Writing in the Disciplines Bibliography of Resources for Teachers

Bazerman, Charles. Shaping Written Knowledge: The Genre and Activity of the Experimental Article in Science. Madison, WI: U of Wisconsin Press, 1988. After exploring "what written knowledge does," Bazerman provides a history of "the emergence of literary and social forms in early modern science." The book's second half analyzes characteristic writing in 20th century physics, in the social sciences (e.g."The APA Publication Manual as a Behaviorist Rhetoric"), and concludes with advice for science writers and their teachers:

• Consider your fundamental assumptions, goals, and projects
• Consider the structure of the literature, the structure of the community, and your place in both
• Consider your immediate rhetorical situation and rhetorical task
• Consider your investigative and symbolic tools
• Consider the processes of knowledge production.

Bazerman, Charles and James Paradis, eds. Textual Dynamics of the Professions: Historical and Contemporary Studies of Writing in Professional Communities. Madison, WI: U of Wisconsin Press, 1991. These fifteen essays examine the real effects of texts on professional practices in academic, scientific, and business settings. They address such issues as: How do discursive differences between legal professionals and jurors affect courtroom decisions? How does DSM_IIIshape psychiatric practice? How do conflicting problem-solving strategies within a community contribute to technological disasters like Three Mile Island and the Shuttle Challenger?

Belanoff, Pat and Marcia Dickson, eds. Portfolios: Process and Product. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann/Boynton_Cook, 1991. Jargon_free articles on how to use portfolio grading in such disciplines as biology and business writing, and implement a program that uses it.

Dillon, George L. Contending Rhetorics: Writing in Academic Disciplines. Bloomington, Ind: Indiana UP, 1991. In this work of rhetorical theory, Dillon examines scientific discourse (popularly believed to be "abstract, impersonal, closely reasoned, impratical, and difficult to read and learn) in relation to practical everyday discourse. Focusing on the rhetorical qualities of rationality, impersonality, irony, authority, "conversation," and argument, Dillon considers controversies and innovations within biology, sociology, anthropology, history, economics, social psychology, and philosophy.

Herrington, Anne and Charles Moran, eds. Writing, Teaching, and Learning in the Disciplines. New York: Modern Language Association, 1992. An excellent collection of essays focusing on historical perspectives, disciplinary and predisciplinary theory (e.g. "Context_Specific Ways of Knowing and the Evaluation of Writing"), reflections on practice, disciplinary values and teaching (e.g., "Encountering the Biological Sciences").

Language and Learning Across the Disciplines. New journal (Jan. 1994) Eds.Sharon Quiroz and Michael Pemberton, 1025 Angell Hall, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48109-1003

Selzer, Jack, ed. Understanding Scientific Prose. Madison, WI: U of Wisconsin Press, 1993. An unusual book, offering a dozen analyses of Stephen Jay Gould's essay "The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm" from a variety of interpretive strategies: postmodern, intertextual, feminist, structuralist, historicist, sociolinguist, dramatist, deconstructionist, reader response theory, the sociology of science, and classical rhetorical theory.

Stock, Patricia L. Fforum: Essays on Theory and Practice in the Teaching of Writing. Portsmouth, N.H.: Boynton-Cook, 1983. A collection of short essays and position papers developed by the University of Michigan's WAC support service, the English Composition Board, on literacy, speaking and writing, reading and writing, writing as a way of learning, and writing and rhetoric.

Walvoord, Barbara E. Fassler. Helping Students Write Well: A Guide for Teachers in All Disciplines. 2nd ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 1986. A comprehensive guide for teachers in all disciplines, emphasizing: communicating with students about their writing; giving assignments; helping students focus, develop, and organize their writing. There are extensive sections on style, basic concepts in teaching mechanics, and eliminating performance-based and knowledge-based errors.

White, Edward M. Teaching and Assessing Writing. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994. White explores the pedagogical, political, and pragmatic issues in assessing writing in colleges and high schools, explaining the intricacies of multiple-choice tests, essay tests, and writing portfolios. He also explains how teachers can design good writing assignments, help students write effectively, and respond constructively to student writing.

Young, Art and Toby Fulwiler, eds. Writing Across the Disciplines: Research into Practice. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann/Boynton-Cook, 1986. Sections on the rationale for, assumptions of, and political constraints on WAC programs. Particularly interesting essays on student writing in psychology, biology, engineering, mathematics, and literature.

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