WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM (WAC)
WAC is a pedagogical movement that began in the 80s as a response to a perceived deficiency in literacy among college students. WAC is premised on theories that maintain that writing is a valuable learning tool that can help students synthesize, analyze, and apply course content. WAC designated courses tend to apply one or both of the following approaches:
Writing to Learn
- This particular approach to WAC frequently makes use of journals, logs, microthemes, and other, primarily informal, writing assignments. If they write reactions in their own words to information received in class or from reading, students often comprehend and retain information better. Also, because students write more frequently, they either maintain or improve their writing skills and avoid a decrease in writing ability from entrance to senior year.
Writing in the Disciplines (WID)
- This approach is based on the understanding that each discipline has its own conventions of language use and style and that these conventions must be taught to students so that they might successfully participate in academic discourse. Reports, article reviews, and research papers are the most commonly used assignments in a WID focused course.
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This page last updated: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 8:15:06 AM
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