Writing across the curriculum (WAC) will forever be caught in the following paradox: the rise of the research university has allowed for specialization that generates writing embedded in differentiated knowledge communities. However a WAC program may characterize the overarching importance of writing, its conception can never be the same as that…

An unavoidably ideological frame of reference in Writing across the Curriculum (WAC) exists and an unavoidably political job must be undertaken if Writing across the Curriculum is to escape being the handmaiden to the so-called content disciplines. Despite this, many teachers who work in the field do not see their task as emerging from a distinct…

Cornell's experience over the last decade suggests that writing across the curriculum programs should not be housed in English departments. In fact, that experience, which has been largely successful, suggests writing programs are best off as independent departments, directed by rotating members from a variety of disciplines. The reasons are as…

Composition instructors need to explore the idea that the value of the discourse they teach students is not in its similarity to--but rather in its difference from--the discourse of most of the professionally-oriented departments. Scholars in fields as diverse as composition and engineering ascribe profoundly different meanings to "academic…

A pilot program at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI), called the Twenty-First Century Citizen Scholars, explores and evaluates the pedagogy of computer conferencing in writing-across-the-curriculum and makes sure of equal access by students. The purpose of the project is to build intellectual coherence, reduce conflict…

Writing can be a rich source of information for science teachers who wish to take their students' present understandings into account as they plan and carry out instruction. The responses students give when asked to explain in writing what happened in an experiment can help the teacher address particular student's misunderstandings. Even writers…

In-class writing assignments using such techniques as non-thought warmups, lead-sentences, completion, rewording, and wordbanks (write a paragraph using a given list of words), and debriefing can be used on a regular basis in the content areas without decreasing time spent on content and without increasing the time spent grading papers. The…

"Stonehill Writes" is an example of an in-house Writing-Across-the-Curriculum (WAC) journal that records what is being written and how it is being written by administrators, faculty, students, and alumni. Published at Stonehill College, a small liberal arts college with a student body of 1600 and a faculty of 107 full-time teachers, the…

Proposes a continuum of lines of inquiry applicable to many of the human sciences. Illustrates the continuum by discussing the approaches of Sigmund Freud, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim. Suggests uses of the continuum as an aid to invention and as a method of analysis. (RAE)

Offers a research-based pedagogy for teaching writing in advanced economics courses. Argues that teachers should recognize that writing can influence their students' learning in content courses. (MS)

This ERIC Digest discusses science notebooks and how they can be used as a tool for increasing achievement not only in science but across the curriculum. The use of science notebooks allows students to become actively involved in their own learning and affords them the opportunity to investigate content in which they are naturally interested and…

Explains how writing across the curriculum (WAC) is converging with active learning to be an effective learning strategy. Gives examples from content areas of home economics of WAC activities: assignment sequencing, audience identification, peer review, and informal writing. (SK)

Describes the design of an exercise to foster critical thinking skills in a freshman chemistry course. Emphasizes practical issues involved in the use and implementation of the rubric to promote critical thinking. The intellectual standards that define critical thinking skills are embedded in the rubric. (Author/NB)

Provides a way for students to improve understanding of concepts and their grades after they have already been assessed on a unit of instruction. (YDS)

Reports a successful application of writing across the curriculum theory and practice at the introductory accounting level. Discusses the advantages of informal and formal writing assignments. Presents a number of suggestions designed to facilitate the use of writing across the curriculum techniques and to help ensure their successful application.…