We can best support all of our students’ writing development by integrating the writing process into our courses. The writing process consists of several carefully staged steps including brainstorming, drafting, peer review, revision, and editing. Students should be taught multiple strategies for accomplishing each of these steps. The writing process provides lots of opportunities for formative feedback, which can help multilingual students with both fluency and idea development. Courses that integrate the writing process usually focus on fewer assignments that are sequenced over longer periods of time.
If you are interested in finding out more, consider attending Dr. Katherine Silvester’s workshop on “Responding to Linguistically Diverse Writing in the Drafting Stage” (February 10, 10:00-11:30, IMU State Room East). This workshop targets instructors who assign sustained research and writing projects throughout the semester. Dr. Silvester is Coordinator of Multilingual Writing and Assistant Professor of English at IUB. On April 7, Michelle Cox, inaugural Director of the English Language Support Office of Cornell University’s Knight Institute, will deliver a talk entitled “Helping International and Multilingual Students Become Better Writers” (IMU University Club, 11:30-1:30). The workshop will focus on strategies for supporting multilingual students while furthering a linguistically and culturally inclusive campus culture.
If you would like assistance integrating the writing process into your courses, please contact John Paul Kanwit, Campus Writing Program Director. The tutors at Writing Tutorial Services (WTS) are also available to help your students at any stage in the writing process. For more information, visit citl.indiana.edu/programs/writing
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