These publications are intended for people who include writing in their courses, and for the writing specialists who work alongside them. They show practical ways of using writing to support students’ induction into the subject matter and methods of a discipline; they also outline the theoretical and research basis of this way of teaching writing. For more on writing pedagogy, research, and program design, see the Writing Specialists section of this site.

Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor's Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom (2001). Probably the best single book on this topic. A thorough and stimulating guide to the theory and practice of handling student writing: covers designing tasks, helping students read difficult texts, using peer groups for feedback, handling the paper load, etc.

Bean, John C., David Carrithers, and Theresa Earenfight. “Transforming WAC through a discourse-based approach to university outcomes assessment.” WAC Journal 16 (2005): 5-21. Available online. A good example of small-scale assessment in a writing initiative.

Bruffee, Kenneth. Collaborative Learning: Higher Education, Interdependence, and the Authority of Knowledge. (1999). A classic work on the ways social interactions contribute to student learning, with special relevance to learning writing.

Eisner, Caroline and Martha Vicinus, eds. Originality, Imitation, and Plagiarism: Teaching Writing in the Digital Age (2008). New ways to think about intertextuality in academic work from a wide range of scholars; the final chapters offer well-grounded advice on designing assignments and handling plagiarism cases. See also Howard, below.

Gopen, George D. and Judith A. Swan, “The Science of Scientific Writing,” American Scientist 78 (1990): 550-558. A short readable article, still the best introduction to the concept of information-ordering in scientific writing style.  Available online through U of T Library.

Graves, Roger. Writing Instruction in Canadian Universities (1994). An illuminating history of the reluctance of Canadian universities to include writing instruction within their curriculum.

Graves, Roger and Heather Graves, eds. Writing Centres, Writing Seminars, Writing Culture: Writing Instruction in Anglo-Canadian Universities (2006). A collection of articles from the diverse set of programs that have grown up in Canadian universities since 1994, including chapters by Rob Irish and Margaret Procter on U of T experiences.

Howard, Rebecca Moore. Standing in the Shadow of Giants: Plagiarists, Authors, Collaborators (1999). An important re-thinking of the way writers use texts. Points out the relatively new idea of plagiarism as an offence; shows how student infractions are often a matter of "patchwriting" instead of summarizing. See also Howard’s Citation Project website for ongoing research on how students actually use sources and the pedagogical implications of their practices.

Light, Richard J. Making the Most of College: Students Speak Their Minds (2001). Drawing on extensive qualitative research, Light shows that Harvard students value the chance to work with professors and each other on developing writing competencies. He advises timely feedback, chances for oral discussion, concentrating instruction in upper years; also includes advice for students on making the most of their opportunities to learn writing. See also Sommers, below.

Newton, Janice et al., eds. Voices from the Classroom: Reflections on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (2001). Newsletter articles and some longer pieces by York University faculty; include practical comments on designing written assignments.

Prégent, Richard. Charting Your Course: How to Prepare to Teach More Effectively (2000). Emphasizes the need to frame teaching objectives deliberately (including development of language skills) and advises on designing assignments and teaching methods to achieve them. Focusses on science and Engineering with a Canadian perspective.

Russell, David R. Writing in the Academic Disciplines: A Curricular History, 2nd ed. (2002). Russell outlines the history of US writing programs since the 1870s in terms of social change and the development of academic specialization. He shows the theoretical and practical fallacies of reliance on first-year composition courses and makes the case for integrated writing instruction as a way to support student development and involve faculty in examining their own specialized discourses. Readable, enlightening, stimulating.

Schryer, Cathy and Laurence Steven, eds. Contextual Literacy: Writing Across the Curriculum (1995). A collection of articles analysing situations for teaching writing in Canadian universities, including a research report by Margaret Procter about student attitudes at UTM in the 1990s.

Shaughnessy, Mina. Errors and Expectations: A Guide for the Teacher of Basic Writing (1977). A seminal work from CUNY's open admissions years. Still relevant and interesting: shows how to read even “remedial” student work as representing a stage in learning, not just a demonstration of deficiencies. See also Sternglass below.

Sommers, Nancy and Laura Saltz. “The Novice as Expert: Writing the Freshman Year.” College Composition and Communication 56 (2004): 124-149. Based on experience and research in the Harvard Writing Project, Sommers outlines the combination of summary and critique that she considers the most effective type of first-year writing assignment. Available online through U of T Library.

Sterrett, Andrew, ed. Using Writing to Teach Mathematics (1992). From the Mathematical Society of America, sensible and stimulating ideas on improving the conceptual understanding of mathematics by using written assignments.

Sternglass, Marilyn S. Time to Know Them: A Longitudinal Study of Writing and Learning at the College Level (1997). An excellent example of case-study research grounded in educational theory and personal experience. Shows the social and intellectual challenges of multilingual students at City College, New York, and their various kinds of success—not always a straight path.

Strachan, Wendy. Writing-Intensive: Becoming W-Faculty in a New Writing Curriculum (2008). An account of the challenges in creating a writing initiative at Simon Fraser University: outlines many successes at the course level, though the initiative has since been undermined by a faulty institutional structure. Includes interesting faculty voices, good samples of teaching material, useful methods for program assessment.

Swan, Michael and Bernard Smith, eds. Learner English: A Teacher's Guide to Interference and Other Problems (2001). Fascinating and clear account of ways that linguistic and rhetorical patterns of specific languages may affect students' adaptation to patterns in English.

Thaiss, Chris and Terry Myers Zawacki. Engaged Writers, Dynamic Disciplines: Research on the Academic Writing Life (2006). Drawing on interviews with faculty members and students, this book reflects experiences in learning and teaching writing across the range of disciplines. The final chapter summarizes implications for teaching and program building.

Walvoord, Barbara E. Helping Students Write Well: A Guide for Teachers in All Disciplines, 2nd ed. (1993). Deservedly a classic guidebook: cogent practical advice on how to present assignments, guide students through various stages, and comment efficiently.

Walvoord, Barbara E. and Lucille P. McCarthy. Thinking and Writing in College: A Naturalistic Study of Students in Four Disciplines (1990). Readable research reports on the results of integrating writing into four different classrooms (business, history, psychology, and biology).

Walvoord, Barbara E. and Virginia Johnson Anderson. Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and Assessment (1998). Lively readable examples and practical advice on the full range of classroom and administrative practices to make grading a worthwhile part of teaching: many sample assignments, marking guides (rubrics), and comments.  

Zamel, Vivian and Ruth Spack, eds. Crossing the Curriculum: Multilingual Learners in College Classrooms (2004). Insightful accounts of the experiences of second-language learners from a range of perspectives.  

Zinsser, William. Writing to Learn (re-issue, 2005). An inspirational account of Zinsser's visits to outstanding teachers at American liberal arts colleges who use writing in their courses.

Wright, W. Alan and Eileen M. Herteis, eds. Learning Through Writing: A Compendium of Assignments and Techniques, 2nd ed. (2001). A collection of practical and inventive assignments from various disciplines. Amusing, stimulating, and Canadian.