A Collective Effort to Improve Sociology Students' Writing Skills. (April 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Burgess-Proctor, Amanda; Cassano, Graham; Condron, Dennis J.; Lyons, Heidi A.; Sanders, George
• Is Part Of: Teaching sociology. Volume 42:Number 2(2014:Apr.)
• Page Start: 130
• Page End: 139
• Publication Date: 2014-04
• Subjects: student writing -- writing across curriculum -- professionalization of students; Sociology -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; 300.71
• DOI: 10.1177/0092055X13512458
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0092-055X

Abstract

Nationwide, academic sociologists at all types of higher education institutions face the challenge of working to improve students' writing skills. In this article, we describe a collective effort by a group of faculty members in one undergraduate sociology program to implement several effective writing-improvement strategies. We advocate aiming to improve students' writing by working together on a united front rather than working in isolation. After explaining the origins of the collective emphasis on writing that emerged in our group and briefly outlining the writing-improvement strategies that we utilize, we use student survey data to reflect on major themes before concluding with a discussion of the merits of our collective approach.