Writing across the Business Curriculum: An Alternative Means of Developing and Assessing Written Communication Skills

David E. Ault ; Joseph F. Michlitsch Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Abstract

For three years, the School of Business explored writing across the curriculum (WAC) approaches for developing written communication skills of undergraduate business majors. In selected classes, instructors stressed links between understanding concepts and being able to write clearly about them, improved design of assignments, and improved feedback to students. Instructors participating in this study concluded that a WAC approach improved the quality of student writing and the applications of course concepts. They also concluded that these improvements carried over to subsequent courses. Students reported using more care in revising drafts and more attention overall, to writing in certain settings. Their attention peaked when the instructor emphasized writing. A minority of students maintained, however, that writing should be evaluated only in writing classes taught by English faculty and that evaluation of writing should not be used to determine the grades they receive on assignments or for the course itself.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1994-10-01
DOI
10.2190/umbe-j6tt-m69q-xtll
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (12)

  1. 10.7312/gord91408
  2. The Education of the American Businessman
  3. Management Education and Development: Drift or Thrust into the 21st Century
  4. Programs that Work: Models and Methods for Writing across the Curriculum
  5. Freshman English News
Show all 12 →
  1. 10.2307/356095
  2. 10.5840/teachphil19836244
  3. 10.2307/377126
  4. 10.1632/ade.82.55
  5. Language Connections: Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum
  6. Journal of College Science Teaching
  7. 10.2307/376764