Implementing Writing Intensive (WI) and Writing Attentive (WA) Courses as the final step of Weaving Writing Back into the Curriculum in an Online Graduate Nursing Education Program

Upon completion of this session, attendees will be able to 1) differentiate between a Writing Intensive and Writing Attentive course; 2) describe how to assess writing in WI and WA courses; and 3) identify one method to incorporate an 80/20 rubric into a WA content-based course.

Effective written communication is an essential component to success in a graduate nursing education program.  Faculty at the University examined the feasibility and necessity of re-introducing writing as a component of the graduate education program (Writing Across the Curriculum).  It was first established that faculty perceptions of student writing ability were in line with the actual ability of the students.  The next step was to develop a standard rubric to assess academic and scholarly writing using exemplars from the. The third step was to determine which courses in the new curriculum should be designated as writing-intensive.  The final step is implementing the writing intensive courses and reinforcing writing in courses not specifically designated as writing intensive.  This presentation will address how assignments for the WI and WA courses were developed, including criteria for assessing achievement of learning outcomes.  Methodology for assessing writing assignments is modeled.  Examples of writing assignments will be provided.