Writing Across the Curriculum

We work across campus with many different partners supporting students and instructors in writing. Partners include: Think Tank, Writing Skills Improvement Project, Graduate College, Library, CIRTL Program, Writing Across the Curriculum, and many others. The coalition is designed to generate a shared lexicon about writing on campus and ways to combine our efforts to more seamlessly support students and instructors. 

Resources related to the Coalition of Writing:

• Sites of Writing Across UA
• Writing Skills Improvement Project
• Think Tank Writing Center
• Graduate Center Writing Lab

We work with Writing Across the Curriculum members to support a small cohort of instructors who engage in a year-long professional development opportunity that includes workshops, individual consultations, faculty learning communities, etc. The goal is to promote antiracist writing practices into our curriculum with special attention to our work as a Hispanic Serving Institution. Additionally, these fellows receive support through embedded tutors from Think Tank that support student writing in a peer tutor model. 

Resources related to WAC Faculty Fellows:

• Writing Support at an HSI
• Writing to Learn

We support instructors implementing the writing attribute into their General Education courses. We offer feedback and consultations on signature assignments, low-stakes and reflective writing, and feedback practices, especially related to aligning courses with learning outcomes. In collaboration with the Office of General Education, we provide a mini-course, Quick Start, and targeted Deep Dives about writing within General Education and supporting students between Foundations and Writing Emphasis courses. 

Resources related to GE Writing Attribute:

• Writing Attribute: All Writers Have More to Learn
• Writing Attribute Deep Dive Slides
• Former Deep Dives on Signature Assignments

We support instructors using ePortfolios within their courses, specifically learning ePortfolios, with an emphasis on reflection, process, and growth. We help instructors integrate meaningful assignments and prompts throughout their courses and help with the pedagogically grounding on why ePortfolios are a high-impact practice. As students use ePortfolios in both Foundations Writing and General Education, we can help bridge the gap between these experiences and graduation. 

Resources related to ePortfolio support:

• ePortfolio website
• Deep Dives on learning ePortfolios
• Learning ePortfolio handout

We support instructors who are teaching writing emphasis courses. These courses are designed for late-career students who are preparing to transition from college into their workspace. We also assist instructors design meaningful assignments that promote the transfer of learning and align with their disciplinary expertise, professional, and personal goals.

Resources related to Writing Emphasis courses:

• Writing Emphasis Policy

Writing Across the Curriculum collaborated with the University of Arizona Museum of Art to help design and support activities that promote writing to learn in art classrooms and spaces. The project also aligns with K-12 students' common core standards and goals to provide access to instructors across Tucson who want to support student writing and art-based learning. This initiative is an example of community writing support across campus.

Resources related to the Art/Write Project

• Art/Write Website

Each semester we offer Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) specific FLCs focused on connecting writing instructors, instructional developers, and interested learners in understanding how to better support student writing. Topics include: Reading Pedagogy, Writing Across the Curriculum/Vertical Writing, Supporting Writing as a TA/Postdoc/Grader, and more. The goal is to help create a shared lexicon surrounding writing and promote best practices for assignment design and feedback. This is a collaboration with the FLC program, Foundations Writing, The Office of General Education, and CIRTL. 

Resources related to the FLC:

• Mini-Primer: Tips and Resources for Incoming Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs)
• Reading: “The Connected Curriculum: Designing a Vertical Transfer Writing Curriculum” (Melzner, 2014).

UArizona and Pima Community College partner on supporting equity-minded and liberatory WAC programs. We collaborate on workshops, share resources for feedback, and ensure alignment between our efforts. The goal is to support students transferring between institutions and to distribute labor more equitably and efficiently.

Resources related to Pima/UArizona WAC Partnership:

• Writing Support at an HSI

National Day on Writing® is an annual event on October 20th created by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). The event aims to celebrate writing and its importance in our society today. The event encourages students and instructors to engage with writing as a means of communication, knowledge-making, personal development, and more. Writing Across the Curriculum hosts workshops and provides resources across campus to celebrate this fun event! Use #WhyIWrite to join the conversation on social media!

AI's influence in academia raises practical, pedagogical, and ethical questions. Tools have always shaped writing, but ChatGPT's fluency sparks unease about its impact on student learning and teaching methods. We wish to clarify key points and offer additional resources as well as to initiate dialogue and offer support. 

Coalition of Writing Statement on AI Writing

AI Resources

The Supporting Student Writing at an HSI Handout outlines 12 principles for supporting student writing at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), specifically UArizona. It outlines each principle and also tangible practices instructors can use

This Assessing Writing in Large Class Sizes Handout supports instructors who teach large classes, especially in the new General Education curriculum, and are looking for guidance on how to best support students.

The Teaching Online Write Now guide was compiled by the UA Writing and Learning Program and the Director of Writing Across the Curriculum to serve as a resource for transitioning writing in your courses to the online modality.