Sourcebook for Instructors of Junior Year Writing Courses 2007-08 University Writing Program University of Massachusetts Amherst http://www.umass.edu/writingprogram/ (413) 545-0610 Table of Contents Letter from the Coordinator of the Junior Year Writing Program .................................... 3 Letter from the Director of the University Writing Program .............................................. 5 Celebration of Writing and Best Essay Contest ............................................................... 7 The Junior Year Writing Requirement ............................................................................. 9 History of the Junior Year Writing Program .............................................................. 11 Structure of the Junior Year Writing Program .......................................................... 13 Funding FAQs .......................................................................................................... 14 Developing or Changing a Junior Year Writing Course ............................................ 15 Curricular Expectations and Options ............................................................................ 17 Basic Expectations for Junior Year Writing Courses ................................................ 19 Learning Goals for JYWP Courses .......................................................................... 21 Options for Departments Offering Junior Year Writing Courses .............................. 25 TO Training for Junior Year Writing Courses ........................................................... 26 Sample Course Syllabi .................................................................................................. 27 Writing in Biology (Biology 312), Spring 2007 Instructor: Steven Brewer ................................................................................... 29 Writing in Economics (Economics 397W), Spring 2007 Instructor: John Stifler ......................................................................................... 31 Writing for Comparative Literary Studies (Comp-Lit 397B), Fall 2005 Instructor: Nikolina Dobreva ............................................................................... 33 Writing in Physics (Physics 381), Fall 1999 Instructor: William Mullin ..................................................................................... 35 Writing for Women’s Studies Majors (WOST 391W), Fall 2006 Instructor: Kirsten Isgro ...................................................................................... 39 Designing Effective Writing Assignments ...................................................................... 43 Formal Writing Assignments .................................................................................... 45 Informal Writing Assignments .................................................................................. 47 Collaborative Writing Assignments .......................................................................... 49 Sample Assignment Sequences ................................................................................... 53 Sequence of Writing Assignments from Biology 312 ............................................... 55 Sequence of Writing Assignments from Economics 397W ...................................... 61 Sequence of Assignments from Physics 381 ........................................................... 65 1 Sequence of Assignments from Women’s Studies 391W ........................................ 68 Sequence of Assignments from English 491R ......................................................... 71 Sequence of Assignments from Environmental Design 394A .................................. 78 Sample Student Writing from Across the University ...................................................... 93 Ben DiTrolio, “Molecule of the Year: Carbon Dioxide,” from Chem 391 ................... 95 Nancy Lattinville, “Signs of Empathy in Animals” from Psych 392 ........................... 98 RJ Boutelle, “Writing for a Philosophical World” from English 297H ...................... 104 Nicole Carreiro, “A Look at Linguistic Anthropology” from English 297H ............... 109 Alice Gray, “Tap-Dancing in Hollywood Film” from Comp-Lit 397B........................ 113 Responding to Student Writing .................................................................................... 119 Peer Response ...................................................................................................... 121 Writing Conferences .............................................................................................. 127 Teacher Response ................................................................................................. 128 Evaluating Student Writing .......................................................................................... 133 High Stakes and Low Stakes Evaluation of Writing by Peter Elbow ...................... 135 Evaluating Student Writing By David Fleming ........................................................ 147 Rubrics ............................................................................................................. 149 Points ............................................................................................................... 151 Dynamic Criteria Mapping ................................................................................ 153 Contracts .......................................................................................................... 155 Portfolios .......................................................................................................... 157 Teaching the Writing Process ..................................................................................... 159 Generative Writing/Pre-Writing .............................................................................. 161 Drafting/Revising .................................................................................................... 163 Proofreading/Copyediting ...................................................................................... 166 Teaching Grammar ..................................................................................................... 169 Putting Grammar in its Place by Linda LaDuc ....................................................... 171 Teaching the Research Process ................................................................................. 177 Information Literacy for Junior Year Writing Courses by Isabel Espinal ................. 179 Other Resources ......................................................................................................... 181 The Penguin Handbook ......................................................................................... 183 The University Writing Center ................................................................................ 184 Bibliography of Junior Year Writing at UMass Amherst ......................................... 185 Contacts ................................................................................................................. 186 2 3 Letter from the Coordinator of the Junior Year Writing Program July 16, 2007 Dear colleagues, Welcome to the Junior Year Writing Program and our new instructional Sourcebook! The University of Massachusetts Amherst is so fortunate to have writing courses specifically designed for each discipline. I have been called on multiple times to consult with universities around the country desperate to improve their students’ writing abilities. Here, we have a built-in mechanism to support the development of our students’ discipline-specific writing skills. Writing courses within each discipline offer students the opportunity to clarify their thoughts and develop their ideas while becoming more articulate about the issues of their chosen fields. This first edition of the Junior Year Writing Sourcebook was designed to support your work with students. The Sourcebook contains, among other things, a brief history of our nationally-acclaimed program, basic expectations of junior-year writing courses, and samples of successful syllabi and assignments. The ideas presented here – for teaching, assigning, and responding to student writing – are offered as options to consider in your own courses. We have included useful articles about grading writing, grammar, and scaffolding your students’ work from low stakes to high stakes writing. In addition, the writing workshops we offer periodically are designed to provide hands- on opportunities for you to broaden your teaching repertoire when it comes to writing. This year we hope to build on the success of our writing workshops last spring. Look for upcoming announcements! Finally, our website – http://www.umass.edu/writingprogram/ – offers information about the teaching of writing with links to more in-depth resources. Let us know what other types of guidance, materials, or consultation services would be of interest to you. We are here to promote student writing and support faculty, teaching assistants, and teaching associates in that endeavor. I hope you enjoy our Sourcebook! Sincerely, 4 Genevieve E. Chandler, RN, PhD Associate Professor of Nursing Junior Year Writing Coordinator University of Massachusetts Amherst 5 A biographical note: Ginny Chandler came to teach junior-year writing through her involvement with Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA) and her work with Pat Schneider. She was so taken with the experience of being an AWA workshop