Teach discipline-specific models, formats, conventions. Faculty report that writing-enriched programs lead them to articulate more clearly their goals for a course and to state objectives and criteria for grading more explicitly in their syllabi and materials. Avoid the tendency to attempt too much. Two sequenced writing assignments with guidance and feedback in planning, drafting, and revising, for example, give students greater learning benefits than turning in a 20-page paper at the end of a course. Teaching with writing requires working smarter, not necessary harder.
Strategic adjustments can bring big gains.