sentences with Prepositions
News from the Center

FALL 2003 ISSUE (PDF only)

"Celebration of Writing" Recognizes Faculty WAC/Assessment Efforts
Issue Papers: Putting Students in Charge of Their Own Learning
Critical Analysis, Interpretation, Writing About Data
Tutoring Online
Writing in Large Classes
Responding to Student Writing
Grammar Corner: Who vs. Whom

SPRING 2003 ISSUE (PDF only)

Cut-Ups: Building Writing by Breaking it Down
Writing to Explain Museums in a Synthesis Course
Poetry in Your Course?
Magic Writing By Nurses
Designing Writing Assignments
Fostering Academic Integrity
Grammar Corner: Passive Voice

FALL 2002 ISSUE (PDF only)

Writing and IT Skills in Composition and IT&E
GMU WAC Landmarks
Writing Assessment Update
Grammar Corner: Awkward Sentence Constructions

SPRING 2002 ISSUE (PDF only)

What to Do About Plagiarism
Cognitive Psych and Writing
Writing Tutors from Various Disciplines
Update on Writing Assessment in Academic Units

FALL 2001 ISSUE (PDF only)

Email Mentoring in Psychology
Handling Errors in ESL Students' Papers
Writing Assessment Underway
Writing Fellow Program

SPRING 2001 ISSUE (PDF only)

First Steps to Research
Writing to Express Dance
Misconceptions of Writing Center Work

FALL 2000 ISSUE (PDF only)

Writing to Learn: Poster Presentations
Sitting in a Draft
Proofreading

SPRING 2000 ISSUE (PDF only)

What Students Think Makes Writing Good
On Assessing Student Writing
Good Ideas to Foster Good Writing

FALL 1999, ISSUE 2 (PDF only)

Online Assignments for Techno-Skeptics
Using Peer Review and Editing More Effectively
Responding to Student Writing
Getting Better Responses on Essay Exams

FALL 1999, ISSUE 1 (PDF only)

The Rhetoric of the Internet
Web vs. Traditional Writing: What's Got to Change?
Writing for the Web

SPRING 1999 ISSUE (PDF only)

Peer Tutoring in the Disciplines
Students and Teachers on What Makes Good Writing Assignments

Assessment

FALL 2004 ISSUE (PDF only)
- WAC Committee Conducts Third Review of Writing-Intensive Syllabi: Excerpts from the 2003-04 Report

FALL 2003 ISSUE (PDF only)
- "Celebration of Writing" Recognizes Faculty WAC/Assessment Efforts

FALL 2002 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Writing Assessment Update

SPRING 2002 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Update on Writing Assessment in Academic Units

FALL 2001 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Writing Assessment Underway

Handling Error

FALL 2003 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Responding to Student Writing

FALL 2001 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Handling Errors in ESL Students' Papers

Grammar

FALL 2004 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Grammar Corner: Passive v. Active

SPRING 2004 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Ending Sentences with Prepositions

FALL 2003 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Who vs. Whom

SPRING 2003 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Passive Voice

FALL 2002 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Awkward Sentence Constructions

FALL 2001 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Errors in ESL Students' Papers

Technology and Writing

SPRING 2004 ISSUE (PDF only)
- WAC and TAC: What's the Connection?
- Using Digital Images in Critical Papers
- Writing About Mathematics: Proofs, Images, and "Plain Words"
- Librarian's Corner: Tips for Searching Databases
- Surfer's Guide to the Universe

FALL 2003 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Critical Analysis, Interpretation, Writing About Data

FALL 1999, ISSUE 2 (PDF only)
- Online Assignments for Techno-Skeptics

FALL 1999, ISSUE 1 (PDF only)
- The Rhetoric of the Internet
- Web vs. Traditional Writing: What's Got to Change?
- Writing for the Web

Writing Assignments Across the Disciplines

SPRING 2004 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Using Digital Images in Critical Papers
- Writing About Mathematics: Proofs, Images, and "Plain Words"

FALL 2003 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Issue Papers: Putting Students in Charge of Their Own Learning
- Critical Analysis, Interpretation, Writing About Data
- Writing in Large Classes

SPRING 2003 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Cut-Ups: Building Writing by Breaking it Down
- Writing to Explain Museums in a Synthesis Course
- Poetry in Your Course?
- Designing Writing Assignments

SPRING 1999 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Students and Teachers on What Makes Good Writing Assignments

Responding to Writing

FALL 2004 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Writing Fellows: Who They Are and How They Help Faculty
- Students Writers Make Good Student Readers: Guidelines for Helping Students Form Writing Groups
- How to Help Students Give Effective Peer Response

FALL 2003 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Responding to Student Writing

SPRING 2002 ISSUE (PDF only)
- What to Do About Plagiarism

FALL 2001 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Handling Errors in ESL Students' Papers

FALL 1999, ISSUE 2 (PDF only)
- Responding to Student Writing
- Getting Better Responses on Essay Exams

Tips on Teaching With Writing

FALL 2004 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Are We Helping Students Think Critically? Ways to Evaluate Assignments and Assess Students' Responses

SPRING 2004 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Librarian's Corner: Tips for Searching Databases
- Surfer's Guide to the Universe

FALL 2003 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Issue Papers: Putting Students in Charge of Their Own Learning
- Writing in Large Classes
- Responding to Student Writing

SPRING 2003 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Cut-Ups: Building Writing by Breaking it Down
- Poetry in Your Course?
- Designing Writing Assignments

SPRING 2002 ISSUE (PDF only)
- What to Do About Plagiarism

FALL 2001 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Email Mentoring in Psychology
- Handling Errors in ESL Students' Papers

SPRING 2001 ISSUE (PDF only)
- First Steps to Research

FALL 2000 ISSUE (PDF only)
- Writing to Learn: Poster Presentations
- Sitting in a Draft
- Proofreading

SPRING 2000 ISSUE (PDF only)
- On Assessing Student Writing
- Good Ideas to Foster Good Writing

FALL 1999, ISSUE 2 (PDF only)
- Using Peer Review and Editing More Effectively
- Responding to Student Writing

FALL 1999, ISSUE 1 (PDF only)
- Writing for the Web

George Mason University:

Writing across the Curriculum