cac.ophony.org

Here’s something useful and informative from the brand new CUNY Writing Across the Curriculum/Writing in the Disciplines Handbook:

Summary of Key WAC/WID Concepts

The original groundbreaking idea for writing across the curriculum came out of England in the late 1960s, and was focused on the relationships between writing and learning in the schools. In 1975 James Britton and his colleagues published a report of their foundational research in The Development of Writing Abilities (11-18). In the United States a number of composition scholars, building in part on their British predecessors, provided an institutional shape to writing across the curriculum initiatives.

What follows is a quick overview of issues and debates that mark the development of this movement.

WAC, WID, WIP:

Some academics and administrators use the following terms and acronyms interchangeably: Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC), Writing in the Disciplines (WID), and Writing in the Professions (WIP). For others, the terms are pedagogically, historically, and politically loaded.

Broadly speaking, the central premise behind WAC is that students need to write, informally and formally, in all of their courses (not just in English and composition classes), in order to develop expertise as academic writers. WAC is often considered a pedagogical movement, working to change modes of learning and teaching, particularly the reliance on multiple choice and short answer modes of assessment. Participants argue that WAC not only makes students stronger writers, but also provides more opportunities for students to integrate their learning across the disciplines. They also claim that there are writing experiences and exercises that cut across the disciplines.

Proponents of WID, on the other hand, have argued that the WAC programs that developed in the United States should be more focused on writing within disciplinary frameworks rather than writing as a “process” that is often decontextualized, too focused on expressive writing, and overly personal. WID, therefore, privileges disciplinary contexts and representational forms and styles, recognizing the particular modes and conventions within specific academic discourses. As an extension of WID, Writing in the Professions (WIP) focuses on writing within specific professions, rather than disciplinary bodies of knowledge.

WAC/WID at CUNY encourages the colleges to develop programs that situate writing across and within all academic departments and programs, spanning the disciplines and professions.

I’ll be posting a few choice items from the handbook in the next few days. Next up: Part 1 of the WAC/WID Glossary. Many thanks to CUNY’s 2007-2008 WAC/WID Planning Committee for putting the handbook together. Very useful stuff for us WAC/WID types.