Web-based Writing Guides Are Tool for Students and Faculty
By Sarah McGurk
Among George Mason University's recent leaps in technological advancement
are its web-based writing guides. These course-specific guides provide support
to students who will take or are taking their major's required writing-intensive
courses and teach them about the norms and expectations for writing in their major.
The guides are also designed to assist faculty members who will be teaching or
are currently teaching a writing-intensive course.
"We are among the few universities to provide web-based writing guides
in the disciplines," says Terry Zawacki, director of the Writing Center and
the Writing across the Curriculum Program. Zawacki would like to expand the program,
working with faculty members to create guides for all the colleges and the largest
majors at the university.
"Many departments have expressed interest; however, they lack the people
and resources to assign to the project," she says. "That is our biggest
drawback to going forward with the project." Currently, the Writing across
the Curriculum web site offers five guides thanks to the following people and
departments: Ginger Montecino and Ashley Williams, New Century College; Mike Wasserman
and graduate student Bernie Cabral, School of Management; Joel Clark and undergraduate
student Erica Wilmore, Public and International Affairs; Larry Rockwood and graduate
student Jennifer Morris, Biology; and James Sanford and undergraduate students
Kendra Campbell and Ed Holsinger, Psychology. A guide for the College of Nursing
and Health Science is under development.
Funded by a grant from the Provost's Office, Zawacki began developing the
guides in fall 2000. The Public and International Affairs guide, one of the first
to be developed, won a Community Partnership Award from University Life for "Peer
Tutor Collaboration in Development of Web-based Writing Guides" at Mason's
Innovations 2000 exhibit.
After seeing the technological complexities involved in developing the first
set of guides, Zawacki asked the Instructional Resource Center to design an easy-to-use
template that would allow any department to create an online guide. Standard links
in the template include descriptions and instructions for typical genres of writing
in the discipline, advice from professors, advice on writing in-class essays,
links to outside writing sites, and sample papers annotated with teacher comments
explaining what is being done well in response to the assignment.
Faculty members interested in creating a guide for their discipline are encouraged
to contact Zawacki at x31187 or tzawacki@gmu.edu.
To view the guides, visit wac.gmu.edu and click
on "Guides in the Disciplines."
|
