WM: What it is and How it Works

Drew UniversityDecember 10, 2009

Michelle LaFrance Melissa Nicolas

Good News/Bad News

learn-to-WRITE-to-learn

Compositioncourses

Writing in the major

Writing intensive

Writing inthe course

WM: GEN ED GuidelinesWriting in the Majors (WM) courses are designed

to introduce students to the conversations in the field and invite them to join those conversations using the writing style and format of the discipline. The purpose of WM courses is to teach students to understand and practice the kinds of writing that are specific to the discipline (or combination of disciplines) they are studying. For this reason, no two WM courses look the same; however, all WM courses and course sequences share the same broad goals.

WM GuidelinesGuidelines for faculty1. The course or sequence of courses must instruct students in the kinds

of writing that are practiced by and valued by members of the discipline or field;

2. Writing assignments in the course(s) must be designed to require all students to substantively revise and/or rethink their work on the basis of feedback from the instructor;

3. The instructor must provide timely and detailed feedback on student writing, responding to content and offering suggestions for revision;

4. The writing assignments and outcomes should build on the writing skills students have already practiced in other writing courses and encourage them to transfer and adjust their knowledge about academic writing to this new context;

5. The course syllabus or sequence must clearly articulate realistic writing-related goals that students will be expected to achieve during the semester;

WM Guidelines (cont.)6. The writing assignments for the course should develop students’ ability to

find, evaluate, and incorporate outside source material into their writing (in many cases this will mean the course instructor works with a reference librarian assigned to the course);

7. Some class time must be spent on the writing process and revision, this might include peer response groups and whole class discussion about formal and informal writing assignments and ways to approach them. It does not require instruction in grammar, punctuation, or the mechanics of writing (although of course that is an option);

8. The writing in this course (or sequence of courses) must satisfy one or more programmatic writing outcomes for this major.

 9. Taken together, all of the writing assignments in the course must count

substantially toward the students' final grades in the course. 

3 main goal areas1. Academic Writing2. Analytical and Critical Thinking3. Information Literacy

Goal 1: Academic WritingStudents habitually use writing as a mode of learning and

exploration in their classes;Students can write papers that summarize, synthesize, interpret,

and respond to discipline-specific texts;Students can identify the scholarly conversations of the major

and write papers in which they enter one of those conversations;Students can use the writing process to develop ideas, draft

papers, and revise and edit them to produce writing that is appropriate for scholarly dialogue in discipline of the course;

Students can develop discipline-specific written arguments from sources and incorporate relevant source material into their papers;

Students are active writers who consider the needs of their audience, reflect on their strengths and weaknesses as college writers, and seek responses to their writing from others;

Goal 2: Analytical and Critical ThinkingStudents can recognize the organizational structures and

stylistic features of discipline-specific texts (their own and others’) and consider the impact of those differences;

Students can approach class discussion and readings with a mind open to new interpretations and conflicting ideas;

Students can respond appropriately to contradictions, dilemmas, irresoluble differences in perspective, ambiguity, and uncertainty and understand their role in the discipline;

Students can synthesize and integrate ideas into an interpretation or series of research questions appropriate to the discipline;

Students can use course material to interpret current events, new material in the field, or things they learn in other courses;

Students can work with others to create and revise texts appropriate for the discipline.

Goal 3: Information Literacy Students are familiar with and can use discipline-specific library and on-line

databases; Students can find appropriate discipline-specific sources and evaluate their

relevance to a paper topic; Students can use their knowledge of the discipline to evaluate and assess the

accuracy and relevance of information, data, or images that are used as evidence to support claims in texts they read;

Students can use their knowledge of the discipline to evaluate and assess the accuracy and relevance of information, data, or images that they may use as evidence to support a scholarly argument

Students can analyze an author’s assumptions, audience, and rhetorical strategies and locate them within the conversations of the discipline;

Students can incorporate source material in a variety of ways appropriate to the discipline;

Students understand the role of discipline-specific citation and source use conventions and can use those conventions to correctly cite and document sources.

 

Planning for WM Course(s) Thinking about graduating seniors in your major,

list 3-5 writing-related skills, habits, competencies, and/or abilities that these seniors should possess.

 1. Analyze data2. Create collaborative documents3. Write clear, concise, reports4. Identify major trends in field5. Argue for a position

Planning for WM CoursesGoals from Section A Outcomes

1. Analyze data2. Create collaborative

documents3. Write clear, concise,

reports

A1. Design an experiment; conduct research; write results in a 10 page report using APA citation style

A2. In teams of 3-4 students, write a marketing plan to be presented to a Board of Directors

A3. Respond to a series of case studies with brief action memos

Planning for WM CoursesGoals Outcomes

4. Identify major trends in field

5. Argue for a position

A4. Comprehensive literature review in MLA style

A5. 20 page argumentative research paper

Planning for WM CoursesOutcomes Class(es)

A1. Design an experiment; conduct research; write results in a 10 page report using APA citation style

A2. In teams of 3-4 students, write a marketing plan to be presented to a Board of Directors

A3. Respond to a series of case studies with brief action memos

AB1. Psych 4

AB2. Business 22

AB3. Environmental studies 3

Resources