About WAC at MIT
The integration of writing instruction into science and engineering
classes has a long history at MIT that began in 1898. The modern
Writing Across the Curriculum Program evolved out of the Undergraduate
Writing Cooperative (the Writing Coop) established by Professor
Robert Rathbone in the early 1950's. Under the leadership of Professor
James Paradis, the Writing Coop expanded in the 1970's to include
activities in all departments in the School of Engineering.
In the early 1990's, Professor Rosalind Williams, the future Dean
for Undergraduate Education, established the Writing Initiative
to develop new models for integrating instruction throughout the
MIT Curriculum. One of the major successes of the Writing Initiative,
was the Writing Practicum, a six-unit satellite class in writing
and speaking attached to a research or design subject.
The successes of the Writing Coop and the Writing Initiative were
major factors in the development of the Communication
Requirement, and the WAC program, which incorporates both the
Writing Coop and the activities of the Writing Initiative, serves
as a major vehicle for implementing communication-intensive classes |
