Writing

Owner: Abbey Zink

INTENDED OUTCOMES

To demonstrate that students have been introduced to writing as a process. Specifically, students should:

• Use writing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating
• Understand a writing assignment as a series of tasks, including finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing appropriate primary and secondary sources
• Integrate their own ideas with those of others
• Be aware that it usually takes multiple drafts to create and complete a successful text
• Understand the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes
• Use a variety of technologies to address a range of audiences
• Learn common formats for different kinds of texts
• Practice appropriate means of documenting their work
• Control such surface features as syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Faculty in all programs and departments can build on this preparation by helping students learn

• The uses of writing as a critical thinking method
• The interactions among critical thinking, critical reading, and writing
• To build final results in stages
• To apply the technologies commonly used to research and communicate within their fields
• The conventions of usage, specialized vocabulary, format, and documentation in their fields

(Adapted from WPA guidelines.)

GUIDELINES

Should count for a minimum of 10% of the students' final grade. Minimum of 8-10 pages of final draft writing. Evidence of sustained informal writing (i.e. journal, web assignments, discussion boards). Evidence of multiple assignments, frequent feedback.

IMPLEMENTATION

Any form of writing assignment that requires application of critical thinking and writing. Examples could include:

1. Ungraded or informal writing (journal, discussion boards, etc) that reflects the student's development and growth in logical and progressive thinking and writing.
2. Lab reports, care plans, logs, etc. that require the careful application of complex ideas, standards, and methods.
3. Traditional paper writing (response, short research, etc.) which reinforces critical thinking concepts and shows growth and development over time. For this reason, several short papers may be preferable to one long research paper
4. Interviews and transcription, with analysis to underscore the ability to organize and communicate thoughts and ideas clearly and succinctly.

ASSESSMENT

Faculty should establish clear criteria to evaluate student work and should provide frequent, iterative feedback with opportunities for revision. For example, using any appropriate assignment (see Implementation above), faculty could determine how successfully (e.g., 1-5 scale) students achieved each of the following criteria.

1. Ability to express thoughts clearly and succinctly.
2. Ability to construct an argument/defend a position based on legitimate and balanced information.
3. Ability to arrange thoughts logically so that one idea flows into another.
4. Ability to hold the reader's attention.
5. Ability to adhere to proper sentence structure and grammatical conventions.