May 26, 2010

Writing Across the Curriculum



Elizabeth Nesius and Ken Ronkowitz from the Writing Initiative attended the International Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Conference this month held at Indiana University.

Featured speakers included Art Young, Clemson University, speaking on "WAC Today and Tomorrow: Composing in Many Modes and Media" and Terry Myers Zawacki, George Mason University, on "Researching the Local/Writing the International: Developing Culturally Inclusive WAC Programs and Practices"

The 2010 Conference was hosted by the Campus Writing Program at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. This biannual conference, the only U.S. conference dedicated exclusively to writing across the curriculum (WAC) and writing in the disciplines (WID), is typically of interest to people who are concerned with using writing to improve teaching and learning—faculty, administrators, and students from post-secondary institutions, as well as faculty and administrators from secondary schools.

Writing Across the Curriculum is a philosophy that maintains that writing is a valuable learning tool that can help students to synthesize, analyze, and apply course content; clear writing helps to develop clear thinkers in any curriculum.

Our own Writing Initiative philosophy is that All Teachers Teach Writing. While English teachers are traditionally charged with teaching "learning to write," we promote other disciplines using "writing to learn" techniques.

Some useful links for more information on WAC & WID efforts:

May 20, 2010

New Policies for the CWE

Beginning in the summer of 2010, there will be a new process for taking the CWE on the Paterson campus of PCCC. Rather than registering, students will take the test on a walk-in basis. The Testing Department will offer the exam on a variety of dates each month, over a length of time. Students can show up on the date and time most convenient for them, with no registration required. They will still need to bring a photo ID to be allowed to take the test, however. Evening test times are limited to 5 seats per session, on a first come, first served basis, so it's best to show up early!

Other policies remain the same. Students who have failed the exam in the past must come to the Writing Center before retaking it.

Students may take one exam per month each. All exams will be scored after the last date of the exam. Results will take 2-4 weeks after the final test date in a given month. Results are both emailed and mailed to students, as well as being posted on their degree audits.

The exam will be given in room E215, and takes 2 hours.

These are the dates available for summer:

June Dates
(Theme: College Life)

Date
Day Starting Times
Evening Starting Times
June 1
9AM-2PM
5PM-6PM
June 2
9AM-2PM
5PM-6PM
June 3
9AM-2PM
5PM-6PM
June 8
9AM-2PM
5PM-6PM
June 9
9AM-2PM
No evening times offered
June 10
9AM-2PM
5PM-6PM
June 15
9AM-2PM
No evening times offered
June 16
9AM-2PM
No evening times offered
June 17
9AM-2PM
No evening times offered 

Results of the June exam will be available July 1.
 
July Dates
(Theme: Moral Issues and Responsibilities)

Date
Day Starting Times
Evening Starting Times
July 7
9AM-2PM
No evening times offered
July 8
9AM-2PM
5PM-6PM
July 13
9AM-2PM
5PM-6PM
July 14
9AM-2PM
No evening times offered
July 15
9AM-2PM
5PM-6PM
July 20
9AM-2PM
5PM-6PM
July 21
9AM-2PM
No evening times offered
July 22
9AM-2PM
5PM-6PM

 Results of the July exam will be available August 6.

 There are no exams planned for August. The fall exam schedule will begin in October and follow the same walk-in format.

For more information or help with the CWE, students can go to http://pccc.libguides.com/cwe, email cwe_prep@pccc.edu or stop into the Writing Center.

May 15, 2010

Fall 2010 Registration for Writing Intensive Courses

Students at PCCC intending to obtain an A.A., A.S. or A.A.S degree are required to take-and pass with a "C" or better two writing-intensive courses prior to graduation. (Click here for specifics on requirements)

The following courses are Writing Intensive (WI) sections open for registration for the fall 2010 semester. All WI sections are limited to 25 students, so register as early as possible.


AE-101-OL1 Appreciation of Art Thoubboron
BS-102-ME1 Biology II Greidanus
CT-101-WE1 Critical Thinking Hillringhouse
EN-205-M02 Intro to Literature Redman-Waldeyer
EN-205-OL1 Intro to Literature Klopfenstein
ENS-106-M01 Public Speaking Risher
HI-101-ME2 Western Civilization I Brozyna
HI-101-OL2 Western Civilization I Jenkins
HI-102-W02 Western Civilization II Drakulich
MU-106-OL2 Appreciation of Music Ayala
PH-101-M02 Intro to Philosophy Fruncillo
PL-101-ME1 Intro to Political Science Getso
PS-101-ME2 Intro to Psychology Termanini
PS-101-OL3 Intro to Psychology Cianci
PS-101-P02 Intro to Psychology Page
PS-101-W03 Intro to Psychology Murphy
SC 104-M01 Environmental Science Baranowski
SO-202-M01 Cultural Anthropology Burkart