University Writing Center

1. What is the communications graduation requirement for W and C Courses?
2. What is a W course?
3. What is a C course?
4. Who do I contact for more information about W Courses?
5. Why has Texas A&M made a commitment to writing in the disciplines?
6. Can you clarify the statements in FS20.108 that “approximately one-semester hour of writing instruction with demonstration of writing skill” will be required for a W course? Do the statements “one-semester hour” mean “one semester credit hour,” i.e., one hour per week for 14 weeks for a total of 14 hours of writing instruction? Or do they mean at least one hour of writing instruction throughout the entire semester?
7. How can I teach course content if I am also trying to teach writing?
8. I’m not sure of the rules of grammar. How can I teach writing or grade papers?
9. Does the rule stating that undergraduate aides should not grade more than ten percent of the writing portion of the final grade limit the use of Calibrated Peer Review software?
10. Can graduate students grade for W courses?
11. How can I get help grading papers for W Courses?
12. What is the University Writing Center and where is it located?
13. What can I expect during a classroom visit?
14. How can the UWC help my students?
15. Does the UWC discuss grades or professor comments?
16. Can you help my graduate students?
17. Can you help students with Limited English Proficiency?

1. What is the communications graduation requirement for W and C courses?

The graduation requirement for all TAMU students is to take two writing (W) courses in their majors. They may also opt for one W and one C course. The requirement went into effect with the 2004-05 Undergraduate Catalog (#127). In 2007-08 (#130), the requirement shifted to two courses, and in 2008, the C option was added (#2, below). W and C courses must include writing and, for C courses, speaking, instruction relevant to the major, including feedback for students on major assignments done before the final grade is due, and the course grade must reflect demonstrated writing or speaking skill. The courses are designed and administered within departments and approved for a period of four years by the W Course Advisory Committee and the full Faculty Senate. They must be re-approved after four years.

Courses approved as W or C will use a 900-section number to designate which sections are W or C in any given semester. Once the new student records system in in place, a unique section number will be created for C courses. (For Honors courses, a 960-section number will be used.) W and C courses are listed in the Schedule of Courses. Approval is for the course, not the instructor, so departments will be expected to ensure that the course requirements as regards number of words, collaborative work, amount of feedback and instruction remain constant even when the instructor changes.

For a copy of “Educational Leadership at the Beginning of the 21st Century,” the report of the Core Curriculum Review Committee to the Faculty Senate which established this requirement, see http://www.tamu.edu/faculty_senate/CCRC.PDF.

Faculty Senate Resolution 20.108 (FS.20.108), approved March 17, 2003, by the Senate and signed April 1, 2003, by President Robert Gates, establishes the procedure for implementation and provides guidelines for W courses. More information on W Courses is also available on this web site.

2. What is a W course?

The basic requirements for a W Course are as follows:

• require writing related to the students’ major
• provide instruction in writing and feedback that allows for the improvement of major assignments
• base a percentage of the final course grade on writing quality (about 25% for a 4-credit course, 33% for a 3-credit course, and 75% for a one-credit course)
• require a minimum of 2000 words
• base less than 30% of the percentage of the grade based on writing quality on collaborative writing

3. What is a C course?

The basic requirements for a C Course are as follows:

• require writing and speaking or other form of oral communication related to the students’ major
• provide instruction in writing and speaking and feedback that allows for the improvement of major assignments
• base a percentage of the final course grade on writing or speaking quality (about 25% for a 4-credit course, 33% for a 3-credit course, and 75% for a one-credit course)
• require a minimum of 1500 words of writing and 5 minutes of oral communication
• base less than 30% of the percentage of the grade based on writing quality on collaborative writing

4. Who do I contact for more information about W and C courses?

The member of the W Course Advisory Committee for your college. If that doesn’t work, contact the committee chair, Dr. Valerie Balester. You will also find information in Catalog 127 on page 24.

5. Why has Texas A&M made a commitment to writing in the disciplines?

The Faculty Senate has taken a lead role in recognizing that literacy skills cannot be perfected in general requirements taken early in a student’s career. Such courses are valuable in building a foundation; however, advanced academic and professional literacy arise from sustained practice and from immersion in the communications conventions (in writing, thinking, and speaking) of a discipline. While we have long recognized this as an important element of graduate education, we are only now acknowledging that writing skills, like research skills or knowledge of content, are in many ways discipline-specific. Thus, Technical Writing–taught by English GATs to a class of undergraduates from various, often unrelated, majors–will be limited to more general principles regarding audience, organization, grammar, or the writing process. What students will not learn in Technical Writing are the specific requirements of a lab report or business plans, the nuances of audience expectations for an engineering proposal, the details of evidence required in a mathematics proof, or the vagaries of documentation style in Veterinary Medicine.

6. Can you clarify the statements in FS20.108 that “approximately one-semester hour of writing instruction with demonstration of writing skill” will be required for a W course? Do the statements “one-semester hour” mean “one semester credit hour,” i.e., one hour per week for 14 weeks for a total of 14 hours of writing instruction? Or do they mean at least one hour of writing instruction throughout the entire semester?

The original report required approximately 14 hours of writing instruction throughout the semester. The intent of this provision is to avoid simply assigning writing, which in itself would do little to help students learn and might encourage plagiarism. However, during implementation of W courses, the W Course Advisory Committee determined that few courses can devote that much time to writing instruction, and in fact that may not be necessary. The baseline requirement is that some instruction be provided, preferably at least one class period throughout the semester, with additional instruction provided by other means, for example, reading, homework, Web sites, and conference time. The instruction need not detract from delivery of course content if the writing is geared to helping students better learn course content. For example, you might spend ten minutes of each class, three times a week, on discussing or reviewing writing, and assign some reading or exercises outside class. For more information, see the Pedagogy section of this web site.

All faculty are also invited to consult with Dr. Valerie Balester, University Writing Center Executive Director, to discover useful and efficient ways to incorporate this instruction into classes.

7. How can I teach course content if I am also trying to teach writing or speaking?

You should be using communication skills as a means to teach course content, although you may have to decrease the amount of course content you usually include. You will have to devote some time to instruction in writing or speaking, meaning you will have to provide students with some feedback, opportunities to practice, assignment prompts, models, and basic information about document type, audience expectations, and so on. Not all of this has to be accomplished during class time. (See Pedagogy.) Also, remember that as an expert in your discipline you are not teaching grammar or punctuation but the writing and speaking conventions, documentation styles, forms of argument, and ways of thinking valued by yourself and your colleagues.

8. I’m not sure of the rules of grammar. How can I teach writing or grade papers?

Teaching writing is not teaching the rules of grammar.

As a faculty member, you may worry that you are unprepared to teach writing; however, as a faculty member you are inevitably a writer, and this is a skill you have an obligation to share with your students. Share your own brand of expertise. If grammar and punctuation are not your strong points, mark only those errors that bother you, those which interfere with your reading. If you are unsure of “rules” (which, incidentally, vary considerably), then don’t weight them as much as those elements you are more confident in teaching. Remember that writing in your course is one of many experiences with writing we hope to provide for students at Texas A&M. In their careers, both academic and professional, our students will use writing not simply to communicate but also to work through problems, to keep track of research literature, to record data, or to enter into conversations with colleagues. Each new type of writing and each new audience will make new demands on their writing skills. It is important for you to remember that writing is not something learned early and applied later, but that it is a skill acquired and refined over the span of a career.

If, nevertheless, you’d like a few tips on teaching grammar, visit the Pedagogy section of our Faculty Web Page and see “Punctuation, Grammar, Style, & Usage: Twelve Guidelines.”

9. Does the rule stating that undergraduate aides should not grade more than ten percent of the writing portion of the final grade limit the use of Calibrated Peer Review software?

No, that rule does not apply to Calibrated Peer Review. The intent of that provision is to keep students from acting as graders without adequate training or supervision; in CPR peers are “certified” to grade a given assignment, and they must “re-certify” for each assignment. If they do not certify, their judgment does not count. Furthermore, there is a concern over power—over who has the authority to act as a grader. In CPR, the small portion of the grade assigned by any given student is anonymous. Finally, the instructor reviews all grades given in CPR and can easily make judgments to override anything that looks anomalous.

10. Can graduate students grade for W courses?

Yes, graduate students may grade for W courses as long as they are supervised and monitored by a faculty member. The University Writing Center can also provide training for graduate students who are teaching W courses; they are welcome to attend faculty workshops, and we will also provide customized training. Some ways in which we can help include designing a rubric for a major assignment and working with the graduate students to norm their grading using it; reviewing basic rules of grammar and punctuation; reviewing documentation; showing how to make effective comments on student papers. Contact Dr. Valerie Balester to request training.

11. How can I get help grading papers for W Courses?

The University Writing Center does not provide grading or editing services. However, as stated in the question before this, we can provide custom training for faculty and graduate students. You may want to consider using Calibrated Peer Review, which cuts down on grading time. Or you may want to look into hiring an Undergraduate Writing Assistant, who can help free your time for grading by (1) working with individual students in conferences; (2) reading drafts and responding to them before the final paper is due so that students can revise; (3) conducting peer response workshops on drafts; (4) giving you a quick report on writing issues before you assign a grade. They cannot grade, however. Undergraduate Writing Assistants are trained in the University Writing Center and certified as writing tutors by the College Reading and Learning Association. For more information on this program, see the UWA web page and our Spring 2005 newsletter.

12. What is the University Writing Center and where is it located?

The University Writing Center is a tutorial center on the second floor of Evans Library available to all  student writers. The main service provided is one-on-one consultations with a trained writing consultant. In consultations, we work with students to determine what each individual needs. For example, some need help getting started; others need someone to read and interpret an assignment with them; and many will want to know more about doing research or writing footnotes. Sometimes our consultants simply provide an opinion on a draft. Our focus is on changing the writer, not the writing; we work to help students master better writing habits and processes so their learning will transfer to new situations. The UWC also helps faculty who include writing in their classes, provides handouts with tips about writing (available both on-line and outside our front entrance), and sponsors an on-line writing lab (OWL) that allows students to send us a paper and a question (like whether the thesis is clear).

We encourage you to make students aware of our services in any way you can; however, we ask that you not require attendance. Students learn best when they are motivated to come. If you wish to let students know about the University Writing Center, you can request a presentation by using the writing center visit request form. We can also provide you with posters, screensavers, and brochures explaining our services. Requests for these should go to v-balester@tamu.edu.

13. What can I expect during a classroom visit?

If you request an overview of services, a UWC consultant will narrate a short (8-10 minute) Power Point presentation. There will be time for questions as well. If you would like to arrange for the consultant to discuss a specific writing topic in more detail, fill out a request form at http://writingcenter.tamu.edu/classroom_workshops/. Consultants are prepared to discuss the writing process, grammar and punctuation, documentation, and academic integrity (plagiarism), or they can conduct a draft workshop. In all cases they can adjust the time to your needs and are prepared to offer an activity to renforce the PowerPoint they will show. If you request any workshop, we will contact you to get more specific details about your needs.

14. How can the UWC help my students?

Our consultants work one-on-one with students seeking help on any writing project (not only for class but for resumes, applications, even sometimes creative projects). We can devote up to 45 minutes per session to each student. We work to foster active and independent learning, and we try to improve the writer, not the writing; in other words, we don’t concentrate on making a given paper perfect but try instead to teach skills and habits that will help students in all their writing. Given this philosophy, we might not, in 45 minutes, be able to address every problem in a given paper.

Encourage your students to bring a copy of their assignment to any visits, and if they have a writing or grammar textbook, to bring that as well. That way, the consultant can have a better idea of the student’s task. For more information, see Sending Your Students to the Writing Center on this web site.

15. Does the UWC discuss grades or professor comments?

UWC consultants are trained to avoid such discussion, and before each session we remind clients that our Ground Rules prohibit it. We ask students to discuss such matters directly with you.
16. Can you help my graduate students?

Yes! As of 2007-08 graduate students are paying the $8 per semester fee which allows access to center services. However, since as yet we do not know how this increased demand will impact our operations, we are limiting consultations on theses and dissertations to eight total. We will attempt to provide a single consultant for all five visits. For more about this change, see our news item from August 10, 2007.

17. Can you help students with Limited English Proficiency?

We currently do not employ specialists in ESL/EFL (English as a Second or Foreign Language). However, some of our consultants are International students, have taught International students, or are obtaining graduate degrees in that area of teaching. We can provide some help to students with limited English proficiency. We are aware of many of their writing concerns, and we can provide them with help in editing techniques. As with all our clients, we limit visits to one per day, and we cannot edit or proofread for them. We also suggest you check with the English Language Institute.