I’m already giving term papers and essay exams. Isn’t that enough?

Term papers and essay exams can be useful elements of a WAC program, if they are designed with WAC goals in mind. If a student is given an assignment to do a term paper on a broad topic due at the end of the term, with no provisions for checking drafts or further guidance, he or she is not likely to really improve writing skills. Furthermore, the Internet has made it easy, and tempting, for students to directly incorporate material they find as their own. Of course, it is often easy for the instructor to find the source of such material, but even if the student fails the paper or the course for plagiarism, he or she has not learned how to write better, nor has he or she learned the material well.

A well-designed essay exam can also be a useful tool for encouraging students to learn material, especially if they are shown how to study for and construct an appropriate response to the questions. Yet even then, students are not likely to improve writing skills unless they are then given the opportunity to revise and edit the first effort.