Writing Across the Curriculum
By Dr. Steven J. Corbett
What do we know about assessing student writing across the disciplines? In terms of designing effective writing assignments and scoring guides—from the cross-curricular research and practice of teacher-scholars across the country—we know quite a bit. And we are learning more every day . . .
By Michelle LaFrance
Rebecca Schuman whipped up an educational furor in December of 2013, writing on Slate.com: “We need to admit that the required-course college essay is a failure.” Schuman’s rationale: “Students Hate Writing Papers. Professors Hate Grading Papers.” Since Schuman’s post went viral, any number of online responses have cropped up—defending the typical college essay, suggesting new approaches to this central writing activity, and critiquing the sorts of characterizations of education that arise from “click bait” traffic on sites like Salon.com. But Schuman’s post echoes with a lively, ongoing conversation in the field of Writing Studies. She is not the first, nor will she be the last, to question the traditional research-based essay in college courses.
By Michelle LaFrance
Effective writing instruction is as much about helping students to understand the conventions of disciplinary writing, as it is supporting students to understand the content central to student work in a major. To be effective writers, students must come to learn the many different tacit expectations, heuristics, conventions, and resources that experts often take for granted.