What is WAC
Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) describes a broadly-based set of pedagogical practices grounded in the premises that writing plays an indispensable role in developing critical thinking skills, learning discipline-specific content, and understanding and building competence in the modes of inquiry and dissemination specific to various disciplines and professions. Furthermore, WAC pedagogy holds that if students are to lay claim to these benefits, they must have frequent and significant opportunities to write and revise writing in their classes--from their freshman year to their graduation, whatever their major course of study. College-level WAC programs, therefore, advocate and support university and college-wide adoption of writing as a strong component of all classes in all disciplines, not merely in the composition courses run by English departments. Many WAC programs assist in the development and teaching of writing intensive (WI) courses. WI classes tend to use a variety of kinds of writing to help students build critical thinking skills, learn course material more effectively, and communicate their knowledge. See the WI Courses section of our website for more information on the nature of WI courses, examples of such courses at Georgia State University (GSU), and information on the GSU WI course approval process.
WAC approaches to learning can invigorate both student learning and teaching. A recent study, for instance, finds that student engagement with the subject matter being taught increases significantly when they are more frequently asked to write about that subject, particularly in courses in their junior and senior years. Teachers at GSU also report great benefits resulting from training in and adopting WAC teaching methodology. Ultimately, WAC, at GSU and elsewhere, aims to increase literacy and intellectual capacity across the board, improving the value of college education and paying dividends to society at large by effectively training students in ways that can help them to become better academics, better professionals, and better citizens.
Notes:
Richard J. Light. "Writing and Students' Engagement " Peer Review 6.1 (Fall 2003): 28-31. Rpt. of "The Most Effective Classes" in Making the Most of College: Students Speak Their Minds by Richard J. Light. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001. 54-62. [back]
"The WAC program workshops taught me how to design staged writing projects with drafting and feedback so the paper became a learning experience for students. Students enjoyed the benefits of my input and improved their projects." -- Karen M. Gibler, Associate Professor, Department of Real Estate
"Working with the WAC writing consultant during the revision process in my courses was valuable for the students because it allowed them to work intensively with a knowledgeable person and yielded good papers that received good final grades. It also saved me lots of time!" -- James Heitzman, Associate Professor, Department of History [back]