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UILFORDIAN
The write stuff: Guilford adopts "w M course system
Justin Cohen
Assistant Editor-in-Chief
Judging from many students' reaction to
the new "w" marked on their schedules, one
might think the letter stood for "what?!"
Actually, the "w" denotes that a course
includes a significant writing component
which features certain identifiable charac
teristics. There are 12 such courses this
semester, with more planned for the spring.
They are spread throughout the departments.
Director of Composition Jeff Jeske spear
headed the three-year effort to institute a
"Writing Across the Curriculum" program.
While acknowledging that there is already a
strong emphasis placed on writing at Guil
ford, he believes that the new voluntary
system will further heighten the caliber of
writing instruction and raise campus-wide
awareness of the benefits and significance
of quality writing.
"It's trying to raise consciousness about
writing throughoutcampus...multiplying op
portunities for students," explained Jeske.
"The program is a response to campus-wide
faculty interest The faculty by and large are
committed to good writing—much more so
than at many other institutions."
Workshops and support meetings for pro
fessors of "w" courses are included in the
program.
Students can expect four basic features
from a "w" course:
J m
■' trUuSr4
Vol. 76, No. 1
Bruce James
Jeff Jeske, authorofGuilford'sWriting Acrossthe Curriculum
proposal, works with a student on his writing.
°the use of writing text in addition to the
regular course texts
°both formal and informal writing
°a specified number of papers, each of which
goes through a drafting process
°comments by the instructor and/or peer
editors on preliminary drafts
"I hope it will challenge [students] and
inspire them to appreciate the power of the
word and language," remarked History Pro
fessor Tim Kircher, whose Medieval Civili
zation class is listed as a "w" course.
Jeske stresses that few professors altered
College Relations
Fishing for news?
Late last week, a rescue attempt was made to save
the Greensboro Newsand Record dispenser. [The
rescuers were concerned that the paper might go
under.] The efforts of Guilford College
maintenance crews were unsuccessful.
Guilford College, Greensboro, N.C.
Kircher.
Fundamentally, according to Jeske, the
rationale behind the concept of a 4, w' course
includes:
"keeping student ability to write strong even
after freshman English
°taking advantage of writing as an instru
ment of learning in any discipline
°recognizing the importance of writing not
being limited to any single discipline
°noting that writing improves most when it
"becomes part of the focus of instruction"
Essentially, the "w" courses approach
writing as a process, taking students stage
by stage through the writing and revising of
papers.
According to Jeske, graduate schools and
employers look for applicants who possess
solid critical thinking and writing skills and
that these skills should be improved by "w"
courses. Yet, Jeske does concede that stu
dents may not always be attracted to the idea
of a writing course.
"There are people who are frightened or
concerned about fheir lack of writing abil
ity," said Jeske. "It is possible that they
might be intimidated by [a "w" course].
Those are exactly the kind of people we
want to be there."
However, Jeske added that students
shouldn't shy away from "w" courses. Be
cause of their focus on process, he claims,
the courses should reduce the inevitable
stress associated with paper-writing, and
result in better final drafts.
The "w" courses will also train students to
write within a given discipline, whereas
freshman English focuses on more general
areas of composition.
Originally faculty and administrators con
templated making the "w" course a core
requirement. After much discussion, though,
they decided that both students and the pro
gram would benefit more if the "w" course
was viewed as an opportunity rather than as
a restriction on the Guilford students' al
ready-busy course schedule.
their syllabi
substantially to
create a "w"
course.
Kircher
commented that
he welcomed
the listing but
that his classes
were basically
unchanged.
"I was glad
we were able to
institute it on a
campus-wide
level, but my
classes were al
ways writing
intensive," said
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