Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts
Major
English
Date of Defense
4-19-2024
Graduate Advisor
Dr. Lauren Obermark
Committee
Dr. Christopher Schott
Dr. Benjamin Torbert
Abstract
Academic writing is a fundamental component across disciplines in higher education, serving as a critical mode of communication and assessment of student understanding, proficiency, and mastery of course content. Despite its ubiquity, the responsibility for explicit writing instruction is often regulated to composition courses frequently housed within English departments, leading to a systemic and normative view that isolates writing development to a single field. This thesis critically explores the literature on writing studies, focusing on disciplinary attitudes toward writing, interdisciplinary movements, and how writing transfer occurs as students traverse academic fields. Along with the comprehensive literature review, this project includes a localized study completed in the form of an online survey distributed to the teaching faculty at The University of Missouri – St. Louis to investigate the role writing plays in disciplines beyond English composition courses, focusing on how instructors from various fields view and incorporate writing instruction into their teaching practices. The results indicate that instructors far and wide recognize the importance of writing in education and professional contexts while acknowledging the gap in collaborative opportunities to enhance their writing-related pedagogies. While underscoring the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in writing instruction, this study advocates for a more inclusive approach that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. The study concludes with recommendations for university-wide initiatives to improve writing instruction. It emphasizes the need for professional development that brings together educators from different disciplines to provide faculty with the tools and strategies necessary for effectively integrating writing into their courses. By fostering cross-departmental communication and establishing a sense of writing as a shared responsibility amongst higher education faculty members, universities can better prepare students for the diverse writing tasks they will encounter in their academic and professional careers.
Recommended Citation
Weintrop, Taylor, "From Content to Composition: Equipping Non-Writing Instructors for Interdisciplinary Writing Proficiency" (2024). Theses. 474.
https://irl.umsl.edu/thesis/474
