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Teaching Writing in the Disciplines
The
following best practices appeared in the Spring 2005 issue of The
Active Voice, the newsletter of the Writing Instruction Program.
CONTENTS
Introduction
Writing about Psychology
Writing about the Arts
Writing about the Environment
Writing in the Education Professions
Writing in the Music Professions
Writing about Social Work
Traditional Grammar
INTRODUCTION:
J.CULLICK, DIRECTOR
How does someone become a good writer? I am not talking
about the few people who seem inspired to write eloquently; I am referring
to the majority of us who have to work at it. What kind of education can
a school provide to guide a student to write clearly and effectively?
Good writers practice regularly, writing for a variety of audiences and
contexts over a period of years. Good writers are challenged to produce
different kinds of writing—personal writing such as notes and journals,
public writing such as articles and letters, and academic writing such
as lab reports, analyses, and researched arguments.
These are challenging goals, and no single course can accomplish all of
them. Students get regular practice over a period of years, producing
different kinds of writing for a variety of audiences, only when they
are called upon to write and taught how to write throughout their university
careers. This is why the advanced writing component of the writing requirement
was created at NKU. A writing course after ENG 101 gives students an opportunity
to deepen their research skills and practice their writing skills beyond
their first year writing course. To make the advanced writing course as
relevant as possible to students’ needs, it can be taught in the
Department of Literature and Language with a theme, or it can be offered
by other departments as “writing-in-the-discipline” courses
for their majors.
Some sections of ENG 291 carry a topic that might be of special interest.
For example, students in any field with an interest in the arts, especially
those majoring in the fine arts or humanities, can enroll in Bob Wallace’s
“Writing about the Arts” section of ENG 291. Students in any
field with an interest in the environment, especially those majoring in
the sciences, might wish to enroll in Donelle Dreese’s “Writing
about the Environment” section of ENG 291. Social work students
can take Willie Elliot’s ENG 291 section, which is specifically
geared toward that field.
Sometimes, the advanced writing course is even offered in other departments,
which tailor it to the needs of their majors. Instead of taking ENG 291,
education majors can take David Bishop’s EDU 291W for “Writing
in the Education Professions.” Students majoring or just interested
in music can enjoy a semester with Diana Belland in MUS 291W, “Writing
in the Music Professions.” Psychology majors can prepare for their
careers and improve their writing in PSY 291W with Perilou Goddard. Students
who wish to improve their editing skills or prepare for teaching careers
can study with Robert T. Rhode in ENG 371, “Traditional Grammar,”
which is resulting in a new book co-authored with Eleanor Yeager Stewart,
Grammar Made Easy.
These faculty share a common commitment to give students the writing instruction
they need throughout their college careers. My co-editor, Angie Hesson,
and I thank all of them for contributing to this issue of the newsletter.
It is our hope that as they describe the courses they teach, they may
give other faculty ideas about incorporating writing instruction more
into the curriculum at NKU.
A writing course with a thematic basis allows the class to sustain thought
about a single issue all semester. When a writing course is offered in
a particular discipline, it helps majors learn the methods, materials,
conventions, and expectations for writing in their discipline. If you
would like to learn more about teaching either a theme-based version of
ENG 291 or a “291W” course for your majors, please contact
the Writing Instruction Program. We frequently meet and work with faculty
and department chairs across the campus, and we will be glad to help you
explore your options.
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WRITING
ABOUT PSYCHOLOGY: PERILOU GODDARD
Many students struggle to learn to write well in psychology's
technical style. Even students who regularly earn top marks in English
classes often are shocked to receive critical feedback on their psychology
papers. In 1999, I initiated Writing in Psychology (PSY 291W), an elective
course focused on improving students' writing in general, as well as teaching
them APA style and writing conventions in the field of psychology. Like
ENG 291 instructors, I cover use of library resources and skills related
to topic selection, grammar, organization, and draft revision. In addition,
my course focuses on teaching students to produce full-scale versions
of the types of writing assignments required most often in undergraduate
psychology courses: case reports, reports of empirical studies, conference
abstracts, and literature reviews.
This semester I am using Diana Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference,
as well as Robert Sternberg’s The Psychologist’s Companion,
the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, and
a set of journal articles as required readings. Thanks to coaching from
Paige Byam, I employ peer editing for every assignment. After revising
their assignments in accord with their colleagues’ comments, students
submit each graded assignment to me in draft form for extensive feedback.
Only after their peers and I have both commented on each assignment do
students submit their papers for a final grade. Because it is such a major
project, the literature review proceeds in stages spread across the semester.
I have conducted empirical evaluations of the course by assessing the
change in students’ understanding of APA style, improvement in basic
grammatical conventions, and attitudes toward course-relevant objectives.
These evaluations, as well as anecdotal reports, indicate that students
are definitely learning some valuable skills in the course. However, the
course is a real challenge to teach; in addition to the usual prep and
in-class time, I spend about 12 hours per student grading and commenting
on papers across the semester. Nevertheless, I have benefited enormously
from this teaching experience. I have improved my own writing skills,
and I published an article based on the course in the 2003 issue of the
journal Teaching of Psychology.
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WRITING ABOUT THE ARTS: ROBERT K. WALLACE
I
taught my first ENG 291 course with an emphasis on the fine arts in 1989.
I was interested in exposing my students to experiences in a variety of
arts on both sides of the river. I also wanted to see if writing about
the arts might make students not previously exposed to them more interested
than they might otherwise be. This course generally attracts a handful
of students with a special interest in one of the arts along with a larger
number who have enrolled for either general studies credit or the time
of day. I have learned, and keep learning, from both kinds of students.
The syllabus changes each time I offer it according to the arts events
that will be available in the Greater Cincinnati Area during any given
semester. I try to get the students across the river to hear the Cincinnati
Symphony at Music Hall, to see a play at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival
or the Playhouse in the Park, and to visit the Contemporary Art Center
or the Cincinnati Art Museum. I also try to take advantage of the increasing
variety of fine arts events on our own campus, ranging from special exhibitions
in the Main Gallery, to plays in the Corbett Theater or the Black Box,
to concerts in Greaves Concert Hall. When NKU student Anna Polusmiak played
a piano concerto with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra at Greaves under
the baton of Mischa Santora, this was a must event for my students that
semester, and they had the pleasure of a personal interview with Anna
as well. Every other year I devote the last month of my spring semester
course to the Y.E.S. Play Festival, dividing the class into three groups,
each of which is responsible for creating a booklet that documents the
world premiere of a play whose first performers are students at NKU.
At first I was afraid that students not previously interested in the fine
arts might be intimidated or uncomfortable with the subject matter of
the course. This has not turned out to be a problem. When it comes to
writing in a fresh and energized way about the experience of attending
a concert at Music Hall, a student who has never been there in some ways
has an advantage over one who has been there before. Similarly, there
are certain advantages in having the booklets documenting the Y.E.S. Play
Festival written by a rather arbitrary cross-section of general studies
students at NKU rather than by students majoring either in Theater or
Literature. Knowing that they will be among the first people to study
and document a new theatrical creation gives our ENG 291 students a real
sense of pride.
Although I enjoy the challenge of putting together a sequence of fine
arts activities that will engage a diverse range of students for an entire
semester, my favorite part of the course is in the last two weeks when
the students present their personal projects that have been inspired by
the materials of the course. Sometimes we discover that a student who
has been very quiet the entire semester is a closet photographer, bassist,
or videographer with surprising talents to share. Students majoring in
one of the fine arts often come to look at their own work in a new way
when presenting it to a general studies audience rather than to specialists
in the field. The artist’s statements that accompany the final projects
of students who have created art works of their own are always as valid
and interesting as are the research papers from those students who have
chosen to do research of a more traditional kind.
The fine arts are alive and well in Greater Cincinnati these days, and
writing about them in an ENG 291 course is a fine way to bring new life
into the classroom.
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WRITING ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT: DONELLE DREESE
The ecocomposition
writing course is designed to put a number of disciplines in dialogue
with one another. It centralizes environmentalism, ecology, and the sense
of place as rhetorical regions ripe with opportunities for critical thinking,
developing writing skills, and exploring discursive communities. Yet,
ecocomposition is also partnered with cultural studies, feminism, racism,
identity, sports, travel, psychology, art, science, religion and many
other areas of student interest simply because there is no part of our
lives that has not been intimately touched by the places we inhabit. Drawing
from its primary influence of ecology, ecocomposition is rooted in networks
and interconnections and seeks to investigate how the component parts
affect one another and the whole. This interdisciplinarity provides for
students a wide variety of writing and research choices.
The assignments for the course develop from the personal and from issues
involving community and global concerns. This progression works well because
students are initially requested to examine the role nature and other
environments have played in their own lives, and then to move toward actively
researching local environmental issues and arguing their chosen position
about those topics. One assignment that emphasizes interconnections is
a synthesis essay that asks students to trace an ecological theme that
is expressed in works from three different disciplines. A student may
choose a film, a newspaper article, and a poem, for example. The assignment
improves synthesizing skills while also asking students to explore how
certain issues are presented in a variety of rhetorical situations.
One of the goals of the course is to use writing to create an awareness
in students of how much their own well-being is determined by environmental
health and what kinds of issues are threatening sustainability. Because
the course promotes personal responsibility and stewardship, we discuss
pollution, for example, as an ethical issue. By the end of the semester,
students understand that much of what we think of as the environment,
or nature, or wilderness, involves definitions and boundaries that are
cultural constructions open to debate, change, and growth. Ideally, students
will feel empowered by that discovery and will be motivated to rewrite
a new environmental narrative, one that demonstrates a value shift toward
making healthier choices.
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WRITING IN THE EDUCATION PROFESSIONS: DAVID M. BISHOP
There are
obvious advantages to having students complete their advanced writing
requirement within the discipline they have chosen as a major. It can
serve as an introduction to the content or range of issues pertinent to
the discipline. It can introduce the major rhetorical strategies students
will be required to exercise throughout their undergraduate years. It
can introduce them to the style manual and publication specifications
of a particular discipline. It can tailor research strategies. A notable
side benefit—frequently overlooked—is that a discipline-specific
writing course can help students immensely with their reading competence
in the discipline.
I developed EDU 291W, Advanced Writing in the Education Professions, in
response to a call from NKU’s Writing Across the Disciplines Committee.
In the fall of 1999 I surveyed two groups—P-12 teachers in northern
Kentucky and NKU’s Education faculty—to determine the answers
to several questions. First, what types of writing do P-12 teachers do
on a regular basis? Second, what types of writing assignments, opportunities
and contexts should Education majors attempt? Third, what writing skills
and attributes should Education majors demonstrate as a consequence of
taking an advanced composition course? Finally, I asked if there were
any types of assignments that ought to be avoided.
The findings of this survey and the WAD committee’s guidelines for
common experiences among all discipline-specific advanced writing courses
contributed significantly to the shape of the course I now teach.
My assignments have varied slightly over the past four years, but the
same thrust remains. Students do several short, speculative, participatory,
ungraded assignments (what might be called “writing to learn”
assignments). They learn that writing and the accompanying thinking need
not spring fully formed from their minds. The idea that shaping writing
and thought through response from others and consideration of differing
perspectives is a useful tool in the teaching profession. It also helps
in doing research papers. Students also do quiz-like writings that require
them to think along with print as they study a collection of readings
on educational issues. Being able to absorb, evaluate and make decisions
about research results and persuasive articles is another important skill
for teachers.
I also require students to do longer writing assignments. The major writing
challenge is a research paper, accompanied by a popular press version
of what they have discovered and an oral presentation to the class. I
use this package of three interrelated writings to help them learn about
options in form, audience and purpose. I’ve also developed guidelines
for a multi-section research notebook to help with choosing topics, planning,
scheduling of study, and organization.
Another longer writing assignment is the “aesthetic package”,
in which students write about their own educational experiences, and shape
them into poetry, fiction and memoir. This assignment provides vivid contrasts
with the research paper in the areas of source material and form of representation.
The third example of longer writing is metacognitive. As a final examination/paper,
students must evaluate themselves as writers and the writing they have
generated in my course. This is almost always the best or the worst writing
students do for me. Rarely is it in-between. Students who “get it”
emerge from the course with a clear picture of their new profession, and
an understanding of themselves as writers. Their self-evaluative writing
reflects these two attributes. Those who do badly end up seeing the course
as just a collection of assignments. (My goal now is to find out how to
do things more effectively to turn the latter group into writers more
like the former group.)
I acknowledge an advantage in developing a discipline-specific writing
course. I’m an “educationist” with background and responsibilities
in literacy instruction; the transition is minimal from teaching about
reading and writing to teaching college students to write. If I were a
biologist or sociologist I’d probably be less comfortable in the
initial stages of developing an advanced writing course in my subject
area. However, I see two easy ways to start. First, survey results from
departmental colleagues and area professionals can be helpful. (I will
share the forms I used). Second, I’m willing to talk with colleagues
in other disciplines about my successes and failures in EDU 291W and serve
as a sounding board for anyone interested in trying out new ideas. In
return I’m certain I can learn a lot about using writing to help
teach a discipline.
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WRITING IN THE MUSIC PROFESSIONS: DIANA BELLAND
MUS291W is
a course for students who are planning careers in music or who have an
active interest in the field. The course includes both writer-based and
reader-based assignments and is designed to progress from less intimidating
assignments to those which are more challenging and which require some
research and documentation of sources. Writer-based (short, informal)
assignments include responses to live and recorded performances heard
in class and summaries of assigned readings such as journal articles.
Reader-based assignments include five formal projects: Press Release,
Concert Review, Program Notes, Grant Proposal and Journal Article. The
texts required for the course are A Short Guide to Writing About Music
by Jonathan Bellman and A Writer’s Reference (5th ed.)
by Diana Hacker.
To engage the interest and promote the confidence of both the fluent and
the reluctant writers in my class, I use a variety of strategies calculated
to make the course relevant to the field of music and to improve basic
writing skills. Each semester, I schedule live music performances presented
in class and a field trip to hear a CSO concert; students learn to listen
critically by writing response papers and subsequently producing a formal
concert review. The course features presentations by ten guest speakers,
including professors from the departments of Music, Theatre, and Literature
and Language as well as local music critics and professional musicians
working actively in the field. Speaking vividly of their own personal
struggles to learn to write well, music professors are particularly effective
in fostering confidence in tentative students; a brass student can be
inspired by hearing that her band director, an awkward writer at first,
eventually succeeded in publishing a doctoral dissertation, which was
followed by subsequent articles in music journals. A percussion major,
reading published program notes written by his applied instructor, learns
that, with a bit of persistence, he, too, can produce a piece worthy of
public consumption.
To give students a sense of application to real life demands and to reward
them for their efforts, I provide avenues for publication of their projects:
student authored program notes are read by audiences attending Music Department
concerts during the concurrent semester, and concert reviews by class
members are printed in the Northerner [NKU's campus newspaper].
Finally, to sharpen students’ basic writing skills, I include occasional
assignments from the Hacker CD and web site, conduct weekly peer review
workshops, schedule student/teacher conferences as necessary, and regularly
send class members to the Writing Center for additional help. In some
cases, despite my best efforts, student work improves only marginally.
Student attitude towards writing, on the other hand, almost always improves
markedly, leading me to hope that at least a few students, after completing
MUS291W, will have gained the confidence to become their own best teachers.
Perhaps the most significant value of a Writing Across the Curriculum
course is that, by providing students with the enjoyment of exploring
and writing about topics in their own specialized fields of interest,
it can encourage in them a profound and positive change in attitude towards
the task of putting words on paper.
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WRITING ABOUT SOCIAL WORK: WILLIE ELLIOTT
My main reason
for teaching ENG 291 for social work students is that many of our social
work majors, even though they have completed English 101, 291 and their
required literature courses, are not familiar with the American Psychological
Association (APA) publication style. So my primary goal is to cover this
style specifically for social work majors, and I hope they will improve
their writing skills as they write in this class. Equally important, I
see this course as part of our professional responsibility to teach writing
across the university curriculum.
I designed the course through dual themes: (1) self-discovery through
formal and informal writing, and (2) “good writing is rewriting.”
I provide a lecture on a sphere of spiritual development, as detailed
in the book Metu Neter by Ra UN Nefer Amen (1990), following an African
spirituality framework. Each student then writes about their own development
within each particular sphere. Every student composes five one-and-a-half
page focus papers, one paper on each of the five spheres that we cover
in class. After the successful completion of each focus paper, students
then combine the papers into a single major paper. The students develop
an introduction to their major paper and then add a summary and a conclusion.
In all of the above steps, students work from outlines that they have
developed. These efforts result in a ten-page paper, which is interesting
because many students at the beginning of this process express concerns
about their ability to complete a major paper. Next, they perform an in-class
presentation of their final paper. The class and I critique all papers
and in-class presentations. We end these evaluations with positive recommendations
that will further enhance their writing skills and encourage them to continue
to write.
The specific methodology I use when I teach this course is as follows.
I begin each class with a lecture on the spiritual sphere we are covering,
and after the lecture students do an in-class free write. This paper is
called a critical analysis, in which the students demonstrate their understanding
of the specific sphere. The students then develop an outline of the sphere,
and from this outline they write their one-page focus paper on that sphere.
Students have the opportunity to evaluate and edit each other’s
rough drafts. The day that the students turn in their papers, they present
their drafts in class for a critique by their peers.
One activity that the class engages in to support their writing of the
major paper is to visit the library, where the reference librarian helps
them locate and evaluate sources appropriate for their major paper. Also,
we visit the Writing Center, where students are exposed to the resources
that can help them improve as writers.
I enjoy teaching this course. Students gain in their appreciation of writing
and its importance, and they learn one process to complete a major paper
successfully. I am scheduled to teach another section of ENG 291 in the
coming semester. The topic of this section will be Harriet Tubman as a
symbol of freedom.
TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR: ROBERT T. RHODE
Traditional
Grammar, ENG 371, has been offered in multiple sections for four semesters.
Last year, Eleanor Yeager Stewart, a teacher with thirty years’
experience in public schools, and I responded to the desperate need for
a new text for such courses by writing Grammar Made Easy.
We studied grammar texts from the Civil War through the present and found
little significant change in the teaching of grammatical concepts since
the 1930s. Certain books even echo wording from the 1860s. We also engaged
in the challenging work of reading the latest dictionaries to learn the
most recent usage. Consequently, our book offers up-to-date grammar guidelines.
Beginning in the 1970s, many high schools dispensed with the teaching
of grammar. In 2005, the national pre-college tests (the SAT and the ACT)
and several state graduation exams will feature sections devoted to the
study of grammar. The resurgence in interest in teaching grammar comes
in response to recent studies challenging the long-held belief that learning
traditional grammar does not assist students to write well.
We recognize that various speakers and writers convey their experiences
effectively without adhering to the guidelines of traditional grammar.
Rather than focus on the compatible but separate study of discourse, our
book explores the norms of self-expression in American English without
discounting the ways that alternate grammars enable their users to communicate.
As a typical day finds people moving rapidly from one language community
to the next, we recommend that instructors teach the rules of grammar
as relative standards, not as absolutes diminishing the importance of
cultural differences.
The pilot classes of students who used our book volunteered these comments:
* Your book has helped me improve my writing and speaking.
* The well-organized and relaxed approach seems less intimidating than
that of typical
textbooks or style manuals.
* The examples are in line with the types of papers I am writing right
now.
* I plan to get a copy when I begin teaching and to encourage my school
to purchase
copies.
* The book has been the easiest and most enjoyable grammar text I’ve
used.
* I have polished my writing substantially since reading this book.
* This book has taught me that grammar is more important than I thought.
* Your book helped me get the red out of my papers.
* We convey our experiences through language. As expression is a vital
part of being human, learning to use language well is a priority.
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For more information, contact:
Dr.
Jonathan S. Cullick
Director, Writing Instruction Program
Department of Literature and Language
Northern Kentucky University
Highland Heights, KY 41099
Email: cullickj@nku.edu
Site
maintained by: J. Cullick
Updated:
27-Jun-2005