WAC Program - Information

This page provides extensive information on the origins, rationale, and goals of WAC at Richmond.  The following links provide shortcuts to parts of this document:

Origin & Influences
Program Description
Rationale & Goals
Program Overview
About Writing Fellows

Origin and Influences

Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) at University of Richmond is based on the Brown and Swarthmore models whose success is well documented. Swarthmore's "Writing Associates Program" is an adaptation of Brown's "Writing Fellows Program." It is particularly suited to the needs of an intensive, small, liberal arts college.

In our program, specially selected undergraduates are trained to help other students improve their writing skills. They complete a course in composition theory and practice as well as gain experience in the Writing Center. Once accepted into the WAC program, Writing Fellows, as they are called here, are assigned to individual courses whose professors have requested assistance with writing.

Fellows are responsible for reviewing first drafts of course papers for no more than fifteen enrolled students and offer individual conferences about each paper, suggesting more detailed strategies for problem-solving. Students then have one week to consider these suggestions and revise their drafts. Professors receive both the first draft, with annotations by the Writing Fellows, and the final version. Students receive detailed commentary (helpful, not judgmental) on at least two papers during the semester and often benefit from the close relationship that develops between Writing Fellow and student.

This relationship is truly collaborative: Writing Fellows are learners as well as teachers. Both Fellow and student have expertise. The Fellow has a special knowledge of writing, and the student, special knowledge of the subject matter. In such situations, writing and learning become truly collaborative.

Besides improving their own writing, Fellows develop strong interpersonal skills in consulting with both their peers and professors. The privilege of being a Writing Fellow carries with it a clear message to future employers and educators about the student's academic accomplishments and leadership skills.

To be eligible for Writing Fellow assistance, instructors participate in two basic workshops and meet minimal criteria for implementing writing in their courses. The professor must agree to require all students enrolled in the course to submit a first draft of all papers to the Writing Fellow and to structure the course so that it requires at least two papers of substantial length and complexity, or several (three to five) shorter writing samples.

One of the greatest concerns among educators in the field of composition and rhetoric is that students do not receive continued close attention to their writing beyond freshman English. Consequently, even students who perform well in basic composition courses often lose their skills or fail to develop them as they pursue their interests in major content areas. Writing Across the Curriculum is designed to meet students' continued need for the reinforcement and development of communication skills. In a Writing Fellows program, that reinforcement comes not only from professors in other disciplines at all levels, but also from a student's peers.

Advantages of the Program for Faculty, Students, and Fellows (outlined by Tori Haring-Smith)

1. It is compatible with disciplines across arts and sciences. Writing Fellows can be placed in any course.
   
   
2. The procedure allows a faculty member to increase the emphasis on writing without having to feel obligated to teach writing itself. That task will be primarily left to the Fellows, who may also refer a student to the Writing Center. Students will be given specific direction in curing writing problems pointed out by both the faculty member and the Writing Fellow.
   
   
3. The program will be a visible indication of widespread concern for writing at the university, while simultaneously strengthening that concern by encouraging faculty university-wide to stress the importance of clear written communication in their classes.
   
   
4. Because the Writing Fellows are undergraduates, they need not threaten their peers. Students who are aware of their writing deficiencies may find instruction by Writing Fellows more helpful and easier to manage.
   
   
5. This program encourages students to think carefully about their writing and to revise consistently. Those who submit careless first drafts know that this draft, along with the Writing Fellow's comments, will be seen by the professor. Furthermore, students are encouraged to revise all drafts so that each paper a faculty member sees should have been through at least two versions. Since thoughtful revision is the key to improving writing, the Fellows program will help students adopt the best of writing habits.
   
   
6. The program will reach a large number of students for a relatively low cost.
   
   
7. Finally, the program will be highly beneficial to those students who serve as Fellows. It will provide an opportunity to learn by teaching and to gain practical experience in helping others. The title--Undergraduate Writing Fellow--should help students convince future employers and educators of their special strengths.
   
   
8. According to Tori Haring-Smith (and others who have adopted the Brown model):

The program succeeds precisely because it is collaborative. Whereas most writing-across-the-curriculum programs ask faculty to spend large amounts of time in being retrained and grading papers, this program offers a service to faculty. Pedagogically, then, it responds to the need for students to become more actively involved in their education. It solves an educational problem not by demanding more of the already overworked faculty, but by asking more of the students. It also demonstrates that education need not be based on competition; cooperation is a more successful educational strategy.

The above information derives from material sent by Thomas Blackburn (Swarthmore) and Tori Haring-Smith (Brown).

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Description

The WAC program solicits faculty and student participants every semester. Faculty participants engage in an orientation session and implement several program elements in their classes. Students apply to become Writing Fellows and/or Writing Center Tutors and take a three-hour required training course, Composition Theory and Pedagogy.

Faculty participants request Writing Fellows for their courses, which are assigned by the program administrators. The Writing Fellows meet their instructors to determine the specific goals to be accomplished through their work with student writers.

Instructors agree to assign two to three substantive papers in the semester and to require enrolled students to attend conferences with Writing Fellows assigned to their class. Writing Fellows receive first drafts and provide extensive written commentary. Before returning these papers, Writing Fellows conduct one-on-one writing conferences with each student to clarify written commentary and to suggest areas for improvement. At no time does the Writing Fellow evaluate student writing; all commentary is aimed at improving the writing process, not the content of the individual paper. Writing Fellows and Writing Center Tutors generally need no content-specific knowledge to engage in a writing conference. Fellows and Tutors focus more on the writing process than on the specific writing assignment.

After students and Writing Fellows meet for their one-on-one writing conferences, students revise their papers and submit to the instructor for evaluation both the first draft with Writing Fellow's commentary and the final, revised draft. The result is better written papers that are more satisfying to read and grade.

Writing Fellows, participating faculty, and students enrolled in courses with Writing Fellows complete an annual evaluation of the program. The results of these evaluations are tabulated and analyzed to find areas of strength and weakness. Program changes result to strengthen areas of weakness. These changes are authorized by the program administrators and advisory committee and implemented by participating instructors and Writing Fellows.

The success of the program depends heavily upon the enthusiasm and cooperation of the instructors who have requested fellows, and upon the quality of work accomplished by the Writing Fellows. Instructors are admitted to the program only after agreeing to uphold the program goals. Both Writing Fellows and Writing Center Tutors are carefully screened through letters of recommendation, personal interviews, and successful completion of the training course.

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Rationale

The Writing Across the Curriculum program views writing as an interdisciplinary process that may be ended but can never really be finished. Its members assume that every writer in every discipline, no matter how accomplished, can write better if attention is paid to the process. Its advocates believe that collaboration among student peers is an especially effective mode of learning. Writing Fellows and Writing Center Tutors represent the heart of the Writing Across the Curriculum program, working collaboratively in classes with instructors and students to improve student writing.

Goals

Writing Across the Curriculum at the University of Richmond aims to:

• provide students with supplementary peer-group writing instruction beyond the required English composition course and throughout the University curriculum;
• provide instructors with models of proven and effective writing theory and pedagogy;
• provide upper-level students with current theoretical and pedagogical composition tools, with strong and effective interpersonal skills, and with opportunities to share their writing skills with others;
• emphasize the importance of "writing as process" and "writing to learn" among students and instructors;
• use relevant computer and Internet technology in the writing process, and to encourage the interdisciplinary use of such technology;
• improve student writing across the disciplines, providing instructors with papers that are more satisfying to read and students throughout the disciplines with stronger written communication skills

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Program Overview

• Applications for the prerequisite training course, English 383: Composition Theory and Pedagogy, are accepted through the the start of student pre-registration. The screening process for applicants includes writing samples, letters of recommendation, and personal interviews. Accepted students are invited to enroll in English 383 for the upcoming Fall semester. Enrollment is possible only by permission of the WAC and Writing Center directors.
• Interested faculty are invited to attend an orientation session with the program director. Attending the orientation session gives instructors full membership in the program.  
• Joe Essid or Joyce Macallister teaches a section of English 383: Composition Theory and Pedagogy. This course prepares a new group of Writing Fellows and Writing Center Tutors for the Spring semester.
• Program administrators meet with Writing Fellows and Writing Center Tutors to refresh memories and provide program evaluation results.
• Writing Fellows meet with their assigned professors and courses, later providing written commentary to drafts and conducting one-on-one writing conferences.
• Writing Center Tutors establish Writing Center hours and conduct writing conferences by appointment and for walk-ins.
• Near the end of the semester, current Fellows and Tutors indicate their work preferences for the upcoming semester, while those completing English 383 indicate their preferences contingent upon successful completion of the course and final acceptance from program administrators.
• Participating faculty indicate their Writing Fellow preferences for their courses next semester.
• Before the end of the semester, program administrators make assignments for Writing Fellows and Writing Center Tutors for the upcoming semester.

Program administrators monitor new Fellows and Tutors carefully, while encouraging experienced Fellows and Tutors to act as mentors and guides.

Every other year, Written evaluations are completed by participating faculty and writing fellows, while students in participating courses complete a multiple choice computer-scanned answer sheet. Students are also given the opportunity to elaborate in writing on each group of responses. The WAC Advisory Committee tabulates and analyzes program evaluations and presents its findings and recommendations to the program director.

You can obtain copies of our evaluation instruments by contacting Joe Essid.

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About Writing Fellows

Assigned in pairs to an instructor's course, the Writing Fellow's main responsibility is to provide appropriate written commentary to a student's rough draft and to meet the student in a brief writing conference to provide feedback and helpful writing tips.

More specifically, the Fellow should...

    ...meet with the instructor and Fellowing partner early in the semester to establish guidelines for assigning papers and helping students as defined by the instructor and the goals of WAC at University of Richmond.

    ...introduce oneself to the instructor's class members early in the semester, providing students a positive model of a peer tutor and representing the WAC program effectively.

    ...provide appropriate and effective written commentary on any rough drafts so assigned by the instructor, keeping within the guidelines established earlier in the semester.

    ...provide students an opportunity to schedule appointments for individual brief writing conferences.

    ...attend all individual writing conferences at the designated time and at the designated location.

    ...return annotated rough drafts to students in a timely fashion (i.e. within one week).

    ...remain in regular contact with the WAC Program Director or Writing Fellows Coordinator.

    ...remain in regular contact with the instructor, reporting any problems or unusual events immediately. This includes late rough drafts and other student actions that seem questionable or outside the instructor's assignment guidelines.

    ...check e-mail and "snail-mail" frequently; answer and return all WAC correspondence as soon as possible.

    ...attend all meetings called by the WAC Program Director or Writing Fellows Coordinator.

In Their Own Words

What IS a Writing Fellow?

Writing Fellows are writers of different majors who are trained to read writers' papers and work with them regarding ideas and organization.

In my own classes I've yet to work with a Writing Fellow. If one had been assigned to a class during my freshman year, I probably would have assumed that the Fellow would read my paper over and make all necessary corrections including punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Yet proofreading is not included in the Fellows' duties. The Fellow should neither write papers for students nor put ideas in their heads. The Fellow should instead help writers organize and clearly state their thoughts by asking appropriate questions. The Fellow does not have to have taken the subject or course for which the paper is written. Instead, the Fellow must maintain the role of writer to writer, not of tutor to student.

As a Fellow I have learned a lot from the people with whom I've worked, because I have considered them writers, not students or tutees. The role of the Writing Fellow, therefore, is one which enables writers to be confident that what they are writing is part of a process in which ideas can be shared.

I believe that the role of a Writing Fellow is to be someone who listens at all times and who offers advice in a non-threatening way to peers. It is advantageous, especially for writers who are still adjusting to the demands of college life or those who are just entering a discipline, to have someone they can go to on a friendly level.

Even though it is the Fellow's duty to be impartial and to avoid giving away ideas, the tutor relationship is a great way for less experienced writers to gain confidence in their own voices through peer encouragement. Having someone to talk to who can identify with a writer's problems, because the Fellow went through the same things in the past, helps to eliminate a writers' feelings of bewilderment about writing. Once the initial problems of organization and clear, concise writing are addressed, the writer will have the courage to express ideas and will feel confident that these ideas are being successfully conveyed to others.

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