Written and oral communication has been listed as the top explicitly requested skill by employers for a long time. Despite pressure from industry, the gap still exists between the expectations and average written and oral communication skills of current information technology/information systems graduates. This paper addresses the above issues and…

Argues that writing about physics forces students to come to grips with the material and with what they do and do not understand. Describes the use of writing in an introductory course. Discusses benefits of a decentralized "writing across the curriculum" program. (JRH)

Contends that teachers often demand creative and concise writing but do not provide students with concrete suggestions. Presents an approach to writing instruction using geometric figures as models for essay writing. Includes 10 examples of models with essay questions derived from each model's conceptual base. (CFR)

Teaches an introductory course on issues of prejudice and discrimination. Assigns a two-essay autobiography and analysis of other student biographies. Encourages students to use their life experiences to articulate sociology's theoretical, conceptual, and substantive materials. Finds course effective in reducing ethnocentrism. (NL)

In an effort for schools to obtain Adequate Yearly Progress, the pressure is on to make certain that students are loaded with as much information as possible in order to score well on the high stakes tests. Writing has continued to move down the list of priorities of what is taught because: it is not being tested or is minimally being assessed.…

Reviews the rationale and evolution of the Writing across the Curriculum (WAC) movement and applies it to college level sociology courses. Suggests criteria for selecting writing assignments to meet specific objectives. Recommends the use of "dialogue notebooks," a modified form of student journals. (CFR)

Recommends the use of student-written sociological short stories as an alternative to traditional term papers. Describes how students choose a topic and use sociological theories and research to outline a plot, characters, dialogue, and settings. Includes excerpts from student stories and recommendations on student evaluation. (CFR)

Asserts that students learn more rapidly and retain knowledge longer when they take an active role in the learning process. Describes a college sociology course in which students regularly contribute to a "class journal" using electronic mail. Discusses problems and pitfalls of using computers for classroom discussion. (CFR)

Describes the use of poetry in U.S. history instruction. Contends that using simulations, historical documents, and literature help make students keenly aware of conflicts and the human impact of historical events. Recommends that students write poetry related to historical topics and includes five examples of student-written poetry. (CFR)

Proposes a learning model that includes components of critical thinking and social critique in writing assignments. Reports on results of an experimental course designed to use graduate student teaching assistants to improve students' critical thinking and writing skills. Describes the positive results of the course. (CFR)

In this author's research, the question of whether it makes sense to think of writing primarily as a generic skill acquired increasing urgency as she gathered qualitative data for a study of the relationship between instructors' expectations in the design of writing assignments and the students' thinking as evidenced both in their essay responses…

Asserts that written work has advantages over oral discussion in the development and assessment of students' critical thinking skills. Describes a set of short writing assignments that focuses on eight essential aspects of critical and creative thought. Provides examples of how to use writing assignments in college psychology courses. (CFR)

Describes a classroom study of 20 self-selected, college-bound, U.S. history students in which the students created a story, poem, painting, or other art form after studying a unit on immigration. Includes several examples and descriptions of students' poetry, writing, and other creative projects. (CFR)

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to assess whether faculty writing workshops could facilitate writing in heterogeneous disciplines by linking specific, workaday writing activities (Tschudi, 1986) with Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives (1974). Multi-disciplinary faculty participating in writing-across-the-curriculum workshops…