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Writing-Across-the-Curriculum in Mass Communication Courses

Writing assignments may be the key to increased learning in most college courses, and the mass communication curriculum is no exception. In 1977, Shaughnessy argued that "ways ought to be found to increase students' involvement with writing across the curriculum. This does not mean simply persuading more teachers in other subjects to require term papers but making writing a more integral part of the learning process in all courses" (p. 87). During the last decade and a half, a growing awareness that writing and learning are interdependent has led many U.S. colleges and universities to adopt Writing-Across-the-Curriculum (WAC) programs. Based on the premise that learning is supported and strengthened through integrating writing in all areas of the curriculum, these WAC programs train faculty in effective ways of using varied writing assignments as part of the thinking process across disciplines. A 1985 Modern Language Association survey found that 46 percent of all Ph.D.-granting institutions, 48 percent of all BA/MA-granting institutions, and 28 percent of all two-year colleges had a WAC program (Kinneavy, 1987, p. 362). Perhaps McLeod (1992) best sums up the influence and growth of WAC programs: "Writing across the curriculum has, in the space of a decade and a half, become a familiar part of the academic landscape" (p. 1). WAC programs stress writing as a major component in all disciplines, not just in those that have traditionally included composition courses or just those that are a part of the general undergraduate core. Although no one WAC model has emerged, the typical WAC program suggests that writing courses be required as part of each academic major and sets parameters for how much writing and what varieties of writing assignments should be included in courses. Students commonly are taught that effective writing is a process that involves three elements: (a) prewriting, the conceptualizing and defining of key ideas and terms in an organized fashion such as an outline; (b) writing, the actual physical process of constructing paragraphs and themes; and (c) rewriting, editing one's own work and responding to the ideas of others about the work. Several theoretical assumptions form the basis of WAC programs. Sipple (1989) suggests that the theoretical assumptions should be endemic to each college or university, but some common WAC premises include: (a) Writing promotes learning, and writing is a mode of learning itself; (b) writing is a complex developmental process; (c) the universe of writing includes a broad range of functions and audiences; (d) each academic discipline that shapes student writing should be driven by its own specialized procedures, conventions, and terminology; and (e) writers should develop and apply defined sets of problem solving and writing strategies to help them think more effectively about the subject matter of their disciplines. No matter the theoretical assumptions and premises that shape the WAC description, most WAC programs are not additive, but transformative--they aim not to add more papers and tests of writing ability, but to change the way both teachers and students use writing in the curriculum (McLeod, p. 3). There seems to be an obvious marriage between WAC programs and the journalism/mass communication discipline. Many have already called for a thorough examination of writing within the various mass communication disciplines. For instance, the AEJMC Broadcast Task Force argued in the 1989 "Challenges and Opportunities in Journalism and Mass Communication Education" publication that: ... broadcast production, writing, legal aspects, management, and ethics were, in that order, the areas listed as most important for broadcast majors upon graduation. Educators cited as the strongest skills their students had at graduation broadcast production, performance, and equipment operations; as the weakest, they cited writing. This point suggests that stronger and more consistent broadcast writing experiences should be expected . …