Undergraduate writing fellows play an important role in administering writing assignments in writing-intensive courses. At the University of Michigan, the MWrite program was designed to support the implementation of writing-to-learn (WTL) assignments in STEM courses. Within MWrite, writing fellows are a primary instructional resource for students…

Our research explores the meaningful writing experiences of 325 undergraduate students who self-identify as multilingual. Through qualitative coding of open-ended survey data, we found that respondents considered their writing meaningful when it allowed them to make personal and relevant connections and learn new skills and strategies. Our…

In fall 2010, the University of Massachusetts Amherst instituted a new upper-division General Education requirement, the Integrative Experience (IE), designed to help students integrate the various components of their undergraduate experience and reflect upon their learning and development as a result of those experiences, both key dimensions of…

We explain how collaboratively assessing a writing-intensive general education capstone seminar constituted a high-impact practice for faculty development. Students at the University of Denver complete an Advanced Seminar taught by faculty across the curriculum. Topics and themes vary widely, as do types of assigned writing, making assessment an…

We present a new approach to investigating student reasoning while writing: real-time capture of the dynamics of the writing process. Key-capture or video software is used to record the entire writing episode, including all pauses, deletions, insertions, and revisions. A succinct shorthand, "S notation," is used to highlight significant…

In this profile we describe changes to the composition program at Missouri University of Science and Technology, prompted by the hiring of the university's first writing program administrator (WPA). We describe our efforts to implement evidence-based best practices in undergraduate writing courses in a context where very little program specific…

Although teacher commentary on student papers and students' revisions have been investigated separately, the relationship between commentary and revision has not been much studied. Such a gap in the research leaves the nature of the progression from effective commentary to substantive revision obscure. This article describes a mixed method study,…

Medical laboratory scientists are health care practitioners who perform testing on blood and other body fluids providing vital information to physicians for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients in health and disease. Miscommunications between laboratory personnel and other health care practitioners can result in unwarranted delays…

The book introduces readers in the often-overlooked math-related fields to the ideas of writing-to-learn (WTL) and writing in the disciplines (WID). It offers a guide to the pedagogy of writing in the mathematical sciences, and gives theoretically grounded means by which writing can be used to help undergraduate students to understand mathematical…

"Developing and Assessing an Online Research Writing Course" discusses how the Writing Program at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) created a hybrid, online research writing course, Writing 50, and assessed that course. The assessment, which is at the center of this piece, was dovetailed with assessment literature in…

In North Carolina schools, the grade 10 writing assessment will be given once a year in the spring semester to all 10th-grade students. This change from an English II End-of-Course Test to a grade-specific test emphasizes the need for writing across the curriculum. This document is designed to illustrate correlation between high school courses and…

This interactive panel discussion paper by three educators focuses on the design and evaluation process of writing assignments in two American History survey courses at Idaho State University. The paper states that both approaches used--student-centered, and authentic writing to communicate--offer two different perspectives on using…

Examines contexts for writing and response in a graduate education seminar including native and nonnative English speakers. Considers how the instructor communicated expectations for writing assignments, how students performed, and how students' writing was evaluated. Argues that student writing occurs in a multidimensional context where…

Describes a method for integrating writing into history classes. Suggests keeping writing assignments short and simple, rather than assigning a long paper that will be a burden to the instructor during grading. Discusses journal writing, pretest writing exercises, and microthemes written on a single index card. (DK)

Investigates written communication concepts and strategies integrated into core courses in the College of Business and Economics at the California State University Northridge. Finds striking differences in writing policies, writing standards, assignments, types and results of assessment, and faculty perceptions about writing across the curriculum.…