The Elements of Teaching Writing A Resource for Instructors in All Disciplines

Drawing on their extensive experience training instructors in all disciplines to incorporate writing in their courses, Gottschalk and Hjortshoj provide time-saving strategies and practical guidance in this brief, well-written reference. Accommodating a wide range of teaching styles and class sizes,Elementsoffers reliable advice about how to design effective writing assignments and how to respond to and evaluate student writing in any course.

Preface

Introduction

Some Basic Questions and Answers

What Is Wrong with Student Writing? (And Who Is Responsible?)

Who Am I to Teach Writing?

What Is Good Writing?


1 Integrating Writing and Learning in Your Course Design

Key Elements

Elements

Writing vs. Content: A False Dichotomy

A Typical Syllabus Is Not a Course Design

Knowledge and Inquiry: Two Models of Scholarship and Teaching

Writing, Reading, Speaking, and Listening for Active Learning

Safety First: Establishing Structure, Rules, and Standards



2 Designing Writing Assignments and Assignment Sequences

Key Elements

Thinking of Assignments as Your Writing for the Course

The Rhetoric of Assignment Writing: Subject, Audience, Purpose, and Form

Designing Assignments with Rhetorical Clarity

Defining Boundaries Clearly

Sequencing Writing Assignments to Build a Course of Study

Thinking of Assignments (and Courses) as Progressions



3 What Can You Do with Student Writing?

Key Elements

The Silent Transaction

An Approach to Avoid: Reading Student Writing with Grading as a Goal

What Students Prefer

A Basic Method for Responding to Student Writing

Using (and Saving) Time Wisely

Breaking the Silence: The Student's Role in Response



4 Assigning and Responding to Revision

Key Elements

Undergraduate Visions of Writing: First Draft as Last Draft

Two Kinds of Revision

Revision before Submission of a Draft

Revision after Submission of a Draft

Responding to Drafts for Revision

In-Class Work on Revision

Methods for Structuring Peer Review

Contents



5 Informal and Preparatory Writing

Key Elements

Practice and Performance

Writing to Inform Teachers

Writing to Learn

Writing in Preparation for Performance



6 Teaching Writing at the Sentence Level

Key Elements

Defining Terms to Clarify Instruction

The Current State of Student Writing

The Recursive Nature of Learning to Write

When, Where, and How to Attend to Sentences

Aspects of Error and Style Meriting Attention

Responding to Sentence-Level Problems of ESL Students



7 Orchestrating the Research Paper

Key Elements

The Research Paper: Differing Conceptions and Goals

Effective Guidance for Students' Research Projects

Creating Opportunities for Presentation and Exchange

Advice for Preventing Plagiarism



8 Links between Writing, Reading, Discussion, and Oral Presentation

Key Elements

Maximizing Personal Engagement and Collegial Interaction

Strategies for Encouraging Effective Reading

Strategies for Encouraging Good Discussion

Strategies for Effective Oral Presentations

"Controlled Drift"


9 Strategies for Including Writing in Large Courses

Key Elements

Enlarging Conceptions of Writing for Large Courses

Assigning Less to Achieve More

Assigning Writing That Is Not Graded (or Even Read)

Responding to Writing: Taking Time to Save Time

Making the Best Use of Discussion Sections and Teaching Assistants

Offering Optional Sections or Assignments for Highly Motivated Students

Assigning Group Projects

Using Writing Centers to Help with Instruction

The Transforming Power of Words


10 Teaching as a Work in Progress

Key Elements

A Course as a Work in Progress

Learning from Experience: Record Keeping


Conclusion

National Implications, Local Practices


Works Cited

Index