Writing in the Sociology Curriculum: What Types and How Much Writing Do We Assign?

    Authors

    L. Grauerholz; J. Eisele;N. Stark

    Comments

    Authors: contact us about adding a copy of your work at STARS@ucf.edu

    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Teach. Sociol.

    Keywords

    writing across the curriculum; student writing; sociology curriculum; CRITICAL THINKING; STUDENT JOURNALS; GOALS; IMAGINATION; CLASSROOM; DEVELOP; FICTION; COURSES; LEARN; Education & Educational Research; Sociology

    Abstract

    We analyzed undergraduate sociology course syllabi to determine how prevalent writing is, the types of writing used, and whether assignment of writing and specific types of writing vary by type of course goals, gender of instructor, institutional type, or type of course. Almost all courses represented in these syllabi incorporate writing, with traditional (transactional) writing being the most common. Writing is more likely in courses that seek to enhance students' critical thinking; transactional writing is used in courses stating critical thinking and sociological imagination/thinking as goals; and expressive writing is used more often in courses specifying critical thinking as a goal. Female instructors incorporate more writing, especially expressive types, than their male counterparts. Implications for disciplinary writing practices are discussed.

    Journal Title

    Teaching Sociology

    Volume

    41

    Issue/Number

    1

    Publication Date

    1-1-2013

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    46

    Last Page

    59

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000312559600006

    ISSN

    0092-055X

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