Writing right: enhancing student engagement and performance in an ecology course

This paper outlines the results of a collaborative effort between members of staff in the Departments of Life Sciences and Language, Linguistics and Philosophy, which involved the implementation of Writing Across the Curriculum strategies in an Ecology course. The lecturer for this course had expressed concerns regarding the poor quality of the laboratory reports presented and weak essays submitted by students. In order to enhance students' understanding of the content to be included in the report, and to improve expression of thought in writing, we agreed to 'treat' a sample of students selected from two laboratory groups by giving each group the other's lab report to read and to subsequently carry out the experiments described. Additionally a select group of students engaged in the planning, writing and revising of responses to past exam essay questions. Results showed that final exam grades for the 'treated' group and the writing group were significantly higher than their 'non treated' and 'non writing' counterparts. Feedback from students was generally positive. Implications and limitations are discussed.

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Writing Across the Curriculum ,

Ecology ,

Undergraduates ,