Basic principles of WAC

As one response to students' lack of writing practice throughout the university curriculum, Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) programs emerged in the 1980s. The philosophies underlying these programs generally agree on certain basic principles:

• that writing is the responsibility of the entire academic community
• that writing must be integrated across departmental boundaries
• that writing instruction must be continuous during all four years of undergraduate education
• that writing promotes learning
• that only by practicing the conventions of an academic discipline will students begin to communicate effectively within that discipline