Schedule of Writing Assignments

One traditional model of college teaching has students turning in a long term paper at the end of the semester. In this model, students often write the paper "on the side", without any assistance from the class or the instructor. Often they do very little writing earlier in the term, except perhaps on exams.

The writing-intensive course offers a productive alternative to this model. In a W-course, writing occurs throughout the semester, not just at the end of the term, and serves as a mode of learning as well as a way of reporting what one has learned. When students do complete a substantial end-of-term project, their work is supported by a series of earlier writing assignments.

Short assignments earlier in the term may ask students to practice certain kinds of thinking or writing particular to the discipline; they may then apply this kind of thiinking or writing to the culminating project. Alternatively, students may write parts of a long project, such as a research article, to be reviewed by the instructor and revised before being integrated into the larger piece.

Faculty proposing a W-course must provide their schedule of writing assignments. The course calendar should make it clear that:

• Students will begin writing early in the term.
• Students will write regularly throughout the term.
• Students will revise some of their work significantly.
• Substantial end-of-term projects are supported by earlier assignments.
• The instructor has allowed adequate time between assignments to read and respond to student work.
• Students will write at least 20 pages in all.