Author

Date of Award

10-2-2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Rhetoric and Writing

First Advisor

W. Kleine

Abstract

Composition I: Writing About the Visual Arts was a freshman / sophomore level writing course constructed on the methodology of Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC). Would student writing skills improve if writing assignments were based in the visual arts and the students who enrolled in the course interested in pursuing art history or the studio arts as a major or minor? Analyzing the semester writing assignments, I would ascertain if student writing skills did indeed improve and try to ascertain if WAC was a or the contributing factor. Ultimately, none of the students taking this course had any background in the arts, nor were any students interested in studying the arts. I removed the Writing in the Discipline (WID) component, but kept the course work WAC and Writing to Learn (WTL) oriented. Writing analysis was now about the improvement of student writing in general or the possible improvement under the influence of a Special Topics opportunity. Without enough teaching experience, I could not determine what, if any, role WAC and WTL played in the writing skill improvement or worsening among students.

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