Why Writing Matters

The relationship between writing well, thinking critically and clearly, and student learning has long been established. When students have to write in their courses, they have to grapple with the material very differently than when they answer true/false questions or make single response answers to multiple choice questions on an objective test. University of Seattle Professor John Bean, a leader in the writing-across-the-curriculum and active learning movements, notes, “In presenting students with significant problems to write about—and in creating an environment that demands their best writing—we can promote their general cognitive and intellectual growth.” Therefore, our curriculum promotes writing and writing instruction from the Foundation Four course in the Dragon Core throughout the majors courses.