Resources for Teaching Writing & Speaking

Consider joining the UWC discussion list by contacting us. The discussion list supports writing and speaking pedagogy and is used mostly to provide information about relevant upcoming events or interesting articles and tips.

Looking for help teaching in the age of Generative AI? Visit the AI and Texas A&M page. Make sure to tell your students your specific policy on AI use in your class. There's also an excellent video about AI on the Undergraduate Studies YouTube channel that you can share with your students. 

If you want a one-to-one consultation, to organize a professional development event on teaching writing or public speaking, or to inquire about something not covered here, contact us.

Write Away & Workshops

Write Away is a podcast in which we interviewed faculty about teaching writing. We also have edited versions of faculty workshops on teaching writing and public speaking.

YouTube Playlist

Designing W & C Courses

Planning the writing or speaking components of a W/C course requires beginning with learning outcomes and building up a series of writing/speaking assignments that will achieve them rather than interfere with them. In this section, you'll find information on planning W & C courses that can also be applied to any course that includes writing or public speaking.

• Assignments
  • Case Studies
  • Collaborative Assignments
  • 8 Tips for Creating Effective Writing Assignments
• Scaffolded Assignments
• Low-Stakes Assignments
• Best Practices
• Dealing with Plagiarism
• Learning Outcomes
• Managing High Enrollment
• Syllabus Design

Feedback

You don't have to be the only one providing feedback, although generally students will perceive your feedback as most valuable unless you do something to change that perception. Below you'll find ideas for giving your students effective feedback, efficiently.

• Formative Feedback
  • More Than Marginal: Giving Your Students Feedback That Matters
• Grade Less: Your Students Might Learn More
• Model Rubrics and Descriptors
• Positive Spin
• Reducing Grading Time
• Rubrics Make the Grade
• Taming "The Stack"
• Peer Review
  • Effective Peer Response
  • A Peer Response Demonstration

Instruction

Most students benefit from instruction that helps them (1) understand and consider their own composing process; and (2) spend more time on the invention and revision stages of composition. Further, encouraging students to work in stages and get help as they compose discourages plagiarism. This section covers methods of teaching that emphasize the composing process. "How Do I Teach This Stuff?" is a general overview of teaching W & C courses.

Overview

• Critical Listening
• Critical Reading to Write
• Critical Thinking
  • Situation Critical: Good Thinking Can Come from Better Writing
• Developing Content
• Essay Exams
• Grammar Instruction
• Helping Graduate Students Develop Academic Voices
• Introductions and Conclusions
• Journals
• Keeping Student Research on Track
• Lectures
• Mini Essays
• Models and Examples
• Paragraphs
• Public Speaking Basics
  • Develop Ethical Codes for Public Speaking
  • Speak Up! Help for C Courses
  • The Four Corners Debate: An Exercise in Public Speaking
• Reading Aloud
• How Does This Sound? Why Writing Style Matters.
• Passive Resistance
• The Power of Be
• Preposition Overdose May Cause Wordiness
• This Is Unacceptably Verbose
• The Utilization of Nominalization Contributes to Wordiness

Writing for English Language Learners & Graduate Students

Students who are new to learning English may struggle, especially with academic and professional communication. And even native English speakers need help when they get to graduate-level writing.

• Editing for Non-Native English Speakers
• Helping Graduate Students Develop Academic Voices
• PDF Hoarders! Helping Graduate Students Stay Organized
• Put Some English On It
• Question: How many Aggies Does It Take to Write a Dissertation?