The following guidelines articulate expectations and best practices for all who design, teach, or TA courses that fulfill the Additional Writing requirement (“W courses”) at the University of Washington’s three campuses. 

The guidelines were written by the University Committee on General Education (UCGE)’s Writing Board, which consists of faculty with disciplinary expertise in writing instruction, including writing program administrators, as well as faculty in other disciplines who teach W courses. The committee’s objective in creating these guidelines is to elevate the quality of writing instruction across the University of Washington, to create a shared understanding of writing instruction that aligns with best practices, and to promote equitable student learning in W courses.

To achieve those outcomes, W courses should be intentionally designed and instructors should adhere to the following guidelines:

  • Situate Writing Instruction in Your Course Context
  • Articulate Learning Goals for Writing
  • Support Writing as a Staged Process
  • Assess Writing Equitably

For more in-depth instructional strategies, see Implementing Writing in Your Course modules at Writing@UW.

1. Situate Writing Instruction in Your Course Context

W-course instructors are writing instructors as well as experts in a particular discipline. W courses should foreground writing practices that are appropriate for the course and discipline, and that will enhance students’ ability to communicate in their chosen field. 

Best practices:

  • Clearly communicate with students about the roles of writing and communication in the discipline. For example, instructors might assign (for reading and writing) common genres in the field, and/or discuss their own writing practices and experiences.
  • Provide explicit instruction in discipline-specific writing practices, including conventions, audience expectations, and genres particular to the discipline. For example, share and analyze examples of writing from the field, especially the kinds of writing students will be composing.
  • The scale and scope of your course’s writing assignments should be proportional to your course context. For example, when designing your assignments consider the number of course credits, whether upper or lower division, major or non-major, etc. 
  • In your course and assignment design, value the labor required for students to write assigned  texts (including prewriting, drafting, revisions, etc.) over the length or format of the final product. Assignment design should be structured around learning goals and not only be based on page or word counts.

2. Articulate Learning Goals for Writing 

The kinds of writing assigned should help achieve the course learning goals. Depending on the course context (see Guideline 1), some W courses may be more focused on disciplinary knowledge and using writing as a tool to support that learning, reflection, and practice. Other W courses will also have goals explicitly related to learning the genres of and/or communicating in the given discipline.

Best practices:

  • Teaching materials, including syllabi and writing assignment prompts articulate learning goals for writing. These goals align with course learning goals and outcomes. 
  • Instructors provide and explain these goals in advance, as well as the criteria by which their writing will be assessed.​ (See Guideline 4 below.)
  • Explore various languages, modes, and technologies for composing that best facilitate the achievement of learning goals. Languages include the many varieties and discourses of English and other languages. Modes include textual, digital, oral, visual, and technical other forms. Technologies can refer to any number of composing tools, digital and otherwise. New technologies change rapidly, and W course instructors should remain aware of how changes affect the ways they teach writing. 
  • Writing assignment goals should fit within a broader alignment of outcomes within and across courses, majors, and programs.

3. Support Writing as a Staged Process 

Writing is a means for creation, expression, self-determination, and a tool for learning and knowledge production.  As such, writing is always a process and one’s writing development takes place over a lifetime. The writing  process should be emphasized over the final product, and intentionally scaffolded to support the process.

Best practices:

  • Create assignment sequences that contain a series of staged assignments that move from informal to formal, so that students have time to practice and revise the kinds of writing being assigned to them. Definitions of informal and formal writing assignments follow below.
  • Acknowledge that students bring a wide range of emotions, experiences, and languages to their writing process. These repertoires should be honored for the richness they bring, rather than being penalized for not conforming to a “standard English.”
  • Acknowledge that many students struggle when they are learning to write in a new context. Whenever possible, “errors” can and should be taken as an indicator of learning.
  • Iterative feedback should be provided by the instructor, TAs (if applicable), and peers on writing in progress. Feedback should be based on meaningful assessment criteria, and should not be restricted to copy edits. (See Guideline 4 below.)
  • Build in opportunities for students to revise writing in response to feedback. 
  • Provide resources within and beyond the course, such as campus writing centers, to support students’ writing process

​​Informal writing assignments 

Informal assignments should allow students to engage with and think their way through course methods and materials on a regular and informal basis. They can give students an opportunity to practice written expression, self-determination, reflection, and build confidence with the specific contexts and conventions for writing in a particular field or major. 

Formal writing assignments  

Formal assignments should focus on developing students' abilities to think critically about course material and practice writing more formally in a particular major or discipline. They should also employ the academic style and genre criteria appropriate to the course context or field. Additionally, W courses should not feature timed writing as high-stakes assessments. 

For more on informal and formal writing assignment design, see the Writing@UW module on Designing Successful Writing Assignments.

4. Assess Writing Equitably

Writing assessment should be formative in nature, support learning, and mitigate bias. Instructor feedback, opportunities for revision, and clear assessment criteria are necessary components of assessment. 

Best practices:

  • Feedback is essential for student growth and success. Feedback should be driven by the assessment criteria for an assignment, and expand beyond copy edits. 
  • Assessment criteria should be shared and explained when the work is assigned.
  • Assignments should be assessed based on higher-order assessment criteria that may include particular content knowledge or concepts; organization; strength of argument; quality or use of source material; and/or rhetorical considerations like audience, tone, layout, use of images and disciplinary conventions. Criteria should be aligned with assignment learning outcomes and contribute to course learning outcomes.
  • When designing assessment criteria and giving feedback, instructors should consider the ways that academic language standards can reinforce structural bias and create harm (e.g. through racial, cultural, or gender bias, etc.).
  • In courses with multiple readers or graders, all readers and graders should meet before grading begins to discuss consistent application of criteria, including practicing on example student writing.
  • Create opportunities for students to assess their own learning before, during, and after completing the assignment.
  • Comparative grading (including grading on a curve) and other punitive or exclusionary approaches should not be used in W courses.

For more on assessment, see the Writing@UW module On Grading Writing.

Questions or Feedback?

If you have questions, concerns, or feedback we encourage you to reach out to Megan Callow at mcallow@uw.edu.