Instructors of WI courses are encouraged to clarify the writing process by discussing and modeling good writing practices within their discipline. Students will realize that writing requires time; even an experienced writer must consider the writing task, analyze the rhetorical situation, draft multiple versions, and get feedback from potential readers. Also, writing should comprise a significant part of the course and be reflected in the course grade.
To ensure the most effective writing instruction across the disciplines, instructors of WI courses should:
- Discuss and model good writing practices in their discipline
- Encourage students to take the time to
| 1. |
analyze and adjust writing style based on the rhetorical situation (i.e., the document’s audience, the writer’s purpose, and the conventions that generally govern the document type, or genre) |
| 2. |
draft multiple versions |
| 3. |
consider feedback from potential readers or peers |
| 4. |
edit and revise |
- Use a variety of writing experiences such as essay exams, journals, book reviews, literature reviews, critical and research writing, reports, and collaborative writing.
The following best practices are encouraged for WI courses:
- Feedback on writing efforts, preferably writing-in-progress
- Opportunities to practice writing
- Opportunities for in-class writing and peer review
- Opportunities to revise and edit (both inside and outside class)
- Assignments that encourage critical thinking (higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation) and solving complex problems
- Assignments that help students learn about professional writing and academic writing
- Class ratio conducive to providing quality feedback (faculty/student teaching ratios limited to 1-25 which may mean smaller sections or teaching assistants)
The number of assignments and the length of writing assignments should be sufficient to achieve the objectives listed above.
