Writing across the curriculum is a movement within composition studies concerned with the use of writing in classes beyond composition, literature and other English courses. A 2006 to 2007 survey found that roughly half of American institutions of higher learning had some program that could be identified as writing across the curriculum, and a widely used definition frames it as a program that helps teachers across disciplines use student writing as an instructional tool. It is a programmatic effort to introduce multiple instructional uses of writing beyond assessment and forms part of the broader student centered pedagogy movement seeking to replace one way transmission of knowledge with more interactive strategies. It is mainly discussed in the context of American colleges and universities, though it has also been influential in Britain, chiefly at the K-12 level.
Facts
Core ClaimWriting across the curriculum is a movement within composition studies concerned with the use of writing in classes beyond composition, literature and other English courses 1 Classification
Education LevelBachelor or Equivalent (ISCED 6) 1 FAQs
What are some low-stakes writing to learn activities?
Examples include explaining a concept to a friend in another field or swapping written questions with a peer.
Writing to learn works best when the writing is repeated and low-stakes, built into lectures. One option is to have students explain a concept from the day's lecture to a friend in a different field, which gives them an audience to write for. Another is to have students write down a question about the class material and exchange it with a peer, who responds with a preliminary answer.
Connections
In Approach
Source Writing across the curriculum, Wikipedia
Sources
1. Writing across the curriculum, Wikipedia
History of WAC section
Carleton College and Beaver College began what were probably the first contemporary WAC programs in 1974 and 1975, respectively, with faculty workshops and writing requirements shared across disciplines.
Lead section, opening sentence
Writing across the curriculum (WAC) is a movement within contemporary composition studies that concerns itself with writing in classes beyond composition, literature, and other English courses.
Lead section
This page principally concerns itself with WAC in American colleges and universities.
In Approach: Constructivism, Body
Janet Emig's 1977 article "Writing as a Mode of Learning," grounded in constructivist theories of education, suggested that writing functioned as a unique and invaluable way for students to understand and integrate information.
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