Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

1992

Thesis Director

Linda S. Coleman

Abstract

Between 1900 and 1925 several changes took place which modernized American universities. One of the most significant involved a different curriculum. The new program was, in part, geared toward preparing students for specialized careers. This approach, however, made it possible for teachers outside of English to eliminate writing from their courses and, more generally, to develop distorted and limited views of the uses of writing. Today, Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) programs are being incorporated into many colleges and universities across the country in an attempt to correct misperceptions and to bring writing back into non-English courses.

WAC stresses the advantages of using writing as a way to learn and to communicate in all disciplines. For the business discipline, more specifically, WAC means combining efforts with teachers in other disciplines in order to learn how best to use writing to teach course material and business-specific communication skills. Teachers who already have brought writing into their courses found that it is an excellent way to improve students comprehension and analytical skills while improving their writing ability.

Voluntary WAC workshops are the most common and effective way to educate faculty on the meaning, practices, and benefits of WAC. Leaders of a WAC workshops usually clearly outline the writing process and show how it involves several recursive steps: invention, drafting, and revision. An explanation of evaluation is also included in a WAC workshops. WAC workshops are intended to dispel common misperceptions so that participants see that writing is an excellent way to improve students' learning ability and to turn them into more fluent and confident writers.

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