Skip to main content

Search

X Close

Search

X Close

John Carroll University / Academics / English / Writing Across Carroll

Mission Statement

The mission of the Writing Across Carroll initiative is to develop a culture of writing at John Carroll University.  To do so, we work with faculty to help them teach writing better by providing research-based writing instruction through resources, workshops,  consultations, and other collaborations.  We work with the First-Year Writing program and the Writing Center to promote the writing process and transfer in first-year writing courses and other courses across the university.  We promote responsible language use, including fostering critical conversations about how language is raced, classed, and gendered and, when necessary, challenge the dominance of standard edited English.  We support JCU’s Integrated Core Curriculum and its learning outcomes in written communication to assure that students will develop skills necessary to succeed in their disciplines, careers, and communities and be prepared for responsible and reflective action in a diverse and interconnected world as part of becoming men and women for others.  

Overview

Writing across the curriculum is a pedagogical movement based on the premise that students learn critical thinking best when they use writing in every course in the curriculum to actively engage in the subject matter. When students use writing as a means of inquiry and problem solving in various classes, they simultaneously learn the material and become better writers.

We connect this focus on writing as a tool of inquiry and problem solving across the university to the older, Jesuit principle of cura personalis, which emphasizes the education of “the whole person.”  Instruction in rhetoric and writing in all disciplines is a key component of this goal. 

Since the founding of the Society of Jesus by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1540, the Jesuits have been at the forefront of education in rhetoric. The Jesuits understood early that in order to persuade an audience and to spread their ideas, rhetorical skills must be taught in their schools and universities.  A defining characteristic of the ideals of Jesuit education, originally conceived in the Ratio Studiorum of 1599, is captured in the Latin phrase eloquentia perfecta, translated as “right reason expressed effectively, responsibly, and gracefully.”

Writing Across Carroll assists faculty at JCU to implement eloquentia perfecta more effectively in their courses and helps students continue to develop their own ability to write by connecting learning-to-write to learning about their discipline.

 

What do faculty and administrators need to know about writing instruction?  How do we define successful student writing?  How should writing be assessed institutionally?  Below are links to several resources to assist faculty and administrators in understanding these issues:

Guidelines for Faculty and Administrators

 

Where can faculty find out how colleagues have implemented WAC?  Where can faculty learn about the requirements for linked, EGC, and AW courses?  Where can faculty study sound institutional policies in writing instruction?  This webpage provides a place to start, listing some of the best online resources available.

In addition, Director of Written Expression in the Core, Tom Pace, is available for individual consultations on any aspect of teaching writing. The JCU Writing Center also offers support and resources for student writers, through one-on-one individualized peer tutoring sessions. 

 

Resources for Addressing ChatGPT and Other Types of AI

Teaching Writing Online

  • This new page offers information and resources for faculty making the shift from teaching    writing in person to teaching writing online.

  

Designing WAC Courses at JCU

General Help in Writing and WAC

Resources for Planning and Teaching WAC Courses

Resources for Grading and Responding to Student Writing

Teaching Specific Aspects of Writing

Model WAC Programs and Help for Faculty

 

First Year Writing Program

  • The standard EN 1250 syllabus is held together by a common philosophy and a common set of learning outcomes, not by a rigid schedule or specific readings.  If a student and his or her roommate are taking English 1250, 1200, or 1210, they may have different readings, assignments, and discussion/writing topics.  The following descriptions are not absolute, but may help students to understand the different units. 

These are the assignments students may be asked to complete in EN 1250

  • Project #1:  What Do You Have to Say?  The purpose of the semester’s first major project essay is to introduce students to academic research and writing.  To do so, students will choose one of the essays they read in this section and write a paper that makes an argument about an issue and supports it with evidence from their course reading(s) (3-4 pages). 
  • Project #2:  What Do You Have to Say?  This assignment builds on the ideas from the first assignment by asking students to conduct some minor research about a topic and to incorporate that research into their writing.  (4-5 pages).  
  • Project #3:  Formal Research-Based Project.  Students will pick a research topic or question from the course and write an annotated bibliography and paper proposal:  1-2 page proposal with 4-6 item bibliography.  They will then write a research-based project based on their proposal and annotated bibliography. (5-7 pages).
  • Project #4.  Academic Literacy Narrative.  Students will compose an academic narrative on their learning about writing over the course of the semester, integrating the narrative with research on the kind of writing performed in their major.  This assignment can stand alone as a separate project, or students can use this narrative as their final portfolio letter.
  • Core Curriculum
  • JCU Faculty Writing Tips for Students
  • Model Writing Assignments for JCU Faculty 
    • This page will be an ongoing work-in-progress as faculty contribute their own tips and resources.

 

These writing workshops at JCU offer faculty and other participants effective strategies in teaching writing.  Workshops can be designed for a number of specific purposes and instructional concerns.  Contact tpace@jcu.edu for further information. 

Calendar of Events for 2023-2024:

Fall Sessions

  • "Style and Voice: Nurturing Disciplinary Expression in the Writing Classroom" Monday, 9/18, 12:00-12:50
  • "Chat about ChatGPT: Join Us for an Idea Exchange." Tuesday, 10/3, 12:30-1:30
  • "Becooming Part of a Larger Conversation: Exploring How Students Connect to and Integrate Sources." Tuesday, 10/24, 12:30-1:30
  • "All Aboard! Promoting Student Engagement through Learning Stations." Lunch and Learn with Julia Karolle-Berg, Ph.D. Tuescay, 11/14, 12:30-1:45.   

Spring Sessions

  • TBD

Resources from Past Workshops