Writing In the Disciplines (WID): Incorporating Informal Writing
Formal papers …
o are graded
o are listed with due dates in syllabus.
Informal pieces …
o are graded for completion only
o can be added at any time of the semester, as needed
 during class or as homework
o build toward formal writing
o offer professor a quick read on what students are learning: knowledge check
o can be used for many specific purposes.
By writing about, through, and toward disciplinary content,
students play with ideas, try on genres, reflect analytically, and think critically.
All writing should provoke or deepen the learning of disciplinary content.
Teaching Through Informal Writing
Preparing for lecture/discussion/class: open-ended yet specific prompts
*emphasizes how educated readers read, and helps students apply ideas to their own work/lives*
(as preparatory homework or at start of class)
o curiosities/questions that remind students of what was covered during the last class or what will be
central to today’s lecture/class material.
o tentative positions before reading texts or listening to lecture, see Gottschalk and Hjortshoj, p. 83.
o guided by an analytical question or two, students write about the reading to be discussed today
o for instance, summarize main ideas and reflect on how they relate to earlier content
Responding to lecture: open-ended yet specific prompts
*puts ball in their court*
(at any point during class, or as homework)
o quick summary of notes the student took on the day’s lecture
o questions that arise as students absorb lecture/class material
o collaborative peer work:
– learning to read carefully and communicate clearly –
o trade outlines and free-write about ideas on your peer’s outline, then discuss
o describe the argument (or any element) of a text, and then exchange with peer and discuss
o via research journal: synthesize and narrow a supporting point; share with peer, who asks critical
questions; and then reflect on how you would use your peer’s input
o write, pass it along, read your peer’s words and respond, pass it along, etc.
o pose a question that could lead to thesis statements; give students a few minutes to write, another
few minutes to share within a small group, and another few minutes to write a group response;
then, as a class, discuss the ideas generated.
*meaning-constructing, interactive writing aids clarity of thinking*
CWAC, Kramer
2014-2015
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As Doug Hesse describes:
I’ve found that interrupting class with a five-minute writing is useful in a couple of situations.
One is when the discussion is heated, there are lots of hands in the air, and you’re worried that
students aren’t going to get a chance to contribute. Asking students to take five minutes to make
the point they would make, if they had the floor, is a good way to get students involved even if
they aren’t speaking. Another opportunity is just the opposite: perhaps discussion has flagged,
maybe because the issue on the floor is too complicated or threatening. Or perhaps you’ve
detected that student attention to the lecture has waned. Toss out a question for five minutes of
writing, then have students gather with one or two classmates to share and discuss their
responses with a small number, then sharing with the entire class. (15)
Wrapping up class: open-ended yet specific prompts
(at end of class or as homework)
o reflect on “what I learned/what’s confusing”
o guided by your analytical questions, students write-think toward the content of the next class: “
‘What was the most important thing we talked about today? The most puzzling? The most
interesting? What would you most like to hear more about? What is an application of today’s topic?
How did today’s topic connect to yesterday’s?’ ” (Hesse 15)
o take-away from this class: “When your feet hit the pavement, what’s going to change for you?”
Practicing critical-thinking skills
*teaches content and builds toward the rough draft, then the full, formal paper*
(before, during, or after class)
o summarize a source:
o write one annotation for a bibliography uniquely focused on your project, and create a template
for your full bibliography
o explore …
 a scholar’s point of view
 the validity of a source
 differences between two sources
o list, flow chart, or cluster:
o the background of an issue
o the tension in a key concept
o a position and its implications
o outline, then free-write, then post-outline your free-write:
o a subculture
o your own beliefs and biases
o your position
o an argument against your position
o opinion vs. argument about your topic
o collaborative peer work:
o everyone bring in titles and thesis statements, cuts and mixes them up, then tries to match them.
*meaning-constructing, interactive writing aids clarity of thinking*
CWAC, Kramer
2014-2015
2
Reflective research journals
 metacognitive reflection
o
o
o
o
o
o
double-column notes: factual observation on the left, reaction on the right.
response to each other’s posts/notes
point and counterpoint
reading notes/reading journal
guided critical analysis—not just “What do you think about …”
reflect on why the elements of a lab report are necessary.
Transferring their learning:
guide them to …
o describe how disciplinary writing connects with and differs from Composition, other disciplines
o think of a writing strategy they’re using now that is similar to one in any other class.
o write to a different audience
o explore different situations/purposes
o use Hubbuch’s text for as much WID writing as possible, to reinforce that writing skills transfer
o for research development and writing, Hubbuch sections 2 and 6
 for research topic, p. 19-29, esp. p. 21
o reflect on themselves as writers:
o how their writing has changed since high school
o incidences in their own lives to the course material
o describe own growth via writing in this discipline
o describe own methods of research, reading, or writing.
o see Karen Gottschalk and Keith Hjortshoj’s suggestions, p. 79.
o learning through revision:
o reflect on professor or peer comments
o reflect on how what they’re learning today relates to their entire college experience, entire life—help
them develop and nurture an overarching purpose.
 Anne Beaufort says of metacognition: “What is important for transfer is constantly connecting
new and already-acquired knowledge” (182).
Assessing (or not) informal writing
As Beth Finch Hedengren (10-16) and John C. Bean (120-127) suggest:
o Explain what you are and are not paying attention to or expecting, i.e., analytical reflection yes,
grammar no, elegant writing doubtful.
o Focus on only a couple of writing issues per assignment.
o Students like to know you’re paying attention—this isn’t busy work.
o During class, refer to what they said in their informal writing.
o Give feedback, i.e., a quick readerly response or a check plus/minus—but don’t bother with
formal grading, which is a time thief and also could squash their explorations. Also, grading too
many, small assignments could muddle what’s most important.
*meaning-constructing, interactive writing aids clarity of thinking*
CWAC, Kramer
2014-2015
3
Further Reference
Beaufort, Anne. College Writing and Beyond: A New Framework for University Writing Instruction. Logan,
UT: Utah State UP, 2007. Print.
Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active
Learning in the Classroom. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2011. Print. Note: esp. Chapter 7.
Gottschalk, Karen, and Keith Hjortshoj. The Elements of Teaching Writing: A Resource for Instructors in All
Disciplines. Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2004. Print. Note: esp. Chapter 5.
Hedengren, Beth Finch. A TA’s Guide to Teaching Writing in all Disciplines. Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s,
2004. Print. Note: esp. Chapters 2 & 3.
Hesse, Doug. Writing Beyond Writing Classes. University of Denver Writing Program. 2010. online.
Hubbuch, Susan M. Writing Research Papers Across the Curriculum. 5th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2005. Print.
Note: esp. p. 100-101.
The information on this handout came from too many sources to recall,
including conversations among faculty of Saint Mary’s College of California.
*meaning-constructing, interactive writing aids clarity of thinking*
CWAC, Kramer
2014-2015
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