chapter 25: writing across the disciplines on a college or university campus, the different departments emphasize their own writing styles. Therefore, this concluding program of the telecourse intentionally features fewer english instructors and novelists than any of the other programs in the series. Instead, the agriculture instructor shares what he requires from the writing of his students. The engineering graduate student explains how he applies the skills learned in english composition in his discipline. The chemists and biologists talk about the writing that is required in the sciences. The political science professor fills us in on the expectations for writing in his department. And, the nursing instructor concludes the program by letting us know what her students need to learn in english composition before we send them to her program.

The teachers from other disciplines introduce a variety of contexts for applying the writing processes and rhetorical strategies learned in this composition class to situations across the curriculum – effectively summarizing the entire telecourse. If our students leave the course thinking about this final program, and what it means for them, we will have accomplished one of our primary objectives. Revisits, one last time, the concept of discourse communities that was introduced in the very first unit of the telecourse. Explains how the writing favored by english majors is different, yet similar, to the writing styles used in other various academic disciplines across the campus. Shows students how the process of writing learned in this class including: inventing, drafting, revising, and editing applies to the writing of their own academic disciplines. Demonstrates how the thinking and writing strategies are applied to the writing of various academic disciplines across the campus. Considers how collaboration and peer feedback are common in the writing challenges of many academic disciplines.

Looks at how the lessons learned about research in this course can apply toward every discipline across campus. Considers the process of critical thinking as it applies beyond the english composition classroom. video related discussion points and questions this program opens with art instructor sheri simon saying language skills should work across the disciplines.

Narrator: we take it for granted that english teachers – who are usually concerned with analysis of poems and serious literature – should also teach all students the language skills needed for academic writing in all other disciplines. The skills learned in english composition are helpful in the writing tasks of engineers, political science majors, chemists, artists, agriculture majors, or nursing students – but it’s important to recognize that the individual writing styles of various academic discourse communities vary greatly from the writing favored by english majors. English instructor maria madruga is wary of imposing her english teacher values onto students. We see madruga and students in a writing center, discussing a rhetorical mode type of assignment. We dissolve back to madruga, who says english has it’s own academic language that is different from other courses. Marine biologist chris lowe says it was a big surprise to him when he found out how different scientific writing is from the composition courses he had. Beverly moss asks students to consider what their audience knows and says they should craft the message based on that audience.

We introduced the notion of a discourse community in the first program of the telecourse. Ask the students if they have a different understanding of the phrase discourse community, now that they have had several weeks to consider what it means. On the video, the section composition and discourse communities is cued over the yellow notepad graphic at 1 minute and 4 seconds into the program. narrator: in this program, we’ll revisit other units of the telecourse to see how the skills we learn apply to all fields of study. But, we can give you a feeling of how to explore the writing of your own discourse community by seeing how students and professors in several disciplines apply the skills of this course to their own writing. English instructor joe harris says it’s up to educators to prepare students to learn how to write in their academic disciplines.

Agricultural instructor dave daley says he expects the writing for the courses he teaches to be unlike that of a creative writing course: i want the evidence, i want it clear, i want it stated, and i want to be able to follow the paper. So we do have to look at how we train them differently for different disciplines once they pass english 1 and move beyond that they need to start thinking ‘who is my community?’ english instructor teresa redd says english instructors need to devise strategies that will relate to students’ writing throughout all of the college disciplines. English instructor cindy selfe agrees that teaching students to think critically about the uses of language in different environments is a way to make a difference with the language they will use in their academic careers. On the video, the section critical reading and thinking is cued over the yellow notepad graphic at 6 minute and 20 seconds into the program. narrator: the programs of this course are divided into two broad categories – thinking and writing strategies and writing process programs. The most important thinking and writing strategy in any discipline on campus requires the willingness to read and decipher difficult text and to think critically about the information you are processing.

Dave daley believes the interpretation of information is an essential skill in today’s rapidly changing age. Nursing instructor julia shovein says critical reading is a very important part of nursing. Dave daley adds he is amazed at how students resist reading difficult text they must work at to understand. Sheri simon says a critical thinker is somebody who is very comfortable living in the realm of the unknown. Julia shovein closes this section with her interpretation of what critical thinking means in nursing: we’re talking about an assessment, problem identification, goal setting, evaluation criteria to make the goal, and what kind of interventions we’re doing to achieve our goal. The concept of critical thinking has been addressed throughout the entire telecourse series. Now that students have had a chance to hear the phrase in a variety of different contexts, what does critical thinking mean to them? video cue.

On the video, the section writing strategies: rhetorical modes is cued over the yellow notepad graphic at 8 minute and 3 seconds into the program. narrator: one of the most important critical thinking skills involves learning how to combine the writing processes and the thinking and writing strategies learned in this course to the writing challenges you will encounter in other classes. English instructor and author mike rose says students who practice these thinking/writing strategies with disciplinary material, the more proficient they will become with them. Julia shovein says rhetorical modes are used in many levels of writing, like describing patients in the health care field.

Have our students realized that the genres, or rhetorical modes, are not just formula essay assignments? do they understand that these are also thinking strategies used to organize raw ideas, solve problems, and think about the things we encounter in our day to day writing challenges? video cue. On the video, the section writing strategies: comparison is cued over the yellow notepad graphic at 8 minute and 59 seconds into the program. narrator: the thinking and writing strategies, also know as modes of discourse or the rhetorical modes, are clearly required in various disciplines. Though the teacher may not ask you to write a comparison/contrast, definition, or argument essay, it usually doesn’t take a genius to see that the skills we studied in those units will be used in many, many writing assignments across the campus. Julia shovein gives reasons why comparison/contrast is essential in the nursing field: because when we’re always comparing to what we think the normal might be. But, for you to recognize that there’s a problem, whether it be with skin color, or whether it be with the smell of blood whatever thing you’re noticing is – if you can’t contrast that with the normal, you don’t know you have a problem. Engineering student larry thompson also believes comparing and contrasting is a mandatory tool to allow people to choose the best materials to work with.

Political science instructor george wright says comparison/contrast is a very effective device in political science papers. You can pick a topic and then look at one country, and then have a paragraph on the other country. Or you can look at one country as a whole, and then in the next part of the paper, look at the other country.

Dave daley says putting the modes into a language students can understand and pointing out to them how they can use them in their courses would make modes more palatable. Novelist kim stanley robinson says the switch over from personal to academic writing can be problematic. We couldn’t just unleash a bunch of free form diarists on the rest of the university without them feeling that we weren’t doing our job. On the video, the section writing strategies: narrative writing is cued over the yellow notepad graphic at 11 minute and 51 seconds into the program. julia shovein tells viewers that narrative writing is important to help her evaluate if her students are learning. I have to have an idea of what they’re seeing and what they’re feeling, and what they’re thinking. Alicia rapp gives another reason why narrative techniques are good for nursing reports. You want somebody to be able to get a good picture of what you did for your shift for the last eight hours by reading your story.

You want somebody to be able to read it and say, ‘i know exactly what she did all her shift.’ it is a story of eight hours of what we did and how the patient responded and reacted and the changes that happened during the eight hours. Political science professor george wright finds narrative writing in assigned reports about books and articles not only makes for good reading, but better comprehension of the material. Chemistry student marty wallace informs viewers that the first few courses in chemistry are all about definitions. On the video, the section writing strategies: definition is cued over the yellow notepad graphic at 13 minutes and 45 seconds into the program. dave daley says his students are expected to understand the differences of terms, and explain them back during exams. Julia shovein lets people know that description is important for nursing students to use: sometimes you’re reading these logs, and you’re right there in the home.