Theoreticians and practitioners alike agree that writing promotes both critical thinking and learning (See Adams, 1973; Applebee, 1985; Britton et al., 1975; Bruner,1975; Emig,1977; Herrington, 1981; Odell,1980; and Parker, 1985 in the citations below.) As Toby Fulwiler and Art Young (1982) explain in their "Introduction" to Language Connections: Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum:

Writing to communicate—or what James Britton calls "transactional writing"—means writing to accomplish something, to inform, instruct, or persuade.... Writing to learn is different. We write to ourselves as well as talk with others to objectify our perceptions of reality; the primary function of this "expressive" language is not to communicate, but to order and represent experience to our own understanding. In this sense language provides us with a unique way of knowing and becomes a tool for discovering, for shaping meaning, and for reaching understanding. (p. x)

In "Writing to Learn Means Learning to Think," Syrene Forsman (1985) makes the same point, but she directs her attention not to a theoretical justification but a practical rationale for writing to learn:

As teachers we can choose between (a) sentencing students to thoughtless mechanical operations and (b) facilitating their ability to think. If students' readiness for more involved thought processes is bypassed in favor of jamming more facts and figures into their heads, they will stagnate at the lower levels of thinking. But if students are encouraged to try a variety of thought processes in classes, they can, regardless of their ages, develop considerable mental power. Writing is one of the most effective ways to develop thinking. (p. 162)

The Consequences of Writing by Robert P. Parker and Vera Goodkin (1987) is an especially good early resource on writing to learn. Following a detailed discussion of the theoretical links between language (especially writing) and learning, these authors outline projects that focus on writing in entomology, clinical nursing, psychology, and mathematics, all with similar results: students learned key concepts and understood material more fully while also practicing some features of discourse for the specified discourse community. Thus, writing to learn can have additional positive effects in helping students mature as effective communicators even though the initial goal is to help students become better learners.

Examples of Writing-to-Learn Activities

Writing-to-learn activities can happen frequently or infrequently in your class; some can extend over the entire semester; some can be extended to include a wide variety of writing tasks in different formats and to different audiences. Use the list below to read more about writing-to-learn activities.

Using Technology with WTL Activities

If you teach in a computer classroom, if students can bring laptops or tablets to class, or if students have easy access to computers outside of class, WTL activities of all sorts can be adapted for in-class writing.

What Kinds of WTL Tasks Can Be Carried Out in a Computer-Supported Classroom?

Summarize and respond to readings
Summarize key points from prior class
Pose problems based on class material
Clarify unclear points in reading or class
Plan writing or speaking projects
Discover potential audiences
Practice format for assignments and projects
Record observations over time
Define key terms
Record round-robin comments for inductive learning
Organize group-response sheets
Capture peer review of drafts in progress

For additional ways to use technologies to support WTL, see How might computer technologies support students' writing in my classes?

Alternatives for Evaluating WTL Assignments

Because they are informal and often impromptu, writing-to-learn activities aren't marked for correctness. Rather, teachers or classmates quickly read the writing for a general sense of what students understand and don't understand.

Because most teachers cannot read through and comment on every WTL activity students complete, we suggest the following alternatives:

Use an occasional WTL warm-up at the beginning of class as a "quiz." Pick up a single sheet of paper or glance at a computer screen and comment briefly on students' grasp of a reading assignment or key concepts.
Pick up WTL material from five-ten students every day or every other day. Don't read every word, but skim quickly to identify tasks students might need help with—a reading that bogged down in class discussion, a page that has very little written, a page that has lots written.
Use different colored pens or highlighters to note points in selected entries. One color means "good idea," one means "consider pursuing this idea as a paper topic," another means "come back to this idea again and explore it in more detail," and so on.
While students are writing at the beginning and end of class, walk around the room and read over shoulders. This technique is especially easy if you have students writing on computers. Stop to talk to or jot a note on the writing of 3-4 students. If students don't like having you read over shoulders, ask them to select a few recent WTL activities and put those to one side for you to collect and read quickly.
Ask students to select their best or most provocative WTL writing for you to review.
Ask students to share WTL activities with one or two classmates.
Ask students to send the WTL writing that contains questions about course material to you over e-mail.
Ask students to post provocative questions or summary/analysis of readings on an electronic bulletin board or Web forum for class comment.

Logistical Tip: Always have students use loose-leaf paper, not a spiral bound notebook. Students might misplace some of their writing, but teachers can much more easily pick up single pages to review.

Beyond the Basics

The literature now available on writing-to-learn or writing-to-engage practices is deep and broad, encompassing far more than a brief bibliographic essay can accurately capture. Let me offer instead two pieces of advice - consult the more general resources noted here on low-stakes or writing-to-learn activities and look at the journals in your discipline that take up teaching issues. Those journals are most likely to include articles that situate writing-to-learn and writing-to-engage activities in the courses you might find yourself teaching. The articles themselves will glean from the robust resources to point you toward those titles that will best fill in background you might find helpful.

We collect below titles from across disciplines to offer some potential starting points, most from 2005-2012. We have organized the resources in two tables to cluster articles by discipline and then by writing activity. Please note, however, that disciplinary titles here point to writing to learn rather than writing in the disciplines (or writing to communicate) titles that are included in the WID section of this resource. All titles refer to the list of Works Cited that follows the tables.

Titles sorted by broad disciplinary focus

General	Anderson, 2010 Badley, 2009 Black, 2008 Blevins-Knabe, 1987 Bowie, 2012 Cisero, 2006 Ellis, Taylor & Drury, 2007 Gump, 2010 Hughes, 2008 Jackson, 2010 Jones, 2010 Krause-Jensen, 2010 Liu, 2006 Melzer, 2009 Miyazoe & Anderson, 2011 Ponte, 2006 Shafer, 2012 Simmons, L., 2008 Stead, 2005 Ventis, 1990 Veri, Barton, Burgee, Davis, Eaton, Frazier, Gray, Halsey & Thurman, 2006 Wade, 1995 Watts & Burnett, 2012 Wolfe, C.R., 2010 Wolfe, J., 2011 Yang, Yeh & Wong, 2010
Arts/Humanities	Browning, 2011 Coe, 2011 Festa, 2009 Gillette, 2006 Hamilton & Gilbert, 2005 Hynd, Holschuh & Hubbard, 2004 Mulnix & Mulnix, 2010 Rivers, 2006 Rose, 2012 White, Wright-Soika & Russell, 2007
Business	Carnes, Jennings, Vice & Wiedmaier, 2001 Harter & Quinlan, 2008 O'Halloran & Deale, 2004 Stevens, 2005
Education	Alvine, 2001 Doll, Kereakoglow, Rahkika Sarma & Hare, 2008 Galer-Unti, 2002 Gallavan, Bowles & Young, 2007 Hellman & Rowland, 2008 Holliway, 2009 Hourigan & Murray, 2010 Simon, 2007 Street & Stang, 2009 Tynjala, 1998 Walker, 2006 Wheeler & Wheeler, 2009
STEM	Ablin, 2008 Allain, Abbot, & Deardorff, 2006 Armstrong, Wallace & Chang, 2008 Bahls, 2012 Balgopal & Wallace, 2009 Balgopal, Wallace & Dahlberg, 2012 Blevins-Knabe, 1987 Bobich, 2008 Carnegie, 2012 Chamely-Wiik, Haky & Galen, 2012 Cheng, Pare, Collimore & Joordens, 2011 Clark, 2010 Coles, 1991 Cooper, 2012 Cunningham, 2007 Danielson, 2010 Defazio, Jones, Tennant & Hook, 2010 Doty, 2012 Drabick, Weisberg, Paul & Bubier, 2007 Franz, 2012 Gladding & Cox, 2008 Goodman, 2005 Guill, 2006 Habre, 2012 Halsor & Faul-Halsor, 1991 Hauk & Isom, 2009 Hosten, Talanova & Lipkowitz, 2011 Jolley, 1990 Kalman & Rohar Killingbeck, 2006 Kirkland, 1997 Lakin & Wichman, 2005 Libarkin & Ording, 2012 Lie, Shapiro, Cohn & Najm, 2010 McDermott & Hand, 2010 McDonnell, Ennis & Shoemaker, 2011 McMillan & Raines, 2010 Moni, Moni & Poronnik, 2007 Polizzotto & Ortiz, 2008 Quitadamo & Kurtz, 2007 Radmacher, 1995 Reilly & Strickland, 2010 Reynolds, Thaiss, Katkin & Thompson, 2012 Rich, Miller & DeTora, 2011 Schwartz, Lederman & Crawford, 2004 Seto & Meel, 2006 Sharp, Olds, Miller & Dyrud, 1999 Simmons, S.R., 2008 Staats & Batteen, 2009 Stanesco, 1991 Stewart, Myers & Culley, 2010 Stout, 2010 Theoret & Luna, 2009 Turner & Broemmel, 2006 Ventis, 1990 Wandersee, Clary, & Guzman, 2006 White, 2007
Social Sciences	Brewer & Jozefowicz, 2006 Cavdar & Doe, 2012 Centellas, 2010 Fouberg, 2000 Frank, 2006 Gordy & Perry, 2005 Holtzman, 2005 Hooey & Bailey, 2005 Horton & Diaz, 2011 Hudd & Bronson, 2007 Kebede, 2009 Malcolm, 2006 Massengill, 2011 Messinger, 2004 Mott, 2008 Nesoff, 2004 Pressman, 2008 Reynolds, 2010 Rusche & Jason, 2011 Walmsley & Birkbeck, 2006

Titles sorted by type of writing activity or outcome emphasized

Journals	Brewer & Jozefowicz, 2006 Cisero, 2006 Coles, 1991 Doll, Kereakoglow, Rahkika Sarma & Hare, 2008 Fouberg, 2000 Hooey & Bailey, 2005 Jolley, 1990 Nesoff, 2004 Schwartz, Lederman & Crawford, 2004 Seto & Meel, 2006 Sharp, Olds, Miller & Dyrud, 1999 Stanesco, 1991 Theoret & Luna, 2009 Walker, 2006
Minute Papers	Drabick, Weisberg, Paul & Bubier, 2007 Seto & Meel, 2006 Stead, 2005 Stewart, Myers & Culley, 2010
Biography/Autobiography	Alvine, 2001 Kebede, 2009 Seto & Meel, 2006 Stout, 2010 Walmsley & Birkbeck, 2006
Personal Response	Anderson, 2010 Balgopal, Wallace & Dahlberg, 2012 Black, 2008 Brewer & Jozefowicz, 2006 Clark, 2010 Frank, 2006 Gladding & Cox, 2008 Gordy & Peary, 2005 Hughes, 2008 Kalman & Rohar, 2010 Messinger, 2004 Moni, Moni & Poronnik, 2007 Rusche & Jason, 2011 Shafer, 2012 Simmons, S.R., 2008 Wandersee, Clary & Guzman, 2006
Critical Response	Ablin, 2008 Balgopal & Wallace, 2009 Browning, 2011 Clark, 2010 Festa, 2009 Gillette, 2006 Guill, 2006 Gump, 2010 Hauk & Isom, 2009 Holtzman, 2005 Kalman & Rohar, 2010 Lakin & Wichman, 2005 Liu, 2006 Malcolm, 2006 Massengill, 2011 Messinger, 2004 Mott, 2008 Pressman, 2008 Reilly & Strickland, 2010 Rose, 2012 Rusche & Jason, 2011 Tynjala, 1998
Blogs	Cooper, 2012 Hourigan & Murray, 2010 Miyazoe & Anderson, 2011
Discussion Forums	Cheng, Pare, Collimore & Joordens, 2011 Cooper, 2012 Miyazoe & Anderson, 2011 Theoret & Luna, 2009
Podcasts	Bowie, 2012 Jones, 2010
Letters	White, Wright-Soika & Russell, 2007
Ethnography	Hamilton & Gilbert, 2005

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Staats, S., & Batteen, C. (2009). Context in an interdisciplinary algebra writing assignment. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 40(1), 35-50.

Stanesco, J.D. (1991). The personal journal as a learning and evaluation tool in geology field-trip courses. Journal of Geological Education, 39: 204-205.

Stead, D.R. (2005). A review of the one-minute paper. Active Learning in Higher Education: The Journal of the Institute for Learning and Teaching, 6(2), 118-131.

Stevens, B. (2005). The car accident: An exercise in persuasive writing. Communication Teacher, 19(2), 62-67.

Stewart, T.L., Myers, A.C., & Culley, M.R. (2010). Enhanced learning and retention through "writing to learn" in the psychology classroom. Teaching of Psychology, 37(1), 46-49.

Stout, R.P. (2010). "Hello, I'm Carbon": Writing about elements and compounds. Journal of Chemical Education, 87(11), 1163-1165.

Street, C., & Stang, K.K. (2009). In what ways do teacher education courses change teachers' self-confidence as writers? Teacher Education Quarterly, 36(3), 75-94.

Theoret, J.M., & Luna, A. (2009). Thinking statistically in writing: Journals and discussion boards in an introductory statistics course. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 21(1), 57-65.

Turner, T., & Broemmel, A. (2006). Fourteen writing strategies. Science Scope, 30(4), 27-31.

Tynjala, P. (1998). Writing as a tool for constructive learning: Students' learning experiences during an experiment. Higher Education, 36(2), 209-230.

Ventis, D.G. (1990). Writing to discuss: Use of a clustering technique. Teaching of Psychology, 17(1), 42-44.

Veri, M.J., Barton, K., Burgee, D., Davis, J.A., Jr., Eaton, P., Frazier, C., Gray, S., Halsey, C., & Thurman, R. (2006). Etched impressions: Student writing as engaged pedagogy in the graduate sport management classroom. Quest, 58(4), 443-464.

Wade, C. (1995). Using writing to develop and assess critical thinking. Teaching of Psychology, 22(1), 24-28.

Walker, S.E. (2006). Journal writing as a teaching technique to promote reflection. Journal of Athletic Training, 41(2), 216-221.

Walmsley, C., & Birkbeck, J. (2006). Personal narrative writing: A method of values reflection for BSW students. Journal of Teaching Social Work, 26(1-2), 111-126.

Walvoord, B.E. (1992). "Getting started." In McLeod, S.H., and Soven, M. (Eds.), Writing across the curriculum: A guide to developing programs. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Wandersee, J.H., Clary, R.M., & Guzman, S.M. (2006). A writing template for probing students' botanical sense of place. American Biology Teacher, 68(7), 419-422.

Watts, J., & Burnett, R.E. (2012). Pairing courses across the disciplines: Effects on writing performance. Written Communication, 29(2), 208-235.

Wheeler, S., & Wheeler, D. (2009). Using wikis to promote quality learning in teacher training. Learning, Media and Technology, 34(1), 1-10.

White, A.M., Wright-Soika, M., & Russsell, M.S. (2007). Epistolary connections: Letters as pedagogical tools in the introductory women's studies course. Feminist Teacher: A Journal of the Practices, Theories, and Scholarship of Feminist Teaching, 17(3), 204-224.

White, H.B. (2007). The eyes have it: A problem-based learning exercise in molecular evolution. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 35(3), 213-218.

Wolfe, C.R. (2011). Argumentation across the curriculum. Written Communication, 28(2), 193-219.

Wolfe, J. (2010). Rhetorical numbers: A case for quantitative writing in the composition classroom. College Composition and Communication, 61(3), 452-475.

Yang, Y., Yeh, H., & Wong, W. (2010). The influence of social interaction on meaning construction in a virtual community. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(2), 287-306.

Young, A., and Fulwiler, T. (1986). Writing across the disciplines: Research into practice. Upper Montclair, NJ: Boynton/Cook.

Additional Resources

For a more complete bibliography, go to http://www.iub.edu/~cwp/lib/wacgen.shtml and to the WAC Bibliography on the Clearinghouse.

What is Writing to Learn?

Contents