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WPA Outcomes Statement

This statement describes the common knowledge, skills, and attitudes sought by first-year composition programs in American postsecondary education. To some extent, we seek to regularize what can be expected to be taught in first-year composition; to this end the document is not merely a compilation or summary of what currently takes place. Rather, the following statement articulates what composition teachers nationwide have learned from practice, research, and theory. This document intentionally defines only "outcomes," or types of results, and not "standards," or precise levels of achievement. The setting of standards should be left to specific institutions or specific groups of institutions.

Learning to write is a complex process, both individual and social, that takes place over time with continued practice and informed guidance. Therefore, it is important that teachers, administrators, and a concerned public do not imagine that these outcomes can be taught in reduced or simple ways. Helping students demonstrate these outcomes requires expert understanding of how students actually learn to write. For this reason we expect the primary audience for this document to be well-prepared college writing teachers and college writing program administrators. In some places, we have chosen to write in their professional language. Among such readers, terms such as "rhetorical" and "genre" convey a rich meaning that is not easily simplified. While we have also aimed at writing a document that the general public can understand, in limited cases we have aimed first at communicating effectively with expert writing teachers and writing program administrators.

These statements describe only what we expect to find at the end of first-year composition, at most schools a required general education course or sequence of courses. As writers move beyond first-year composition, their writing abilities do not merely improve. Rather, students' abilities not only diversify along disciplinary and professional lines but also move into whole new levels where expected outcomes expand, multiply, and diverge. For this reason, each statement of outcomes for first-year composition is followed by suggestions for further work that builds on these outcomes."

Objective 1: Rhetorical Knowledge
Objective 2: Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing
Objective 3: Processes
Objective 4: Knowledge of Conventions

Objective 1: Rhetorical Knowledge

According to the WPA Outcomes Statement, by the end of first-year composition, students should be able to

Focus on a purpose
Respond to the needs of different audiences
Respond appropriately to different kinds of rhetorical situations
Use conventions of format and structure appropriate to the rhetorical situation
Adopt appropriate voice, tone, and level of formality
Understand how genres shape reading and writing
Write in several genres

Faculty in all programs and departments can build on this preparation by helping students learn

The main features of writing in their fields
The main uses of writing in their fields
The expectations of readers in their fields

The Call to Write's Approach

The Call to Write's genre approach emphasizes "how the different types of writing address [situations] in different ways." Chapter Two, "Reading Strategies: Analyzing the Rhetorical Situation," approaches reading as a rhetorical act, where to read critically is not only to apply reading-to-write strategies, but also to understand the context of a piece of writing, its site of publication, and the writer's relationship to readers. Chapter Three, "Persuasion and Responsibility: Analyzing Arguments," explains for students such concepts as the rhetorical stance. In each of the genre chapters, student writers are invited to assess the rhetorical situation of each writing assignment, and to write strategically in light of that situation. In addition, Trimbur demonstrates how ethical considerations are involved in a writer's understanding of the reader. The various online activities and links on this Web site offer opportunities for students to expand their practical rhetorical knowledge in online environments. Instructors can find additional resources to support their classroom approaches to these topics.

Objective 2: Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing

According to the WPA Outcomes Statement, by the end of first-year composition, students should be able to

Use writing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating
Understand a writing assignment as a series of tasks, including finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing appropriate primary and secondary sources
Integrate their own ideas with those of others
Understand the relationships among language, knowledge, and power

Faculty in all programs and departments can build on this preparation by helping students learn

The main features of writing in their fields
The main uses of writing in their fields
The expectations of readers in their fields

The Call to Write's Approach

The Call to Write provides ample materials to support the critical thinking, reading, and writing activities of any composition course. In particular, chapters on critical reading, argument analysis, and research support these aims of the Outcomes Statement. Each of the genre chapters includes several readings, almost all of which invoke issues being debated in contemporary society. As well, in each genre chapter an "Ethics of Writing" feature poses critical thinking questions that have direct bearing on the role of writing in society. Many reading-to-write activities in each of these chapters help to establish the relationship among critical thinking, reading, and writing. In addition, this Web site offers opportunities for students to practice critical thinking, reading, and writing in online settings. Teachers can find activities here to enhance their classroom instruction on these matters.

Objective 3: Processes

According to the WPA Outcomes Statement, by the end of first-year composition, students should be able to

Be aware that it usually takes multiple drafts to create and complete a successful piece of writing
Develop flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proofreading
Understand writing as an open process that permits writers to use later invention and re-thinking to revise their work
Understand the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes
Learn to critique their own and others' works
Learn to balance the advantages of relying on others with the responsibility of doing their part
Use a variety of technologies to address a range of audiences

Faculty in all programs and departments can build on this preparation by helping students learn

The main features of writing in their fields
The main uses of writing in their fields
The expectations of readers in their fields

The Call to Write's Approach

Awareness that a piece of writing is often produced in different phases, as well as flexibility in moving back and forth among these phases, are both important characteristics of the capable student writer. The Call to Write supports the development of student writers in these aspects. Each of the genre chapters outlines a process for negotiating that chapter's writing assignment, ranging for questions for invention, ideas for planning, producing a working draft, getting and using peer commentary, and revising. Each of these chapters also contains a Writer's Workshop, which offers exemplars of actual student writing in different stages of development.

Specific chapters in The Call to Write also support different aspects of the writing process. Chapter Twelve, "Case Study of a Writing Assignment," illustrates a piece of student writing from its inception to its completion. Chapter Fourteen, "The Form of Nonfiction Prose," gives concrete writing advice students can use to shape their prose at the planning, drafting, and revising stages. As well, this Web site offers many concrete ideas for teaching and learning about the writing process in online environments.

Objective 4: Knowledge of Conventions

According to the WPA Outcomes Statement, by the end of first-year composition, students should be able to

Learn common formats for different kinds of texts
Develop knowledge of genre conventions ranging from structure and paragraphing to tone and mechanics
Practice appropriate means of documenting their work
Control such surface features as syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling

Faculty in all programs and departments can build on this preparation by helping students learn

The main features of writing in their fields
The main uses of writing in their fields
The expectations of readers in their fields

The Call to Write's Approach

The Call to Write, with its genre approach, helps students to become more aware of the many conventions that create opportunities and constraints for writing. Each genre chapter begins with a "Thinking About the Genre" section, which illustrates the kinds of expectations that readers may have of various genres. As well, The Call to Write gives great support for understanding formats, both in the genre chapters and in other sections of the text, such as Chapter Nineteen, which focuses on visual design. For help in mastering documentation, students can turn to Chapter

Eighteen's meticulous presentation of the MLA and APA styles. Chapter Twenty-two, "Working With Sentences," can guide the student in learning to exercise control of sentence-level issues. This Web site offers additional resources and exercises for teachers and students seeking to extend their classroom learning about rhetorical conventions.