Document Type
Student Research Paper
Date
Summer 2021
Academic Department
English
Faculty Advisor(s)
Dr. Tara Moore
Abstract
This project examines the writing priorities of varied disciplines at Elizabethtown College to better understand what they value in student writing. A survey sent to faculty collected discipline-specific writing concerns and information about writing requirements beyond foundational courses. It also gathered thoughts on how EN100, Etown’s introductory English composition course, supports or fails upper-level writing. Follow-up interviews were conducted with select faculty. Faculty responded that sentence mechanics errors, paragraphs that lack unity or feel disorganized, failure to find effective sources when needed, and lack of clarity at the word or sentence level were the most problematic common writing errors when seen repeatedly in upper-level students’ writing assignments. These issues are addressed in EN100, which shows the introductory course is giving students the tools to write effectively, but the skills are not transferring to disciplinary writing. To better facilitate the transfer of writing skills from EN100 to the varied disciplines, non-English instructors can create departmental vertical writing programs, incorporate library research guides, develop a more effective partnership with the Writing Wing, base their instruction on writing studies, and give additional support for grammar and mechanics development. Recommendations for EN100 and FYS instructors and the Senior Leadership Team are also provided.
Recommended Citation
Conway, Ashley, "Writing Priorities across Academic Disciplines" (2021). Summer Scholarship, Creative Arts and Research Projects (SCARP). 73.
https://jayscholar.etown.edu/scarp/73
Notes
Scholarship, Creative Arts, and Research Project (SCARP)