WE PROGRAM GUIDELINES
Students in Writing Enhanced (WE) courses use writing in different ways:
- to communicate to others what they have learned;
- to organize their learning, help them think through complex ideas, and reflect on what they have learned; and
- to develop skills and habits in written communication (including a healthy writing process).
We label these three uses, respectively, Product, Cognition, and Process. Proposed and existing WE courses must incorporate those three areas of writing (Product, Cognition, and Process). The course syllabus must also give a clear definition of Writing Enhanced and an explanation of how the course meets the WE objectives.
WE Course Approval Form
Designing a WE Course
What follows is a guide. There is no standard set of assignments and/or practices, no template or formula. There are too many variables to provide a one-size-fits-all set of assignments.
Definitions
Within the context of the WE program, we use the following definitions, typically as proper nouns:
Product: writing that is focused on communicating ideas to others. This type of writing targets an audience and adjusts style, content, and form accordingly.
Cognition: writing that is focused on helping the student generate and organize thought about the subject. This includes self-reflection. It is sometimes called “writing-to-think” or “writing-to-learn.” The only audience is the writer themselves.
Process: both a set of habits that helps writers overcome process-related issues (anxiety, writer’s block, developing routines, etc.) and the best procedural practices for successful writing. For example, establishing a draft-feedback-revise cycle rather than making an assignment one-and-done. For instructors, the elements of a good process should be addressed explicitly and implicitly.
A broader discussion of each of these concepts occurs in the “Writing Assignments” section below.
Writing Mixes
What follows are some possible combinations of general assignment types and practices. Keep in mind that there is a sort of “degree of difficulty” at work here. Writing Enhanced works best when the subject material isn’t typically addressed with writing, particularly writing-to-think/learn/reflect. Chemistry is a good example, but just because extensive writing hasn’t typically been used in chemistry courses, it doesn’t follow that writing is an inappropriate instructional method. The relationship between chemistry and writing has developed historically, and the significant factors in that development are many.
- A 10-15 page multi-draft research paper starting with a writing-to-think draft or informal research proposal. The paper would involve a peer workshop near the middle of the drafting period and a 2-3 page reflection on how the research changed the understanding of the student. A healthy writing process should be covered early, and instructor feedback on later drafts should cover content and style.
- Three 4-5 page, multi-draft analyses of course-appropriate subjects. Two of the three analyses are taken to the Writing Center. Also, a weekly journal and a personal essay published on a public course WordPress site. Instructor feedback for style and content on the analyses and essay.
- Four case studies in ethics, one with a personal reflection. A short research paper covering an aspect of careers in the major. An extensive, small-group forum dialogue with interpersonal communication guidelines and goals.
- Three informal (audience-less) two-page research proposals. One of those will become a formal proposal resulting in a multi-draft research report/paper. An interview report (3-4 pages) with a reflection on the experience. A 3-5 page analysis of a relevant, realistic ethical dilemma.
- A group project–a multi-draft analysis of a bill at the federal level (50-80 pages). The group project will also require two progress reports and a short personal essay on how the bill might affect the writer (“Is it important to you?”).
Writing Assignments
What follows are writing assignments that cover one or more of the objectives of the WE program.
Research Paper. For most undergraduates, a “research paper” means a 6-15 page paper that synthesizes existing research and student analysis in order to explore, explain, or make an argument about some fairly specific subject. The audience may be described as other academics, but the instructor/professor looms large.
The research paper can be used in unusual ways in WE courses. It can foster interdisciplinary thinking. It is certainly good for historicizing a subject. For example, if I had a WE course in basket weaving, I might have students write a paper working through the history of a particular weave style. Or I could have them look into the biology/botany of a particular basket material, and how its composition, growing season, climate context, etc. make it appropriate (and/or inappropriate) for baskets or certain types of baskets. The learning with such an assignment isn’t simply learning about baskets and plants; it’s also about learning the value of thorough research and historical context.
The subject of basket weaving in the example above can be replaced with any subject: a chemical compound, a short story, a clinical practice, a style of musical training, an exercise for addressing lower back pain, a particular type of soil,
Research Proposal and Report.
Essay. (inc. analysis and narrative)
Case Study.
Technical Writing (inc. feasibility, progress, instructions, safety, etc.)
Reflection
Writing-to-Think/Learn
Journaling