University of Wisconsin–Madison
Writing Across the Curriculum
Supporting faculty, instructional staff, and teaching assistants as they teach with writing

Examples & Resources for Teaching Writing

CRITERIA FOR COMMUNICATION-A COURSES

CRITERIA FOR COMMUNICATION-B COURSES

REQUIREMENTS FOR WRITING-INTENSIVE COURSES

COMMUNICATION-B ASSESSMENT STUDY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

WHY LEARNING TO WRITE IN COLLEGE IS DIFFICULT

SOME GUIDELINES FOR RESPECTING LANGUAGE DIVERSITY IN WRITING

PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE FOR THE TEACHING OF WRITING

EXPLAINING TO STUDENTS WHY THEY SHOULD WRITE IN YOUR COURSE

DOING MORE WITH LESS: STREAMLINING YOUR WRITING CURRICULUM

WHY SHOULD YOU USE WRITING ASSIGNMENTS IN YOUR TEACHING IN BIOLOGY?

LIBERAL EDUCATION AND AMERICA’S PROMISE (LEAP): ESSENTIAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

SEQUENCING ASSIGNMENTS OVER THE COURSE OF A SEMESTER

SEQUENCING TASKS FOR A SUBSTANTIAL PAPER IN AN ADVANCED HISTORY COURSE

SEQUENCED GRADED AND UNGRADED WRITING ASSIGNMENTS IN A WRITING-INTENSIVE LITERATURE SYLLABUS

USING A SEMESTER-LONG WRITING PROJECT TO SUPPORT ESSENTIAL LEARNING GOALS

SEQUENCING DIFFERENT GENRES OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS IN A WOMEN’S STUDIES SYLLABUS

CURRICULUM SCAFFOLDING IN WRITING FOR SCIENCE RESEARCH

SEQUENCING SHORT ASSIGNMENTS THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER IN A HISTORY SYLLABUS

GOALS FOR HISTORY 201–THE HISTORIAN’S CRAFT

POVERTY AND PLACE CASE STUDY IN COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY 578

SEQUENCING SMALLER ASSIGNMENTS TO SUPPORT A SEMESTER-LONG RESEARCH PAPER IN SOCIOLOGY

LABOR PORTRAIT PAPER IN HUMAN ECOLOGY 375

LEARNING CONTRACT FOR SEMESTER WRITING PROJECTS IN A GRADUATE SOCIAL WORK COURSE

SEQUENCING ASSIGNMENTS FOR A FINAL PROJECT AND PRESENTATION IN ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES

SEQUENCING WRITING ASSIGNMENTS IN INTERMEDIATE ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

A SEQUENCE OF SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENTS IN ART HISTORY 601

THE ANATOMY OF A WELL-DESIGNED WRITING ASSIGNMENT

 

TIPS FOR WRITING AN ASSIGNMENT AND TEACHING IT TO STUDENTS

 

INFORMAL WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

 

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS IN THEATRE AND DRAMA AND HISTORY OF SCIENCE

 

SHORT ASSIGNMENT IN A COURSE ABOUT RHETORIC AND POWER ON THE INTERNET

 

ANOTHER SHORT ASSIGNMENT IN A COURSE ABOUT RHETORIC AND POWER ON THE INTERNET

 

SHORT, INFORMAL WRITING ASSIGNMENTS IN A LARGE LECTURE LITERATURE COURSE

 

An In-Class Writing Activity in Biomedical Engineering

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A RESEARCH PAPER IN A PSYCHOLOGY COURSE FOR MAJORS: PRESENTING UNDERSTANDING OF A COURSE CONCEPT

A NARRATIVE ASSIGNMENT IN CHEMISTRY

CRITICAL REFLECTION ON FORMS OF ARGUMENT IN COMMUNICATION ARTS 262

EPISTOLARY FICTION ASSIGNMENT

TWO SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENTS IN ZOOLOGY

 

JOURNAL ARTICLE MINI-PROPOSAL IN BIOMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY 504

WRITTEN ANALYSIS OF A PHOTOGRAPH IN ENGLISH

 

A WRITTEN REPORT ON SCHOOLING DATA IN ECONOMICS 475

CARBON FOOTPRINT ANALYSIS: A WRITTEN ANALYSIS BASED ON COMPUTATION

A TAKE-HOME MIDTERM IN DAIRY SCIENCE

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE RESEARCH SEQUENCE IN ENGINEERING PHYSICS

 

ANALYZING TEXTUAL ECHOES IN LITERATURE

 
 

BUILDING PROCESS INTO SHORT ASSIGNMENTS IN ECONOMICS

 
 

A FUNERAL ORATION IN A CLASSICS COURSE

 

A FINAL WRITING PROJECT IN AN UPPER-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY COURSE

 

MINI-PROJECTS IN AN UPPER-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY COURSE

 

GRADUATE STUDENT WRITING PROJECT FOR MUSIC 416

 

TWO EXTRA-CREDIT ASSIGNMENTS FOR AN ASIAN LANGUAGES AND CULTURE COURSE

 

AN ANALYTICAL ESSAY PROJECT IN A POLITICAL SCIENCE COURSE

 

WRITING PROJECT TWO: ACTION PROJECT + RHETORICAL CRITIQUE OF APPLIED RHETORIC

CREATIVE WRITING ASSIGNMENTS IN AFRICAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE

ANALYZING MULTICULTURALISM IN MASS MEDIA WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

 

USING LOW-STAKES RESEARCH PROJECTS TO CRITICALLY ANALYZE COURSE CONTENT

COMPARE AND CONTRAST TWO TREATMENT APPROACHES IN SOCIAL WORK

READING AND CASE STUDY ANALYSIS FOR SOCIAL WORK

 

INTERVIEW WITH AN OLDER ADULT

EXPLICIT GUIDELINES FOR A FORMAL WRITING ASSIGNMENT IN HISTORY OF SCIENCE

HISTORICAL ARGUMENTS AND WIKIPEDIA PARAGRAPHS IN BYZANTINE HISTORY

WRITING ABOUT HABITUS IN INTRODUCTORY ANTHROPOLOGY

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS IN HISTORY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES: ANIMALS MAKING HISTORY

 

AN ARTICLE SUMMARY ASSIGNMENT IN STATISTICS 641

 

POSITION PAPERS IN A CHICAN@ AND LATIN@ STUDIES 330

TEAM POSTER PROJECTS IN BIOCORE

 

COLLABORATIVE ESSAY ASSIGNMENT IN A LITERATURE COURSE

A COLLABORATIVE PAPER IN GEOGRAPHY

 

INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP RESEARCH PAPERS ON SOCIAL IDENTITIES

 

A GROUP ASSIGNMENT IN A MARKETING COURSE

 

TEAM RESEARCH PROJECTS IN BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING

 

A WRITING PROJECT IN FOREST AND WILDLIFE ECOLOGY 660

HELPING YOUR STUDENTS IMPROVE THEIR WRITING AND THEIR LEARNING

MOTIVATING STUDENTS TO GROW AS WRITERS

STUDENT INTRODUCTION SHEETS

COACHING WRITERS WITH DISABILITIES TO SUCCEED

DEVELOPING AN ACCESSIBLE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

MAKING A SOCIOLOGICAL ARGUMENT: ORIENTING STUDENTS TO A NEW FIELD

 

CONCEPTUAL MAP EXERCISE FOR A RESEARCH PROJECT IN SOCIOLOGY 210

 

FROM TOPIC TO THESIS

 

CRAFTING A THESIS STATEMENT

 

HANDOUT: FROM OUTLINE TO FIRST DRAFT

 

TEACHING REVISION

METHODS WRITING PRACTICE ACTIVITY IN BIOMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY 504

 

IN-CLASS DISCUSSIONS OF STUDENT WRITING: MAXIMIZING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUR WRITING LESSONS AND MINIMIZING THE CLASS TIME YOU USE FOR THEM

 

OFFERING STUDENTS ENCOURAGEMENT AS THEY REVISE

REVISING PARAGRAPHS

USING A REVERSE OUTLINE TO REVISE

WRITING AN INTRODUCTION FOR A SCIENTIFIC PAPER

SAMPLE PAPER IN SCIENTIFIC FORMAT

 

AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENT IN POLICY ANALYSIS 881

DESIGNING ACTIVITIES AND ASSIGNMENTS TO DISCOURAGE PLAGIARISM

USING TURNITIN TO TEACH STUDENTS ABOUT PLAGIARISM

PUTTING GRAMMAR IN ITS PLACE… BUT MAKING SURE IT HAS A PLACE

TWELVE COMMON ERRORS: A STUDENT SELF-EDITING GUIDE

 

THE UW-MADISON WRITING CENTER’S ONLINE HANDBOOK

AN INTRODUCTION TO MULTILINGUAL WRITERS AT UW-MADISON

STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE ON LANGUAGE BACKGROUND

HELPING MULTILINGUAL WRITERS SUCCEED IN YOUR COURSE

STRATEGIES FOR WORKING WITH MULTILINGUAL WRITERS

ESTABLISHING PRIORITIES FOR CHOOSING WHICH ERRORS TO MARK

EVALUATING AND GRADING MULTILINGUAL WRITING

RESOURCES FOR WORKING WITH MULTILINGUAL WRITERS

MULTIMEDIA WRITING ASSIGNMENTS IN EAST ASIAN VISUAL CULTURE

LEARNING GOALS AND A WEB-BASED PROJECT IN GENETICS 564

CRITICAL INTERNET PROJECT IN COMMUNICATION ARTS

RADIO STORIES IN A FIG COURSE SYLLABUS

ARIS FIELDWORK ASSIGNMENT AND REFLECTION ESSAY

A COURSE BLOG WITH STUDENT ANALYSES OF WEATHER EVENTS

KEYWORD AND POPULAR CULTURE BLOG POSTS IN COMPARATIVE LITERATURE 203

SHARING INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCES THROUGH WRITING ONLINE

THREE KINDS OF WRITING ACTIVITIES IN AN ONLINE COURSE

CONDUCTING STUDENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

PREPARING FOR EFFECTIVE ONE-ON-ONE CONFERENCING

SAVE TIME BY MAKING ONE-ON-ONE CONFERENCES AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE

PREPARING FOR STUDENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

CONFERENCING WITH STUDENTS ABOUT GROUP WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

MAKING PEER REVIEW WORK

PREPARING STUDENTS IN ADVANCE FOR PEER REVIEW

PUTTING TOGETHER PEER REVIEW GROUPS

GUIDELINES FOR PEER REVIEW

PEER REVIEW CHECKLIST

 

GUIDELINES FOR IN-CLASS PEER REVIEW

 

ACTIVITIES FOR FOCUSED PEER REVIEW

 

GRANT PROPOSAL ASSIGNMENT AND PEER REVIEW IN COMM. ARTS 260

 

HUMAN INTEREST STORY AND PEER REVIEW IN COMM. ARTS 260

 

ZOOLOGY 957 WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND PEER REVIEW

 

A PEER REVIEW FEEDBACK FORM IN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY 671

 

PEER REVIEW ASSIGNMENT FOR FIRST-YEAR PHARMD PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT

GLOBAL AND LOCAL CONCERNS IN STUDENT WRITING: EMPHASIZING THE RIGHT THING AT THE RIGHT TIME

RESPONDING TO STUDENT WRITING

BEYOND LAZINESS: LOOKING BENEATH THE SURFACE OF STUDENTS’ PAPERS

RESPONDING TO STUDENTS’ DRAFTS USING AUDIO

 

A BREIF HOW-TO GUIDE: USING SPEEDGRADER TO RESPOND TO STUDENT WRITING

HOW TO BUILD AND USE RUBRICS EFFECTIVELY

ESTABLISHING EXPLICIT GRADING CRITERIA

SHARED GOALS FOR WRITING ACROSS UNDERGRADUATE LITERATURE COURSES IN A LARGE DEPARTMENT

USING RUBRICS TO TEACH AND EVALUATE WRITING IN BIOLOGY

RUBRIC FOR A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

PROBLEM REPORT AND REFLECTION RUBRICS FOR WRITING IN MATH

EVALUATION SHEET IN PHILOSOPHY

STUDENT-GENERATED EVALUATION CRITERIA

SAMPLE RUBRICS FROM A JOURNALISM COURSE

GRADING CHECKLISTS FOR A SEQUENCED ASSIGNMENT IN ENGINEERING

A SAMPLE END COMMENT IN HISTORY

USING A FORM TO GUIDE INSTRUCTOR FEEDBACK IN PLANT PATHOLOGY

ELECTRONIC COMMENTS ON A STUDENT PAPER IN SOCIOLOGY

RESPONDING WITH FEEDBACK TO AN ENTIRE CLASS IN LITERATURE

USING FEEDBACK MANAGER TO RESPOND TO SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENTS IN LARGE LECTURE COURSES

STUDENT SELF-EVALUATION IN WOMEN’S STUDIES

A PORTFOLIO PROJECT IN MATH

A WRITING PORTFOLIO IN BIOLOGY: BALANCING PROCESS WITH PRODUCT

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE LIBRARY RESEARCH & INFORMATION LITERACY COMPONENT OF COMMUNICATION-B COURSES

TIPS FOR DESIGNING LIBRARY RESEARCH ASSIGNMENTS

A LIBRARY INSTRUCTION SESSION HANDOUT FOR BYZANTINE HISTORY

USING CITATION MANAGEMENT TOOLS IN WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

WRITING ABOUT ARCHIVES IN LIBRARY AND INFORMATION STUDIES

A PRECIS OF A RESEARCH ARTICLE IN JOURNALISM

A THEATRE AND DRAMA LIBRARY ASSIGNMENT

A PRIMARY SOURCE PAPER IN LEGAL STUDIES

ACKNOWLEDGING, PARAPHRASING, AND QUOTING SOURCES

A RESEARCH GUIDE FOR A LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION COURSE

INCORPORATING THE ORAL COMMUNICATION COMPONENT

PARTICIPATION GRADING SHEET

MOCK TRIAL ASSIGNMENT

WORKS IN PROGRESS PRESENTATION

PREPARED AND EXTEMPORANEOUS ASSIGNMENTS IN A COMMUNICATIONS-B COURSE

SCAFFOLDING ORAL PRESENTATION ASSIGNMENTS IN COMMUNICATION ARTS

USING ORAL DEBATES TO FIND AN ARGUMENT

DOS AND DON’TS FOR BRIEF RESEARCH TALKS

PREPARING STUDENTS TO GIVE PRESENTATIONS ON RESEARCH PAPERS

INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS

PREPARING POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS

MAKING CRITERIA FOR CLASS PARTICIPATION EXPLICIT

EVALUATING STUDENTS’ ORAL PARTICIPATION IN CLASS

THE CHALLENGE OF EVALUATING ORAL PRESENTATIONS