Title

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

Authors

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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