Objectives

A writing-in-the-major program is a comprehensive and systemic approach to the development of writing proficiency. Departments seeking to develop and implement a writing-in-the-major program share these six objectives as part of a broader effort to advance student learning:

1. Clearly defined goals, outcomes and standards for student writing. Faculty define the types of formal writing and standards for writing competence expected in the major.

2. A shared evaluation framework. Faculty use shared criteria for assessing the quality of students' formal writing. This does not mean that every instructor must use the departmental framework for every piece of student writing. It does mean that faculty agree to use some shared criteria to evaluate student work. More importantly, it means students will experience the kind of consistency in assessment needed to help them internalize the criteria for effective performance.

3. Effective writing processes throughout the major. We know that formal writing skill develops best when students engage in a recursive process of drafting, revising, and editing. Seeking alternatives to the labor-intensive practice of reading and responding to every single word of student writing, faculty provide students with appropriate guidance, offering clear expectations, presenting feedback opportunities and sharing models of acceptable work.

4. Integration of writing-to-learn throughout the major. Faculty coordinate the use of writing-to-learn strategies throughout the major. Students use writing as a means of improving their understanding of the subject matter of the discipline.

5. Development of mindful writers. Faculty help students develop their abilities to evaluate their own learning and writing. This is an explicit effort to promote students' effective self-assessment and increasing independence as a learner and writer. A good writing-in-the-major program produces students who not only write well, but are mindful not only of the quality of their work but also of how to improve their own skills.

6. A strategy to improve the writing-in-the-major program. Faculty collectively assess student learning and writing and use the results to make decisions about how to improve teaching and student progress in the program. Assessment is essential for the long-term development and improvement of the program and its goals. Using shared criteria to evaluate individual student writing should greatly facilitate program assessment.

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