Writing Across the Curriculum Guide
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TeacherCooperativeWriting Across the Curriculum Guide
Uploaded by
TeacherCooperativeWriting Across the
Curriculum
Learning and Utilizing Writing
Skills for Everyday
Communication
Old school definition. . .
• Writing Across the Curriculum
(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
WHAT???
apply course content.
What WAC isn’t:
• Writing is NOT a form of punishment
• Writing is NOT a means of “taking up
time”
• Writing is NOT a form of “I’ll give you a
test you’ll long remember!”
• Writing is NOT a means to embarrass
• Writing is NOT a means by which the
English Dept. has a hand in every
subject
So what is writing and WAC?
WAC is:
• A means of communicating what
students have learned
• A means of questioning
• A means of making learning more
global
• A means of creating conversation
• A means by which the student can
expound upon the knowledge s/he has
gained
New school definition of
WAC:
• WAC is a written means by which students
communicate in-depth with teachers and
fellow students on what they have learned,
observed, or question. It is a never-ending
process that extends beyond school to
everyday life.
How do we DO it?
• Integrate writing into activities (journal
writing, paragraphs, quizzes, etc.)
• Utilize paragraph writing for students to
explain how problems are solved (math), why
a method works best (science), important
events/people (history), synthesis,
evaluation, analytic thinking (English), for
explaining inappropriate behavior (ISS or
ALC), importance of having a good fullback
(athletics/PE), safety in the kitchen (Occ.)
• Modeling good writing for students.
• Praising students verbally and through
written notes that accompany writing.
• Encouraging writing for extra credit,
explaining answers in more detail,
expressing concerns or fears about a course
or lesson.
• Penalizing (yes, deducting points) for poorly
written responses.
• Holding ourselves and our students
accountable for formal written expression.
• Being consistent in our expectations.
N-CHS writing FOCUS
• Newton-Conover High
School will strengthen
writing by focusing on
the fundamental
qualities of good
paragraph style.
What is a good paragraph?
An effective paragraph consists of FIVE
parts:
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORT
ELABORATION
CONCLUSION SENTENCE
TRANSITIONS
TOPIC SENTENCE
• Briefly states what the paragraph will
prove.
• Must be specific.
• Look at it this way: “The topic sentence
is a CONTRACT between the writer and
the reader. It must not be broken.”
SUPPORT
• Examples that hold up (support) the
topic sentence. Aim for AT LEAST
THREE in a paragraph assignment.
***Don’t panic, I’ll explain later.
• Typically, support comes from the
textbook students read, a video, or
even what students have heard or seen
elsewhere.
ELABORATION
• The MOST IMPORTANT PART of any
paragraph (or essay).
• This is where the writer makes the
connection between the support and topic
sentence.
• Most often it is the writer’s OWN WORDS,
THOUGHTS, FEELINGS.
• Explains why, how, what, to what extent, etc.
the support is important to the TS
CONCLUSION SENTENCE
• Wraps up the paragraph by
summarizing, offers a possible
solution, or gives a moral.
• DOES NOT simply restate the TS
TRANSITION WORDS
• Transitions join sentences, thoughts,
ideas, examples, elaboration, even
paragraphs, together.
• Keep a piece of writing from being
“CHOPPY.”
• egs: for example, in addition, also,
next, first, second, ;however,
;nevertheless, ;therefore, in short, in
conclusion, to sum it up
REMEMBER:
The most important part
of ANY piece of writing is
the FOCUS
Acceptable writing stays focused from
topic sentence to conclusion.
This workshop was not as fun as I thought it
would be. Listeners were dozing off. Some were
doodling on their notes and drawing stick figures of Mr.
Stewart with one leg missing. What I needed to be doing
at this time was catching up grading the tests I gave in
second and third block. Why they waste classroom
teachers’ time with these dumb writing workshops each
year is beyond me. I know how to write. How do you
think I got a college degree and a teaching job. Any
way, this writing stuff should be the responsibility of Mr.
Stewart and his English department. That’s what they
went to college for; nevertheless, I’m stuck here again
listening to the same stuff as last year. And the bad part
is I already know it.
This writing workshop taught me a few things
that I can use in my own course of study. First, I now
know to look for five parts in an effective paragraph.
From topic sentence to conclusion, these five parts
work together to create a cohesive conversation. The
neat part is that this togetherness can be summed up
as beginning, middle, and end. With this format, I no
longer need to worry about assigning the dreaded
essay. Also, it was neat to discover that “choppy”
meant a lack in transitions. For years I, and other
students, received those essays back with the same
marks, but we never knew what “choppy” meant. As
a result, I’ll focus more on making sure my students
use transitions throughout their writing.
Most importantly, I learned that elaboration is the
key to effective writing. It allows students to
share the thoughts that are inside their brains
with teachers when one-on-one oral conversation
is not an option. In addition, using twice as much
elaboration as support easily convinces the
reader that the writer knows what he or she is
talking about. In short, this workshop wasn’t the
“down you throat” stuffing I thought it would be;
it was informative, useful, and a necessary evil in
raising our students’ writing scores and their
ability to communicate effectively.
