The Positive Effects of Additional Writing Instruction
A recent study published in Research in the Teaching of English (Hansen et al., 2006; available in print form in our library) concluded that students who took an AP English course and first-year writing performed significantly better on sophomore writing tasks than those students who took only AP English or only first-year writing. This study suggests that continued instruction and practice in writing solidifies student learning and better prepares students for future writing across the institution.
As the College Writing (English 110) Coordinator, I've been grappling for the past few weeks with what this study suggests about the efficacy of our AP policy for English 110. This year, over 70 Freshmen used AP credit to satisfy their College Writing requirement in the first-year core. Although these students demonstrated their ability to complete specific writing-on-the-spot tasks successfully, the AP test does not assess their ability to work with sources, to write for varied audiences or purposes, or to complete and integrate research that supports their argument. Therefore, students who “AP out of” College Writing might not have the same foundation for writing across the curriculum as their peers who take English 110 during the first year, and they definitely miss out on an additional semester of instruction and practice in writing.
For me, then, the RTE study serves as a challenge to fine-tune our placement practices for College Writing. The English 110 Committee and I have taken up that challenge and you can expect to here more from us in the coming months.
Yet, this study also offers a challenge to the larger university community. Hansen et al. are not the first researchers in Composition and Rhetoric to suggest that continued instruction and practice in writing has positive outcomes for writing across the curriculum. Imagine how well prepared students could be for subsequent writing tasks if they continued to encounter practice in writing and disciplinary specific strategies for writing in their classes across the curriculum and across all four years.
Students who successfully complete English 110 have a strong foundation for continued practice and instruction in writing. If you would like to help students build on this foundation in your courses, click here to learn more.
As the College Writing (English 110) Coordinator, I've been grappling for the past few weeks with what this study suggests about the efficacy of our AP policy for English 110. This year, over 70 Freshmen used AP credit to satisfy their College Writing requirement in the first-year core. Although these students demonstrated their ability to complete specific writing-on-the-spot tasks successfully, the AP test does not assess their ability to work with sources, to write for varied audiences or purposes, or to complete and integrate research that supports their argument. Therefore, students who “AP out of” College Writing might not have the same foundation for writing across the curriculum as their peers who take English 110 during the first year, and they definitely miss out on an additional semester of instruction and practice in writing.
For me, then, the RTE study serves as a challenge to fine-tune our placement practices for College Writing. The English 110 Committee and I have taken up that challenge and you can expect to here more from us in the coming months.
Yet, this study also offers a challenge to the larger university community. Hansen et al. are not the first researchers in Composition and Rhetoric to suggest that continued instruction and practice in writing has positive outcomes for writing across the curriculum. Imagine how well prepared students could be for subsequent writing tasks if they continued to encounter practice in writing and disciplinary specific strategies for writing in their classes across the curriculum and across all four years.
Students who successfully complete English 110 have a strong foundation for continued practice and instruction in writing. If you would like to help students build on this foundation in your courses, click here to learn more.
