Major Theories
WAC efforts are usually driven principally by one of two theories: writing to learn or on learning to write in disciplinary discourses, sometimes also called writing in the disciplines. Though both may be used together, one of the two theories generally guides any given writing assignment and, often, any given WAC course.
Writing to learn – Writing to learn is also occasionally referred to as the expressivist or cognitive mode of WAC. Writing to learn supports the use of mostly informal, often ungraded writing exercises to help students understand course content in non-English disciplines. Writing to learn assumes that being able to explain or express concepts in ones’ own words both builds and reflects understanding. Because the goal of writing to learn exercises is learning rather than a finished writing product, instructors are discouraged from paying attention to grammar and surface mechanics. The student himself or herself, not the teacher, is the audience. Common writing to learn exercises include reading responses, journals, free writing, and multiple forms of collaborative writing.
Writing in the Disciplines (WID) – WID is also occasionally referred to as the transactional or rhetorical mode of WAC. Writing in the disciplines (WID) is the name often applied to “learning to write” strategies that aim to help students learn a specialized academic or professional discourse. WID is grounded in theories of social constructionism (as described by Kenneth Bruffee, for example) and acknowledges the power of specialized discourse communities as knowledge-making entities. WID, therefore, serves two primary goals: 1) helping students to write in the fashion expected of professionals in their chosen fields, and 2) helping students to think like professionals via teaching them to express themselves like professionals. In the context of WID, “the disciplines” refer to academic disciplines other than English, though composition scholars will occasionally include literary studies among “the disciplines” as an entity outside writing studies.
Writing to learn and WID are usually held in contrast as two separate ways in which WAC assignments or programs can be conceptualized; though the two often coexist in the same program, one may be emphasized more than the other, and one or the other is usually the focus of any individual writing-intensive course.
Read more about this topic: Writing Across The Curriculum
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