WAC Library

Engaging Ideas: The Professor's Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom 2nd ed. by John Bean (Jossey-Bass, 2011)

Engaging Ideas is one of those great books that is packed with ideas to try out in the classroom right away. With sound advice on designing assignments, giving feedback, and grading, this book is a classic that benefits both new and experienced faculty. The second edition is thoroughly updated and reflects current research in writing studies and teaching and learning.

They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein (W. W. Norton & Company, 2006)

With They Say, I Say Graff and Birkenstein have defined the archetypes of academic moves--like quoting and responding--in a way that demystifies them for student writers. Even experienced scholars will look at their writing in a new way after reading this book, and using the language of They Say, I Say will help faculty coach students through the writing process.

Rewriting: How to Do Things With Texts by Joseph Harris (Utah State University Press, 2006)

Start this book by reading the Afterword directed to teachers, then go back and read the other chapters. In a similar vein as They Say, I Say, Harris’s Rewriting reminds us of the writing moves that become second nature to scholars and provides language for introducing those moves to students.

Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and Assessment 2nd ed. by Barbara Walvoord and Virginia Johnson Anderson (Jossey-Bass, 2010)

Effective Grading provides guidance for grading in your classroom and connects teaching, grading, and assessment. The second edition of this classic text reflects current thinking in assessment and includes new information on technology, online teaching, grading group work, portfolios, service-learning experiences, and more.

Teaching Writing Online: How and Why by Scott Warnock (National Council of Teachers of English, 2009)

Warnock shows teachers how to "migrate" their best classroom practices to the online environment. The suggestions for managing student discussions and feedback are useful for faculty in any discipline who use writing as a component of their online courses.