WRITING MATTERS

WRITING STATUS QUO

?CAPSTONE

2W COURSE

1FYC

WRITING STATUS QUO

“All First-Year Courses pay particular attention to writing and library research to ensure that all students are introduced to Macalester’s high academic expectations for these skills.”

?CAPSTONE

2W COURSE

1FYC

WRITING STATUS QUO

• Many FYC faculty have never been trained in writing pedagogy

• 25% of FYC students report having had no explicit writing instruction

?CAPSTONE

2W COURSE

1FYC

WRITING STATUS QUO

“Macalester seeks to ensure that all students receive instruction in writing that gives attention to writing as a process (writing is rewriting), and that provides students individually with feedback on the mechanics and substance of their writing. While First Year Courses assists students in making a transition to college writing along with myriad aspects of college study, each student is required to take at least one additional course with a W designation, in which they will hone their writing skills and go through a process of evaluation and rewriting.”

?CAPSTONE

2W COURSE

1FYC

WRITING STATUS QUO

• 2011 GERC report: “Nearly one-third of Macalester students could not express their ideas clearly and less than 12 percent were categorized as ‘excellent’ in clarity of expression.”

• 2013 direct assessment: no improvement in students’ ability to generate a meaningful thesis or to write well at the paragraph and sentence levels after W-course

• Only argumentative writing for a scholarly audience counts: extensive training in other forms of writing doesn’t meet approval criteria?

CAPSTONE

2W COURSE

1FYC

WRITING STATUS QUO

“The capstone experience must lead to peer-reviewed advanced work appropriate to the discipline/interdiscipline. This could be a paper synthesizing contemporary theory/research, a work of public scholarship, a paper that presents original research, a recital or creation of an original written, visual or performative work.”

?CAPSTONE

2W COURSE

1FYC

WRITING STATUS QUO

• Written capstone projects are not always required

• Writing instruction is not always provided to students; writing is not always evaluated

• The College provides no explicit guidelines about how to incorporate writing into the capstone

?CAPSTONE

2W COURSE

1FYC

WRITING STATUS QUO

• Some FYCs teach writing brilliantly, others not at all

• Some W-courses are rigorous, others are not

• Some majors require writing-intensive capstones, othersdo not

INCONSISTENT

WRITING STATUS QUO

• 2011 GERC report: “Nearly one-third of Macalester students could not express their ideas clearly”

• 2011 GERC report: “Less than 12 percent were categorized as ‘excellent’ in clarity of expression”

• 2013 direct assessment: no improvement in students’ writing

after W-course

INCONSISTENT

INEFFECTIVE

WRITING STATUS QUO

• Only argumentative writing counts for the W requirement

• We don’t recognize courses that teach the craft of writing unless for an academic audience

• We don’t recognize courses that afford opportunities to practice writing skills without explicit instruction in writing

INCONSISTENT

NARROW

INEFFECTIVE

WRITE WELL VIDEOS

FACULTY LEARNING

COMMUNITY

SPAW& JPAW

SESSIONS

DEPARTMENTAL ASSESSMENTS

INSTITUTIONAL ASSESSMENTS

MAXCENTER

TUTORING

CASL AND TATSESSIONS

SUPPLEMENTALWRITERS’

WORKSHOPS

WORKSHOPS FOR FYC

INSTRUCTORS

STRENGTHS TO BUILD ONWRITING

MORE AND BETTERWRITING PEDAGOGY

ACROSS CAMPUS

courses that teach ARGUMENT in other ways

courses in the CRAFT

of writing

courses that givePRACTICE

in writing

STRENGTHS TO BUILD ONWRITING

PRACTICE

ARGUMENT

CRAFT

WRITING

WRITING

PRACTICE

ARGUMENT

CRAFT

ARGUMENT ARGUMENT

PRACTICE

CRAFT

PRACTICE

CRAFT

WRITING REVISED

THREE KINDSOF WRITING COURSES

THREE KINDSOF WRITING COURSES

ARGUMENTWriting and editing evidence-based argumentative prose

WRITING REVISED

ARGUMENT

CRAFTWriting and the writing process as primary course content

THREE KINDSOF WRITING COURSES

WRITING REVISED

PRACTICE

ARGUMENT

CRAFT

Opportunities to practice writing skills without explicit instruction in writing

THREE KINDSOF WRITING COURSES

WRITING REVISED

PRACTICE

ARGUMENT

CRAFT

THREE COURSESEACH STUDENT MUST TAKE

WRITING REVISED

ARGUMENTARGUMENT

CRAFT

2 3ARGUMENT

CRAFT

PRACTICE

OROR

OROR

OROR

1

FACULTY AUTONOMYDISCIPLINARY INTEGRITYZERO COST

WRITING REVISED

ARGUMENT

CRAFT

ARGUMENT

2 3ARGUMENT

CRAFT

PRACTICE

OROR

OROR

OROR

1

WRITING MATTERS

ARGUMENT

CRAFT

ARGUMENT

2 3ARGUMENT

CRAFT

PRACTICE

OROR

OROR

OROR

1