Guides & Tips

Resources of the Week, 2020-2021

Below you can find an archive of the Writing Program’s curated list of “Resources of the Week” for academic year 2020-2021, supplied by the Curriculum Coordinators. The list suggests exercises appropriate for the different points in the semester, and faculty may find it a useful starting place when fleshing out certain aspects of their syllabi.

Tech Tips for Offering Feedback to Students

The videos and resources below offer suggestions and tools for providing feedback to your students on their writing. The resources offer suggestions on providing written feedback on student papers on a variety of platforms, as well as providing feedback via screencasting and video. These tips may be useful in remote environments as well as in […]

WR 152 Additional Ideas and Supplemental Resources

In WR 152, students will study and compose digital multimodal or non-linguistic texts, such as movies, posters, podcasts throughout the semester. While the type of multimodal/non-linguistic text may vary from one section to another, the signature assignment of WR 152 is a remediation of the student’s academic research paper (usually 8-10 pages in length) into […]

Outdoor Class Meetings and Activities

We at BU know the value of connecting students to this campus and beyond, of making local-global connections. We at Boston Now, a curricular initiative in Boston University’s CAS Writing Program that focuses on outside-the-classroom experiences and place-based learning, see the whole university/city/world as a classroom. We need to expand the traditional classroom, emphasize the value of […]

Notes for Inclusive Syllabi: Diversity and Land Acknowledgment Statements

When trying to create a welcoming, inclusive classroom, instructors may want to include a diversity statement and a land acknowledgment statement on their syllabi. We provide examples of each here for your benefit. Instructors may also want to read more about universal design and accessible syllabi, and also about diversifying their reading lists. [/collapsible] Guide […]

Suggested Readings for WR 111: Essays/Articles and Longer Works

WR 111 uses the current edition of The Norton Sampler along with a longer work (memoir, novel, graphic memoir) of the instructor’s choice. All the readers should connect with each other, and with the theme (and Hub requirement) of “The Individual in Community.” Faculty notes on some of the more useful essays follow, but check […]

Suggested Readings for WR 112: Longer Works

For AY 2023-2024, we are excited to announce a more flexible approach to texts in WR 112. In order to make space in the course for other multimodal and critical literacy elements, we will be phasing out the longer work in WR 112. For this year, however, if you wish, you may continue to use a […]

Choosing a Diverse and Inclusive Set of Texts

Our classrooms are diverse on multiple levels, with students in the room from many states, countries, and language backgrounds. Our students’ complex and intersectional identities represent many different kinds of lived experiences with race, socioeconomics, gender, sexual identity, ability, and privilege. While as faculty we strive to make our classrooms welcoming to all, and to […]

Anatomy of an Assignment Sheet

In this guide, we invite instructors to think through the different sections of an assignment sheet and perhaps take a fresh look at their own assignment sheets. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find some insights into more effective assignment sheets from Writing Consultants working in the CAS Writing Center. Key Elements Things to […]