Expectations for Teaching Writing 2-3

Many instructors wonder what capabilities their students will bring with them to the Writing 2-3 classroom. Writing 2-3 has an especially diverse population who bring with them an array of writing abilities and writing challenges.

Writing 2-3 students are bright students who, for one reason or another, desire a more prolonged, sustained, and supported first-year writing experience.  Some 2-3 students focused more on math and science in high school than on their writing and so come to the course seeking to shift that focus and commit to improving their writing. Still, others come from high schools that may not have sufficiently prepared them for the rigors of college-level writing. Some 2-3 students have deep experience with and excel at creative writing or at expressing themselves through narratives or informal writing, and so choose the course to gain experience writing academic papers, to learn the conventions of academic prose, and to develop research skills. Some in 2-3 are multilingual students who feel they can't comfortably express their complex ideas in English. Others might be accustomed to simple writing structures—like the five paragraph theme—that won't be sufficient for success at Dartmouth, and so use two terms of instruction and support to grow comfortable with more complex forms of analysis and argumentation.

It's also worth noting that the Writing 2-3 population is typically three to four times more diverse than the typical Dartmouth classroom.  While this diversity makes for an especially rewarding classroom experience, it also creates challenges for the instructor, who needs to take difference into account.  In Writing 2-3, you will be challenged to find a way to teach students the practices of the academy while respecting the values and experiences that they bring with them.

Finally, because every student who takes Writing 2-3 has elected to do so, you can expect that your students will be committed to the work of the course. By and large, 2-3 students are "game": they are willing to work hard, and they are eager to see improvement in their writing. And they do improve - some quite remarkably. Indeed, Writing 2-3 counts among its alums a Valedictorian, a Salutatorian, Phi Beta Kappas, and Presidential Scholars. Expect that your students can meet the rigorous challenges you place before them.

The list of goals for Writing 2-3 is long. Instructors are expected to introduce students to the practices of academic discourse. They will instruct the students in close and careful analysis of difficult texts. They will assign and guide their students through a substantial writing project involving research. They will create a classroom community that is inviting and supportive, a place where a diverse student population can engage in meaningful work together. Most important, they will teach their students to write.

As in the other first-year writing courses, teaching writing will not depend simply on assigning writing—though writing will be assigned, and often. Instructors will frequently conduct writing workshops, confer regularly with students about their writing, provide careful and thoughtful feedback, and make good use of the collaborative learning and active learning ideas described throughout this website. For a more thorough description of the program's expectations, please see Writing 2-3 Guidelines for Faculty. We hope that you will especially note the following:

• Make your course rigorous, and keep your standards high. Too often, courses for underprepared students are "slowed-down" versions of mainstream writing courses. In Writing 2-3, we believe that the best way to prepare our students is to work them hard. Students should be reading challenging texts and continuously writing. Assign several short papers early on. Require students to revise each of their papers at least once. Talk with them about what makes a good paper, and hold them to these standards.
• Plan to spend substantial class time on student writing. Don't allow course readings to crowd out discussion of student work. Treat student work as another text for the class, using it as the basis for in-class writing workshops. See Conducting Writing Workshops for proven strategies.
• Involve your students in writing instruction. Common wisdom tells us that students best learn to write when you involve them in peer instruction. Train your students to diagnose and respond to the work of their peers, and soon you'll see marked improvement in their writing. See Collaborative Learning for ideas on how to structure this collaborative work.

Students come to Writing 2-3 with equal parts enthusiasm and anxiety. As noted above, every student enrolled in 2-3 has elected to be there, and they expect to work hard on their writing. In turn, students have expectations of you.

• Students expect the classroom format to be discussion-based, not lecture-based. They want a class that is intimate not only in size but in character.
• Students want feedback from you on their writing. You should respond not only to the content of the writing, but also to the structure, form, and style.
• Students expect that you will return their papers to them in a timely manner, so that they have sufficient time to absorb and incorporate your comments before the next paper is due.
• Students expect that you be available to meet with them in conference throughout the term to discuss their progress as writers. They also hope that you will be available to them in office hours and via email.
• Students want your criticism; they need your support. It's important to be frank with 2-3 students. They understand that they need to improve their writing, and they are eager to hear from you what it is that they should do. But they also require your support. Your students will expect you to remain engaged with them as writers and as thinkers, so that they in turn can do their best work in your course.

Every instructor teaching Writing 2-3 has a tutor. Because they meet with students individually for an hour each week, the tutors are often the first to diagnose problems in student writing. They are also in a good position to give the students the individual attention that they need.

If you have questions about teaching Writing 2-3, please contact the Director of the Writing Program.