Introduction to WAC (Writing Across the Curriculum)

Here I'd like to discuss what exactly WAC is and involves, to give us a basis for what will follow: putting the pedagogy into practical classroom use.

At its core, WAC is centered around learning the particular content of a discipline and, in so doing, teaching students the language and communication strategies of said discipline, hopefully via the usage of writing. WAC revolves around the Writing to Learn pedagogy, which involves the following:

• A plethora of writing assignments, mostly informal and ungraded, to help students express their progress and understanding of the content they have been exposed to
• Using writing as both a test and a tool for learning content
• Considers writing as unpolished work not meant for an outside audience--it is there to express what the writer is working through as a learner
• Sees the teacher as a facilitator and coach rather than a judge

As you can see here, this is a stern shift away from the way writing is treated in many classrooms, especially composition classrooms. In the comments below, I would like to see what concerns you, as a teacher, a student, or otherwise,would have with this particular style of teaching, especially viewed through your personal or professional experience.

Next up, the other side of this pedagogy: WID.