University Writing Center

Communications in the Disciplines at Texas A&M University

The Core Curriculum Review Committee report entitled “Educational Leadership at the Beginning of the 21st Century” (March 28, 2000, as amended and approved by the Faculty Senate, May 8, 2000), establishes the writing-intensive (W) course graduation requirement at Texas  A&M University. The first W course graduation requirement went into effect for Catalog 127 ( Fall 2004). The requirement for a second course was instituted in Catalog 130 (Fall 2007). Faculty Senate Resolution 20.108 established the guidelines for implementation of W courses at Texas A&M University. Resolution 20.18, submitted by the Academic Affairs Committee, was approved at the regular meeting of the Faculty Senate on March 17, 2003. President Gates approved the resolution on April 1, 2003.

In April of 2008 the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate recommended, and the Faculty Senate passed, the Communications (C) Course option, which allows a student to take either two W courses or one W and one C course to fulfill the W course graduation requirement. The C course includes oral and electronic communications skills, where “electronic communication” includes Web sites, videos, podcasts, and other broadcasting media. C courses should be specific to and relevant to the major and should follow the same basic guidelines established for W courses, including the requirement that students receive instruction on oral communication and be given a chance to practice and receive feedback on communications assignments before a grade is assigned. For example, feedback can be given on scripts of oral presentations and on written versions of slides.

Approval and Submission Procedures

Proposed W and C courses are reviewed by the W Course Advisory Committee. A course will be approved for a period of four years. For example, courses approved in Fall 2008 should be reviewed again in Fall 2011 for inclusion in the Fall 2012 Schedule of Classes. The W Course Advisory Committee recommends action to the Faculty Senate, which in turn submits its decision to the university president for final approval. The W Course Advisory Committee and the Faculty Senate meet once a month.

The full approval process takes between 1 and 3 months, depending upon the number of proposals received and the date submitted.

The syllabus for any course passed will be representative (in regards to the amount and type of writing or speaking assignments and the amount and type of written or oral communications instruction) of all syllabi used in sections of that course designated as W/C. While it is assumed that some variation may occur in courses during the years of approval, it is also assumed that the proposed title generally describes the course being taught as W or C. Therefore, courses taught under variable titles such as “Seminar” or “Research” (including 281, 481, 491, and 489) may be approved by title as well as number. The W Course Advisory Committee is responsible for the clarification of approval parameters when necessary.

Should the W Course Advisory Committee decide to reject a proposal, they must provide appropriate recommendations to the proposer and invite resubmission.

Philosophy

Writing and public speaking are not a general skills learned early in life but a series of specialized skills that must be acquired and practiced over long periods of time. While some general skills can be learned in general writing and rhetoric classes (for example, the basics of punctuation, the concept of thesis, common argument tactics, and the nuts and bolts of documentation), many more skills are discipline-specific and genre-specific and are best taught by expert writers well versed in those areas. Further, writing and speaking skills are complimentary and mutually reinforcing. Whether the communication skills being mastered are written or oral, in electronic or printed format, they require knowledge of edited or spoken American English and of basic skills such as organization, audience accommodation, development of evidence, argument, and use of visual elements. For some disciplines and professions, being able to communicate orally and in forms such as posters or oral presentation slides is as crucial to future success as being able to write essays, articles, or reports.

Students learn to write and to speak in public by means of practice and through feedback on their efforts. Thus, to improve communications instruction at Texas A&M University, we need to increase the amount of writing and public speaking students do. However, simply asking students to complete more communications assignments may not in itself improve writing or speaking much. Communications courses should provide instruction in commincation skills, by which is meant (1) opportunities for practice, often in a low-stakes environment; (2) feedback on efforts that can lead to revision; and (3) clarification of expectations for audience, document type or occasion for which oral or written communication is required, and other standards for each discipline or class.

W Course Requirements

The following criteria are considered necessary for the approval of a W course. (See the checklist version of these guidelines and the rubric for evaluating a proposal if you are proposing a course.)

• W courses must be  discipline-specific, content area-courses that incorporate writing either to demonstrate knowledge or to reinforce learning or both. The W course must clearly reflect that it is integral to and prepared specifically for the major. One way to establish this is for the course to be included in the major GPR.
• W courses must include some writing instruction and demonstration of writing skill to account for an appropriate proportion of the final grade. As a guideline, the requirement might be met by a three-credit course that devotes at least one-third of class instruction to writing and that bases at least one-third of the final course grade on writing competence, or by a one-credit course in which the grade depends mainly, though not necessarily exclusively, on writing. Instruction can include out-of-class activites such as reading or homework as well as the usual in-class discussion, lecture, workshopping, or other activities.
• As a general rule, undergraduate students will not be allowed to grade writing for a W course. However, if special circumstances demand their use, an exception is allowed if said students are trained and supervised by a faculty member. Further, undergraduate students may determine no more than ten percent of the writing portion of the final course grade. Calibrated Peer Review is acceptable because (1) it is tightly controlled by the instructor; and (2) it is anonymous.
• Opportunities for writing practice should be provided in a W course so as to increase fluency and knowledge of discourse conventions within a given discipline.
• The syllabus should address ethical issues, particularly plagiarism. The consequences of plagiarizing must be stated in the syllabus. Ideally, W courses should be structured to minimize plagiarism by (1) providing sufficient time for writing; (2) providing feedback on successive drafts for major papers; and (3) providing instruction in documentation and citation for specific disciplines.
• Instructors should provide feedback to students as to the content, style, mechanics, format, organization, and presentation of writing assignments; this feedback, which may be provided by any number of means such as preliminary grades, peer review, writing center consultation, or self-analysis, should be structured so that students may use it to revise drafts in progress.
• The syllabus should specify that a portion of the final course grade is based on writing quality. In addition, no student should be able to pass the course without having done the major writing assignments.
• Writing from genres (or types of documents) likely to be of use to students in academia or the workplace should be assigned.

C Course Requirements

The following criteria are considered necessary for the approval of a C course. (See the checklist version  of these guidelines and the rubric for evaluating a proposal if you are proposing a course.)

• C courses must be discipline-specific, content area-courses that incorporate writing and oral communication either to demonstrate knowledge or to reinforce learning or both. The C course must clearly reflect that it is integral to and prepared specifically for the major. One way to establish this is for the course to be included in the major GPR.
• C courses must include some writing and public speaking instruction and demonstration of writing and speaking skill to account for an appropriate proportion of the final grade. As a guideline, the requirement might be met by a three-credit course that devotes at least one-third of class instruction to writing and that bases at least one-third of the final course grade on writing and speaking competence, or by a one-credit course in which the grade depends mainly, though not necessarily exclusively, on writing and speaking. Instruction can include out-of-class activites such as reading or homework as well as the usual in-class discussion, lecture, workshopping, or other activities.
• As a general rule, undergraduate students will not be allowed to grade writing for a C course. However, if special circumstances demand their use, an exception is allowed if said students are trained and supervised by a faculty member. Further, undergraduate students may determine no more than ten percent of the communications portion of the final course grade. Calibrated Peer Review is acceptable because (1) it is tightly controlled by the instructor; and (2) it is anonymous.
• Opportunities for writing and speaking practice  should be provided in a C course so as to increase fluency and knowledge of discourse conventions within a given discipline.
• The syllabus should address ethical issues, particularly plagiarism. The consequences of plagiarizing must be stated in the syllabus. Ideally, C courses should be structured to minimize plagiarism by (1) providing sufficient time for writing and preparing oral presentations; (2) providing feedback on successive drafts for major papers and feeback on oral presentation notes or slides or practice runs; and (3) providing instruction in documentation and citation for specific disciplines, including conventions for visual and graphic texts.
• Instructors should provide feedback to students as to the content, style, mechanics, format, organization, and presentation of writing and speaking assignments; this feedback, which may be provided by any number of means such as preliminary grades, peer review, writing center consultation, or self-analysis, should be structured so that students may use it to revise work in progress.
• The syllabus should specify that a portion of the final course grade is based on writing and speaking quality. In addition, no student should be able to pass the course without having done the major communications assignments.
• Communication from genres (or types of documents or speaking situtations) likely to be of use to students in academia or the workplace should be assigned.