UP students write good
Professors express concern about student writing ability
Katie Schleiss
Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: News
Some students come to the University of Portland with excellent writing skills, wowing professors with eloquent prose and graceful handling of complex grammatical structures. Other students, however, struggle to write well and need extra guidance from professors.
All students are required to take three writing intensive classes, with the intention of making students better writers and more efficient at researching.
Many professors, however, have expressed concern that some students do not come to this university adequately prepared to tackle this challenge.
Here at UP, there are certain requirements to help students rise to the challenge of college writing. These classes include Biblical Traditions, Introduction to Literature and Introduction to Philosophy.
Senior Kaycie Rueter has been a writing intensive tutor, or WIT, for about six months and has also worked at the Writing Center as a writing assistant for the philosophy department for the past three years.
She said that she has seen many students' papers and has frequently been disappointed and at times shocked by the general lack of effort in writing.
"If you didn't receive enough training in high school, use the other resources UP offers and start working on it," Rueter said. "I really believe that anyone can be a good writer, it just takes a lot of work, perhaps more than many people are willing to put in."
Rueter found that many students do not know the difference between active and passive voice, that they do not know how to incorporate quotations well or cite accurately and that some lack a general work ethic about their writing.
According to Rueter, many students aren't trained to edit their own papers.
She always recommends reading a paper aloud before turning it in, so that students can hear their mistakes.
Another strategy is to have someone else look at the paper, such as a friend, writing assistant or professor.
"These are common sense tools that can help improve not only your grades but also your writing skills in general, but many students just don't do those things," Rueter said.
All students are required to take three writing intensive classes, with the intention of making students better writers and more efficient at researching.
Many professors, however, have expressed concern that some students do not come to this university adequately prepared to tackle this challenge.
Here at UP, there are certain requirements to help students rise to the challenge of college writing. These classes include Biblical Traditions, Introduction to Literature and Introduction to Philosophy.
Senior Kaycie Rueter has been a writing intensive tutor, or WIT, for about six months and has also worked at the Writing Center as a writing assistant for the philosophy department for the past three years.
She said that she has seen many students' papers and has frequently been disappointed and at times shocked by the general lack of effort in writing.
"If you didn't receive enough training in high school, use the other resources UP offers and start working on it," Rueter said. "I really believe that anyone can be a good writer, it just takes a lot of work, perhaps more than many people are willing to put in."
Rueter found that many students do not know the difference between active and passive voice, that they do not know how to incorporate quotations well or cite accurately and that some lack a general work ethic about their writing.
According to Rueter, many students aren't trained to edit their own papers.
She always recommends reading a paper aloud before turning it in, so that students can hear their mistakes.
Another strategy is to have someone else look at the paper, such as a friend, writing assistant or professor.
"These are common sense tools that can help improve not only your grades but also your writing skills in general, but many students just don't do those things," Rueter said.
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