All across America, colleges and universities have discovered the power of writing across the curriculum.
Research shows that about half of American colleges and universities–about 2,000 institutions of higher learning–have embraced writing across the curriculum. This is part of a larger student-centered learning movement, which seeks to make learning an active process of engagement. Rather than passively listen to lectures and “spit back” content, students need to play an active role in their own learning.
The key principle of writing across the curriculum can be stated simply: To write well is to think well.
As a teacher, you want your students not just to master the content of your discipline, but to master the ability to engage it on their own.
Putting ideas down on paper can be the most productive thing you do. Writing and editing provides focus. It helps you understand your work better. It helps you understand and connect with your customers, clients, partners, and others. It’s creative and (sometimes) even fun.
The Series So Far
By 2021, The Write Across the Curriculum will cover most subjects taught in high schools, colleges, and universities. For now, we offer four titles:
- The classic guide: The Elements of Writing
- Reading and Writing the Essay: For Freshman English, Creative Writing, and writing-intensive courses in the liberal arts
- Writing About Politics and Society: For classes in Political Science, Public Policy, Sociology, and other social sciences
- Writing About Place: For classes in architecture, planning, preservation, and other place-related courses
We also offer short works on special topics in creative writing (In Cold Type, about the writing techniques of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood; and Keep It Short); business (What’s Wrong With Business Writing); and psychology and rhetoric (Mad Men’s Guide to Persuasion).
Future Titles
- Writing in the Sciences: The essential guide for writing essays, analytic papers, and lab reports.
- Writing About Business and Economics: If you are not writing well in business, you are leaving money on the table. This guide will help.
A Brain-Based System for Writing Well
The Writing Across the Curriculum series is based on The Elements of Writing, the only brain-based system for mastering writing in all fields.
Charles Euchner, a longtime teacher and author, taps the burgeoning literature on learning and the brain to identify 79 simple, intuitive skills for all writers. Euchner calls these skills “elements” because, like the chemical elements, they can be combined in countless ways to create every conceivable type of writing.
Each element responds to two basic questions: What does the brain want? What does the brain not want? By working with the brain, rather than against it, students can learn better and faster. All too often, traditional approaches to teach writing force students to work unnaturally, against their instincts. By showing how to work with the brain’s desires, this system helps writers write both efficiently and creatively.
Adapting the Guide for Different Fields of Study
After publishing The Elements of Writing, the “mother ship” of his system, Euchner began teaching writing at Columbia’s Graduate School for Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.
To connect with his students’ passion for place-related issues–buildings, streets, parks, infrastructure, the environment–Euchner rewrote The Elements of Writing to use place-oriented case studies for each of the 79 elements. That approach transformed learning. Because of their passion for place-related issues, the lessons in Writing About Place “took hold” better and faster.
Next, Euchner created a book for teaching first-year writing classes. That book, Reading and Writing the Essay, was modeled on English 120, the class that Euchner once taught at Yale University.
Most recently, Euchner produced Writing About Politics and Society. A former professor of political science, Euchner draws on the social science literature for case studies.
The next book in the series will use the business literature to illustrate the elements of writing. Euchner, a former case writer at the Yale School of Management, will use classics from business and economics for that guide.
About The Five Essays
The three subject-specific writing books are organized according to five essays that students write for the class:
- Profile of a person
- Description of a place
- Depiction of action
- Detailing of a complex process
- Analysis of a complex issue
By teaching students in this sequence, they move from the most specific, concrete form of writing to the most abstract form of writing. For the first three essays, students can use their own observations and experiences. Research shows that if students can begin with concrete topics, they build a foundation to master more abstract topics later.
Help for Teachers and Professors
For faculty who adopt these guides for their classes, Write Across the Curriculum offers special resources and deals for the classroom, including:
- A special discount price for orders greater than 15.
- A Teacher’s Guide, with exercises and tips for classroom exercises.
- Sample syllabi, so you can integrate the writing process into other goals of your course.
- Free online training sessions for teachers using the books, as well as regular “office hours” and social media pages.
- A growing social media community, with which you can share tips and techniques with other teachers and professionals.
- Video lessons for select lessons from the books.
- Availability for classroom sessions via Zoom.
- Consulting for schools and departments that want to adopt writing-intensive approach to their curriculum.
Let’s Talk
As you make plans for the next semester’s course, feel free to get in touch. Let’s talk about strategies you can use to make writing a key part of your class. Take a moment to email Charles Euchner today.