Meet and ExceedThe Academic Writing Expectations and You

Hillary WentworthWriting InstructorCoordinator of UndergraduateWriting Initiatives

Walden Writing Center

Questions and Recording

• Type in the Questions box• Access captioning

• Download slides• View recording

Session Overview

• Academic Writing Expectations (AWE)–Purpose– Location– Examples at each level– Improvement strategies– Technology tips

• Writing Center support

AWE Purpose

What?Writing expectations for each course levelWhy?• Help students grow as writers• Emphasize writing as a process• Provide clear, consistent standards

AWE Location: Blackboard

AWE Location: Writing Center

http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/awe.htm

AWE at a Glance

Increased understanding and demonstration of

•sentence-level,•paragraph-level, and•essay-level writing skills.

AWE 1 (1000-Level)

• Sentence-level writing skills• Paragraph-level writing skills• Use of evidence to support a claim

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Student Writing Example

Introduction to a paper:Magnet status may be achieved by revamping

the nursing structure within a hospital. Magnet status is considered a journey. To reaching this point requires years of preparation and developing a foundation. Powder Hill Medical Center is a place with 500 beds in California.

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AWE 2 (2000/3000-Level)

• Sentence-level writing skills• Paragraph-level writing skills–But also: essay-level writing skills

• Use of evidence to support a claim–But also: credit to sources

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Student Writing Example

Magnet recognition is awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and is a symbol of the hospitals commitment to excellence (Smith, 2012). Through time, dedication, and colaboration Magnet status may be achieved by revamping the nursing structure within a hospital. Powder Hill Medical Center is a place with 500 beds in California. In this paper, I will explain Powder Hill’s journey to attain magnet.

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AWE 3 (4000-Level)

• Sentence-level writing skills• Paragraph-level writing skills• Essay-level writing skills–But also: academic expression

• Use of evidence to support a claim• Credit to sources–But also: reference list

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Student Writing Example

Magnet recognition, awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center is a symbol of the hospital’s commitment to excellence (Smith, 2012). Through time, dedication, and colaboration, a hospital can achieve Magnet by revamping its nursing structure. One such hospital, Powder Hill Medical Center (2013) is a 500 bed facility in California which is on the journey to attain Magnet. Powder Hill should work on nursing education, nursing involvement, and patient satisfaction.

ReferencesPowder Hill Medical Center. (2013). The facility. Retrieved from http://www.powederhill.com/thefacilitySmith, J. (2012). Magnet recognition. New York, NY: Professional Nursing Press.

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AWE 4 (Capstone)

• Sentence-level writing skills• Paragraph-level writing skills• Essay-level writing skills• Academic expression–But also: error-free presentation

• Use of evidence to support a claim–But also: high-quality, credible sources

• Credit to the source• Reference list

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Student Writing Example

Magnet recognition, awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, is a symbol of the hospital’s commitment to excellence (Smith, 2012). Through time, dedication, and collaboration, a hospital can achieve this award by revamping its nursing structure. One such hospital, Powder Hill Medical Center (2013), is a 500-bed facility in California that is on the Magnet journey. In particular, Powder Hill should work on nursing education, nursing involvement, and patient satisfaction to attain recognition.

ReferencesPowder Hill Medical Center. (2013). The facility. Retrieved from http://www.powederhill.com/thefacilitySmith, J. (2012). Magnet recognition. New York, NY: Professional Nursing Press.

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Strategies

• Break it down and build skills graduallyExample: Paragraph-level

Strategies

• Break it down and build skills graduallyExample: Essay-level

Strategies

• Test your knowledge

• Exercises for audience, purpose, tone, and authority

• Paraphrasing exercise• Interactive quizzes on punctuation and

sentence fragments• Academic integrity tutorials• Grammar tutorial

Strategies

• Embrace the writing process and set aside time for each stage

Technology Tips

• Know the expectations.– Click on hyperlinks within the AWE for more info.

• Access instructor feedback.– In Blackboard, click on Tools → My Grades →

Score.

• Format papers professionally.– Use the undergraduate templates.

Writing Center Support

Questions

About writing: Email me at hillary.wentworth@waldenu.edu or writingsupport@waldenu.edu

About AWE: Contact your course instructor.