Communication is a critical government function that has important implications for public administration and effective governance. This research study explores how communication competencies are taught in public affairs programs in the United States. Based on a general web content analysis of graduate programs, and specific analyses of course…

Writing and Rhetoric 3326: Legal Writing is an introduction to legal analysis and writing. It is offered at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, a Holy Cross liberal arts university of approximately 4,300 students, mostly undergraduates. This course focuses on applied rhetoric, and is designed to give undergraduate students experience in…

ENC 3310 Advanced Exposition is an upper-level writing course offered by the English department at the University of Florida. According to the undergraduate catalog, ENC 3310 is intended to introduce students to the "methods of exposition," including "definition, classification, comparison and contrast, analysis, illustration and…

This study examines the intellectual consequences of writing about data in relation to disciplinary concepts. We collected and studied written assignments from sixteen students in which they had to analyze data provided by the instructor in a general education linguistics course. We also surveyed them at the beginning, middle, and end of the…

This article describes an innovative approach to introducing translanguaging in an English for academic purposes (EAP) course at a young Sino-US joint-venture university in China. To promote the use of Chinese students' full linguistic and communicative repertoires in an English-medium-of-instruction university, I intentionally incorporated…

Since it was first introduced in 2008, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been attracting a lot of interest. Since then, MOOCs have emerged as powerful platforms for teaching and learning academic writing. However, there has been no detailed investigation of academic writing MOOCs. As a result, much uncertainty still exists about the…

An action research study was conducted among 24 Form 4 level Malaysian students, aged 16. The duration of the study was five months and constituted 16 one-hour literature lessons (short stories from the secondary level Malaysian English Language Upper Secondary Level school syllabus). This paper describes my experience as a teacher-as-researcher…

In this article, I describe my reflections on developing student authors through a class research project. I review the assignment origins and description and my role in the students' developmental journey from transforming a class assignment to a publishable work. (Contains 1 figure.)

As public relations professions advance toward new media platforms, one traditional tool--the backgrounder/position paper (more technically termed white paper) remains a compelling vehicle to impart enduring professional competencies. Moreover, the skills requisite to produce a white paper can be deployed in a variety of new and traditional media…

We have undertaken an integrated and collaborative approach to developing foundational skills of students in a first year, Introductory Biology course. The course is a large lecture and laboratory course with enrollments ranging from 800-1000 per year. Teaching and Learning experts were brought into the course as weekly "Foundation Skills for…

An effective essay assignment in an introductory college history course should: (1) acquaint the student with the problematical nature of historical evidence; (2) challenge the student to interpret evidence; (3) facilitate critical skill acquisition; and (4) encourage formulation of further questions. History course evaluations are presented.…

Describes the development of a writing course that facilitates the development of students' writing skills at the same time it provides an opportunity for them to learn about the construction of gender through language. Combines the study of revision with that of "re-vision," as feminists use the term. (RS)

Discussed is the use of two short writing assignments and a peer review system in an undergraduate agronomy course to improve writing skills and the learning of agronomic principles. Provided is a course description and procedures used in the course. Student evaluation in the course is reviewed. (CW)

Describes a Computer Information Systems course in which verbal communication processes are thoroughly integrated into the course without disturbing the technical content. Discusses the speaking, listening, writing, and reading activities associated with the course. Describes the challenges (for instructors as well as students) associated with the…

AN OUTLINE IS PROVIDED FOR A TEXTLESS RHETORIC 101 COURSE TAUGHT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS. BECAUSE THE IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE IS TO PROMOTE THE STUDENTS' AWARENESS OF THEIR OWN WRITING, THE SEMESTER IS ORGANIZED AROUND WHAT THE STUDENTS WRITE, NOT WHAT THEY READ OR MODELS WHICH THEY OUGHT TO IMITATE. AN INTRODUCTION, A SET OF ASSIGNMENTS ON…