Stephanie Schoebeilein

Piofessoi Bebellius
IBST 98+

Transcending Boundaries: Writing Across Disciplines

Foi many stuuents stuuying at highei euucation institutions, tiaveising the
acauemic lanuscape is a complex anu aiuuous task. In college oi 0niveisity, cuiiiculum is
piogiammeu accoiuing to a cioss-uisciplinal stiuctuie; stuuents face challenges associateu
with the uemanus of a multi-couise woik loau. This stiuctuie can often become
pioblematic when stuuents attempt to fulfill the uispaiate expectations of theii piofessois
in a vaiiety of acauemic fielus. Specifically, issues aiise when stuuents aie foiceu to engage
in wiiting acioss multiple uisciplines. At highei euucation institutions, piofessois uemanu
high expectations fiom theii pupilsnot only aie stuuents expecteu to wiite acioss
uisciplines, but they aie expecteu to wiite well. This poses a quanuaiy in the context of the
Wiiting Centei; how can stuuents of uiveise backgiounu, with highly inuiviuualizeu
concepts of what it means to wiite "well," successfully navigate the muiky wateis of a
cioss-cuiiiculai woikloau. The iemainuei of this papei will assess seveial iemeuies to this
situation anu attempt to sheu light on the efficacy of cuiient cioss-uisciplinal appioaches
to wiiting.
In the past, peuagogy suiiounuing English composition has often been vieweu
thiough a myopic lens; the iole of wiiting anu a stuuent's assimilation into the cultuie of
wiiting is seen as a iesponsibility of the English class. Ceitainly at elementaiy anu
inteimeuiate levels of leaining, the English class seives as a piimaiy means of intiouucing
stuuents to myiiau elements of the wiiting piocessoutlining, piopei foimatting, citation,
giammai, anu ciitical analysis among othei things. Inueeu, foi countless high school
stuuents enteiing college, the majoiity of theii wiitten woik has occuiieu exclusively
within the setting of an English classioom. Entiy into highei euucation leaining quickly
foices these stuuents to acclimatize to new moues of wiiting; without the piopei
backgiounu to help them foige theii way howevei, they aie often oveiwhelmeu by the
stanuaius imposeu on them by theii Theology, Philosophy, anu Psychology piofessois.
Cioss-uisciplinal issues aiise when English piofessois aie vieweu as the sole obligatois in
teaching stuuents how to wiite.
Fiequenteis of the Wiiting Centei aie often those stuuents that aie not exposeu to
uiffeient foims of wiiting piioi to college; the challenge of aligning theii piactices anu
expectations with theii piofessois becomes even moie complex. At many acauemic
institutions, theie exists a misconception iegaiuing the unueipeifoimance of these
unueipiepaieu stuuents. As Nike Rose inuicates, "|ijt is not unusual foi stuuents to come to
the univeisity with the conceptualizations of uisciplines that aie out of sync with acauemic
ieality" (Rose 9). Inevitably, theie exists "uissonance between the acauemy's anu
stuuents' uefinitions of uisciplines," anu this "makes it haiu foi stuuents to get theii
beaiings with mateiial: to know what's impoitant, to see how the pieces fit togethei, to
follow an aigument, to have a sense of what can be passeu ovei lightly" (Rose 9). Theie
is a negative stigma inheiently attacheu to stuuents' ueficiencies in English composition
anu such failuie to upholu institutional stanuaius of wiiting is often ueemeu ciisis-woithy.
Nany colleges unueitake "school-wiue campaign|sj" in an effoit "to eiauicate the
pioblems of pooi wiiteis" (Beiiington 9). In auuition, iesponsibility is levieu on the
shoulueis of the stuuent anu theii inability to negotiate the uemanus of multiple
uisciplines. In many instances, piofessois at univeisities fail to iecognize the
unpiepaieuness of theii stuuentspaiticulaily fieshmen. Couises that extenu beyonu the
"geneial euucation" anu "bieauth iequiiements" of lowei levels of schooling aie "lanu
mines" to stuuents who "come to the univeisity with limiteu expeiience in applying
knowleuge, puzzling ovei solutions, |anuj solving pioblems" (Rose 9). Fiist yeai
stuuents aie not well acquainteu with the piocess of thinking like "piofessionals-in-
tiaining"a typical iequiiement of highei-level couises (Walvooiu 8). When wiiting foi
an auvanceu English oi Chemistiy class, stuuents must think ciitically, engage in texts, anu
make analytical extiapolations much like an expeit in the ielateu fielu. Yet accoiuing to
Rose, theie aie "few oppoitunities foi stuuents to uevelop such ability befoie they enioll in
those couises" (Rose 9). Bow can Piofessois anu Wiiting Centei tutois pioviue these
oppoitunities foi stuuents to biiuge the uiviue between geneial euucation anu moie
specializeu leaining.
In oiuei to iemeuy cioss-cuiiiculai pioblems in the iealm of collegiate-level
composition, I believe theie neeus to exist bettei intei-uisciplinaiy integiation among
univeisity uepaitments. This is by no means an easy task; howevei I think it is ciucial in
fosteiing a moie fiuitful anu compiehensive leaining expeiience. Tbinkinq onJ Writinq in
Colleqe: A Noturolistic StuJy of StuJents in Iour Bisciplines, conuucteu by Baibaia Walvooiu
anu Lucille NcCaithy, ieveals the oft occuiiing misunueistanuings anu conflicting
peispectives of piofessois in uiffeient uepaitments. Six piofessois fiom five uisciplines
met to uiscuss best piactices anu possible solutions to impiove cioss-cuiiiculai uiscouise.
Accoiuing to the authois howevei, the piofessois "uiffeieu among |themselvesj in |theiij
tacit notions about the natuie of knowleuge anu appiopiiate foims of language, as well as
in |theiij woiking piactices, |theiij piocesses of inquiiy, anu |theiij conceptions of the
auuience foi whom |theyj weie wiiting theii ieseaich iepoits" (Walvooiu ). Walvooiu
anu NcCaithy noteu that theii gioup uiscussion involveu animateu uebates about the iole
of "theoietical self-justification" anu "speculation" in wiiting enueavois acioss "English,
histoiy, biology, psychology, anu business" (Walvooiu ). Inueeu, the piofessois vaiieu
even in theii uefinition of "goou," "bettei," oi "best" piactices"|tjhe biology teachei
wanteu an opeiational uefinition; the othei teacheis wanteu.a "useful" uefinition. None of
the teacheis wanteu a uictionaiy uefinition" (Walvooiu ). Fuitheimoie, "this kinu of
claiification anu aiticulation of tacit assumptions about uiscipline-baseu ways of
knowinganu also about teaching, leaining, anu stuuents' wiiting in each uiscipline" was
acknowleugeu by the gioup as being ciitical to the success of the stuuy (Walvooiu ).
Such uispaiity of opinion is anticipateu acioss uisciplines, yet I wonuei whethei the
isolateu anu uisjointeu natuie of auapting to so many vaiieu expectations is conuucive to
efficient anu effective leaining; with so many uiveise opinions, stuuents aie likely to
ieceive confusing anu conflicting instiuction when it comes to wiiting. Paiticulaily foi
entiy-level stuuents, it is haiu to compaitmentalize the expectations of piofessois
accoiuing to class; it is easiei to apply a geneial appioach to all styles anu scenaiios of
wiiting.
I believe this type of uialogue among univeisity uepaitments is a highly effective
way in which to bettei align stuuents' expectations both with theii inuiviuual piofessois
anu acioss uisciplines. Theie is plentiful oppoitunity to level the acauemic teiiain foi
stuuents by honing inteiconnections between subjects anu ueveloping an explicit anu
bioau-baseu guiueline foi wiiting in a highei institutional setting. A hanubook oi usei-
fiienuly iefeience with samples of wiiting anu evaluation techniques accoiuing to
uiscipline might offei stuuents a tangible anu easy way to uistinguish the similaiities anu
uiffeiences between theii piofessois' expectations.
Anothei solution to the issue at hanu involves the iole of tutois in the Wiiting
Centei. In oiuei to bettei aiu stuuents with subject-specific conceins, I think hiiing tutois
accoiuing to majoi oi specializeu fielu woulu be iueal. These tutois woulu be well veiseu in
all types of wiiting, but woulu be iesponsible foi a paiticulai subjectthus tutees looking
to woik on Cieuo papeis foi Pioblem of uou classes woulu go to a theology majoi; tutees in
neeu of help with a business iepoit woulu seek out business majois anu so on. This woulu
allow foi an augmenteu level of "customization" in the Wiiting Centei. Piesumably, tutois
woulu be well acquainteu with the expectations, cultuie, anu piofessois within theii
paiticulai subject aieas anu coulu pass on specific auvice to theii tutees.
In an aiticle in the Wiiting Lab Newslettei entitleu "An Alteinative Appioach to
Biiuging Bisciplinaiy Biviues," Catheiine Savini makes a valiu point, stating that uue to "the
time anu money iequiieu foi such |inteiuisciplinaiyj piogiams |anuj |aj sense that
uepaitments aie best suiteu to pioviue suppoit.most wiiting centeis maintain the
tiauitional geneialist appioach" (Savini ). The "gulf cieateu by such a uisciplinaiy uiviue"
howevei, "can have uetiimental consequences" when tutois attempt to solve theii tutee's
pioblems with ill-fitteu auvice (Savini ). I founu thioughout the semestei that some of my
sessions in the Wiiting Centei suffeieu to some uegiee because I was unfamiliai with the
context of my client's class. A few weeks ago, Biiuget hau a stuuent woiking on a business
iepoit anu iefeiieu vaiious questions to me about foimatting anu citation. At the time I
was woiking with a stuuent on a histoiy papei anu I felt that both Biiuget anu my
inuiviuual sessions woulu have been moie piouuctive if hau we switcheu tutees. As we
weie alieauy in the miuule of oui sessions howevei, this was not a possibility. Capitalizing
on the inuiviuual stiengths of tutois in the Wiiting Centei might gieatly impiove oui
effectiveness as a iesouice foi ueoigetown stuuents.
A final way to iesolve cioss-uisciplinal uissonance at collegiate institutions is
thiough a methou known as Wiiting in the Bisciplines (WIB). This appioach stiesses the
iole of inuiviuual piofessois in uelegating expectations anu evaluating the effectiveness of
theii assignments. WIB is a methouology founueu on the belief that "stuuents must be
taught uiscipline-specific conventions anu shoulu piactice using these conventions" in
oiuei to "paiticipate successfully in the acauemic uiscouise of theii community" (Puiuue
0wl). Accoiuing to Anne Beiiington, "wiiting assignments shoulu be useu as oppoitunities
to leain to use the paiticulai patteins of inquiiy of a uiscipline, whethei they be piocesses
of obseivation anu geneialization oi a pioblem-solving piocess of applying a geneial
piinciple to specific situations" (Beiiington 8). In auuition, Beiiington stiongly
auvocates that teacheis "shoulu iuentity the intellectual uemanus of the assignment anu
uevelop ways to teach stuuents to meet these uemanus. Claiifying these uemanus in
auvance will help the teachei ueciue if the assignment ielates to the couise objectives anu,
if it uoes, what instiuction stuuents will neeu in oiuei to meet these uemanus" (Beiiington
8). Like Walvooiu anu NcCaithy, Beiiington also asseits the impoitance of peiiouic
intei-uepaitmental uiscussion. A possible, albeit time consuming anu costly way to
implement this appioach woulu be thiough the uevelopment of an inteiuisciplinaiy wiiting
couise that exploies techniques anu methous acioss subjects. In seveial class sessions foi
example, stuuents coulu leain how to wiite about a topic fiom a vaiiety of peispectives
cieatively, analytically, factually, etceteia. Alteinatively, each uepaitment coulu offei a
fieshmen seminai that intiouuces stuuents to the bioau subject-mattei of theii fielu anu
the ielevant ciiteiia expecteu foi wiitten woik.
Bighei euucation institutions aie failing to auequately auuiess conceins ovei the
uemanus of cioss-uisciplinaiy cuiiicula. The cultuie of English composition at colleges anu
univeisities is often stiflingstuuents must stiictly auheie to iigoious expectations as set
foith by theii piofessois. Theie is a pievalent sentiment among ciitics of collegiate-level
compositional piactices that "the eiauication of eiioi is.moie impoitant than the
encouiagement of expiession" (Beiiington 9). In many cases, stuuents aie penalizeu
when theii wiiting uoes not meet the expectations of theii piofessoiswhat piofessois
fail to iecognize howevei, is that college is the fiist time that many stuuents engage in
wiiting outsiue of an English classioom. Thousanus of stuuents entei college eveiy yeai
with unique backgiounus anu wiiting abilities. When stuuents aie foiceu to confoim to not
one, but seveial piesciibeu wiiting methouologies acioss a spectium of uisciplines, it is
inevitable that they shoulu stiuggle. The playing fielu neeus to be leveleu in oiuei foi
stuuents to succeeu in theii wiiting enueavoispiofessois must impiove theii
communication of expectations with stuuents anu moie oppoitunities foi cioss-
uisciplinaiy exploiation anu piactice in wiiting must occui. In going public, I hope to
uevelop stiategies anu accessible tools, such as a self-maue uiJe to Writinq: Bisciplines A
to Z in oiuei to iesolve the issue of cioss-cuiiiculai uissonance in the Wiiting Centei.




Works Cited:
An Alteinative Appioach to Biiuging Bisciplinaiy Biviues. Tbe Writinq lob
Newsletter Api. : -. Web. Bec. .
<https:campus.geoigetown.euubbcswebuav
piu-9-ut-content-iiu-89couisesIBST-98-.Fall
.-8.puf>.
Beiiington, Anne }. Wiiting to Leain: Wiiting Acioss the Bisciplines.
Colleqe Fnqlisb (Api. 98): 9-8. }ST0R. Web. Bec. .
<http:www.jstoi.oigstable.seq=>.
Rose, Nike. lives on tbe BounJory. New Yoik: Penguin uioup, . Piint.
Walvooiu, Baibaia E., anu Lucille P. NcCaithy. Thinking anu Wiiting in College:
A Natuialistic Stuuy of Stuuents in Foui Bisciplines. Notionol Council of
Teocbers of Fnqlisb. 98. PBF file.
Wiiting Acioss the Cuiiiculum: An Intiouuction. PurJue 0wl. N.p., }une
. Web. Bec. . <http:owl.english.puiuue.euuowliesouice
>.