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Writing Across the Curriculum Description
Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) is an approach that attempts to weave writing assignments throughout all content areas.
Whether you are an English teacher, other content area specialist or in a self-contained full curriculum spectrum classroom, you
undoubtedly already implement WAC to some degree. The question is, should you be more intentional about it?
- What is WAC, anyway?
- The infusion of Writing Across your Curriculum is said to improve writing skills, thinking skills, and understanding of content.
WAC is most often implemented in schools through one of the following two approaches as quoted from Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL):
- Writing in the Disciplines (WID): Writing in the disciplines is premised on the idea that students become better readers, thinkers, and learners in a discipline by working with the forms and conventions specific to it. A biology teacher might ask students to write lab reports, for example, while an art teacher might assign artists’ statements or gallery reviews. Journalistic articles, business plans, memos, and oral histories are additional examples of genres common to particular fields.
- Writing to Learn (WTL): Rejecting the notion that writing serves primarily to translate what is known onto the page, advocates of writing to learn suggest teachers use writing to help students discover new knowledge—to sort through previous understandings, draw connections, and uncover new ideas as they write (NWP & Nagin, 2003). WTL activities may also be used to encourage reflection on learning strategies and improve students’ meta cognitive skills. Examples, ... include journals, learning logs, and entrance/exit slips. (Brewster & Klump, 2004)
- Isn’t it just another fad movement that will soon fade-away?
- In fact, WAC began in the mid-1970’s as a way to improve undergraduate literacy in our nation’s universities. After 20 years on the education scene, WAC is now used and expanded upon in K-12 classrooms as well as colleges across the country.
- What’s the point?
- One middle school project in Texas proclaimed, “school wide writing across the curriculum efforts do appear to produce significant improvements in student writing ability.” (van Allen, 1992, p. vii) Also, the National Commission on Writing confirms an “impressive positive correlation between the frequency of informative writing assessments and academic achievement in every subject area.” Consequently, the Commission urges increased use of writing across the curriculum (in math classrooms, too!). It states, “Writing is not simply a way for students to demonstrate what they know. It is a way to help them understand what they know. At its best, writing is learning.” (National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and Colleges, 2003)
Bibliography:
National Writing Project & Nagin, C. (2003) Because writing matters: Improving student writing in our schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass.
Brewster, C.& Klump, J. Writing To Learn, Learning To Write. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory: http://www.nwrel.org/request/2004dec/classroom.html
National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and Colleges, (2003). The Neglected “R”: The Need for a Writing Revolution. New York, NY: College Entrance Exam Board. Retrieved February 25, 2006, from http://www.writingcommission.org/prod_downloads/writingcom/neglectedr.pdf
van Allen, L. “The Effect of Writing Across the Curriculum Programs on Student Writing Improvement: A study of selected middle schools in Texas” (Doctoral dissertation, Univ. of Texas at Austin, 1991) Dissertation Abstracts International, 52(07), 2398.
visit other WAC resources:
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