WAC Bibliography

1. Burton, Grace M. (1985). Writing as a way of knowing in a mathematics education class. Arithmetic Teacher 33.4, 40-45.

Keywords: WAC, mathematics-course, knowledge-making, write-to-learn

2. Cain, Betty; Charles Cooper. ([1982]?). Writing across the curriculum in Third College general education courses, freshmen 1981-82 (Third College Writing Program evaluation studies, No. 2). San Diego, CA: University of California, San Diego, Third College Writing Program.

Keywords: WAC, University of California, San Diego, gen-ed, first-year

3. Clark, Irene L. & Fischbach, Ronald. (2008). Writing and Learning in the Health Sciences: Rhetoric, Identity, Genre, and Performance. The WAC Journal, 19(1), 15-28. https://doi.org/10.37514/WAC-J.2008.19.1.02

Annotation: Clark and Fishbach argue that discussions of linked courses often overlook the need for students simultaneously to develop their professional identities as they work toward becoming more proficient writers. To explore this claim, the authors turn to their experience developing a link between a public health education course and a course in health sciences writing and rhetoric. Clark and Fishbach discovered that students benefited from the opportunity 'to 'perform' as writers and speakers within a particular field or profession' (18). More particularly, the link helped student writers to reconceptualize genre as a form of 'social action' as they became more familiar with the professional discourses they were learning. Clark and Fischbach subsequently consider the ways their focus on genre in the linkage put pressure on the shared term 'argument', but also discuss ways that researchers have shown the term to be similar across humanities-based writing and scientific writing. In closing, the authors assert that their experiences with this linkage affirm that role-play is essential to an increase in professionally situated rhetorical awareness for student writers. [Michelle LaFrance, Linked Writing Courses; WPA-CompPile Research Bibliographies, No. 14]

Keywords: basic-skills, genre, health-sciences, learning-theory, WAC, linked, skill-transfer, public health course, intensive, assignment, syllabus, genre, identity, career, identity, performative, role-playing, interdisciplinary, 'argument', conflict

4. Cox, Michelle. (2010). WAC/WID and second language writers (WPA-CompPile Research Bibliographies, No. 8). CompPile database [filed in the Annotation Field--enter: WPA-CompPile Research Bibliographies, No. 8].

Annotation: In his 2009 article, 'WAC/WID in the Next America: Redefining Professional Identity in the Age of the Multilingual Majority,' Jonathon Hall argues for WAC/WID administrators to be inclusive of second language (L2) students in WAC/WID programs, research, and faculty development. This annotated bibliography takes up that call by providing WAC/WID administrators with reviews of 26 journal articles, book chapters, and monographs that together provide a range of resources useful for providing support for the L2 students writing across the curriculum, in the majors, and in graduate programs. This annotated bibliography is organized in three sections: WAC/WID administrative issues and L2 writers, studies focused on L2 writers in particular disciplines, and studies focused on L2 writers across disciplines. Many of the studies included are case studies tracking the experiences of undergraduate students writing in general education courses as well as courses in their majors, and graduate students writing across master and doctoral programs. What emerges from these studies is a picture of the complex linguistic, cultural, and identity transitions made by L2 students as they write across varying social, disciplinary, and rhetorical contexts. What also emerges is a map of the many opportunities available to WAC/WID professionals for advocating for L2 students. Positioned at the crossroads of teaching and learning as agents of institutional change, WAC/WID professionals are key to making our institutional landscapes, classrooms, and assessment practices more equitable for L2 students, a group not at the margins but at the center of US institutions of higher education. [Michelle Cox, WAC/WID and Second Language Writers, WPA-CompPile Research Bibliographies, No. 8]

Keywords: WAC, WID, ESL, WPA, administrating, needs-analysis

5. D'Alessio, Diane & Riley, Margaret. (2002). Scaffolding Writing Skills for ESL Students in an Education Class at a Community College. The WAC Journal, 13(1), 79-89. https://doi.org/10.37514/WAC-J.2002.13.1.08

Keywords: ESL, two-year, WAC, scaffolding, skill-level, education-course

6. Graff, Gerald. (2009). It's time to end 'courseocentrism'. full text. Inside Higher Ed (January 13).

Annotation: Graff argues that instructors in the Humanities no longer have the luxury of the 'hermetically sealed classroom,' a condition that leads to 'corseocentrism,' which he defines as 'a kind of tunnel vision in which our little part of the world becomes the whole.' He argues that learning communities--particularly the pairing of first year composition and general education classes and/or humanities and science classes--work against the myopia of closed classrooms. Graff poses that the embrace of collaborative teaching and learning environments can help universities to work toward more coherent curricular experiences for students and support students in understanding the inherent connections in what may appear to be discreet fields of study. Graff ends by contending that learning communities are increasingly necessary to combat the ways disciplinary discourses compartmentalize intellectual life and isolate professionals from one another even within departments. [Michelle LaFrance, Linked Writing Courses; WPA-CompPile Research Bibliographies, No. 14]

Keywords: courseocentrism, interdisciplinary, humanities, learning-community, culture wars, WAC

7. Hoffman Mark E. (2005). Linked writing to learn assignments in a computer science general education course. Segall, Mary T.; Robert Smart (Eds.), Direct from the disciplines: Writing across the curriculum; Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook (pp. 94-102).

Keywords: WAC, computer-science-course, write-to-learn, assignment, pedagogy, gen-ed

8. Kamhi-Stein, Lia D. (1997). Redesigning the writing assignment in general education courses. College ESL 07.1, 49-61.

Keywords: gen-ed, WAC, literacy, academic, ESL, team-teaching, interdisciplinary, assignment, process

9. Pobywajlo, Margaret. (2001). Changing Attitudes about General Education: Making Connections Through Writing Across the Curriculum. Plymouth State College Journal on Writing Across the Curriculum, 12(1), 9-19. https://doi.org/10.37514/WAC-J.2001.12.1.02

Annotation: In response to many students’ negative attitudes toward general education courses, Pobywajlo suggests that writing across the curriculum (WAC) programs and writing intensive (WI) courses have the potential to alter both student attitudes and pedagogical practices in general education. The author blames colleges and universities for student disinterest and negativity toward general education courses. Due to large, lecture-style classes, emphasis on breadth rather than depth, low expectations, and fragmentation among courses, students easily disengage from general education courses and fail to recognize the importance of practicing varied forms of critical thinking. Citing prominent researchers in the fields of WAC and composition pedagogy, the author presents WAC programs and WI courses as tools to improving the connectivity of general education courses. She purports that implementing writing facilitates learning, helps students find their voices, authentically assesses learning, grants students responsibility for their own learning, and encourages deeper reading. To support her theories empirically, Pobywajlo presents her findings from a survey she conducted among WI professors at the University of New Hampshire, showing that the majority of professors saw enhanced learning among their WI students. Finally, Pobywajlo calls for additional training for faculty members and continued efforts toward connectivity through writing in general education courses. (Cassie Curtis)

Keywords: WAC, gen-ed, history

10. Thaiss, Christopher. (1992). WAC and general education courses. In McLeod, Susan H.; Margot Soven (Eds.), Writing across the curriculum: A guide to developing programs; Newbury Park, CA: Sage [ERIC Document Reproduction Service, ED 350 622] (pp. 87-109).

Keywords: WAC, program, change, gen-ed