WAC for Community Partners

   
The Writing Across the Curriculum program at Confederation College pursues three goals:

  1. To collaborate with faculty administrators, with individual faculty members, and with faculty groups to create and facilitate assignments, programs and workshops to improve writing instruction for students.
  2. To support student writers in the disciplines with a variety of interventions: online resources, lectures and individual and group tutoring.

  3. To reach out to the broader community, including secondary school systems, local and international campuses to build relationships and smooth the transition to College writing demands.

     

High School Teachers

Whether aspiring post-secondary students know it or not, most career fields will require writing as a form of communication, and if the skill of College writing is mastered, effectively expressing thoughts in an organized manner becomes much easier. Tasks that may be required in the workplace include memos, reports and detailed reviews. Also important is having a broad vocabulary; this is an essential component of writing fluidly and as a student learns college writing, he or she will inevitably expand his or her vocabulary. As follows, a stronger vocabulary equates with better communication skills and more confidence when speaking.

Differences Between Highschool and College Writing

College Writing Tips for Incoming Highschool Students

APA Formatting- Helpful Websites

PPT - Writing Activities to incorporate into Math, Science, Culinary, etc. Classrooms

 

For Parents

Confederation College is committed to enriching the lives of our students through learning. We know that communication skills are essential for success at school, at work, and in our daily lives.

Oral communication, listening skills, written communication and presentation skills are the top four skills that companies demand in new graduates (GMAT 2014).

View the following videos by employer's explaining why communication skills matter:

Sunlife Financial

Maple Soft

Royal Bank of Canada

 

International Students (WAC)

International students at Confederation College may be required to read, write, listen and speak as part of their learning. Ontario employers of college graduates expect graduates to be able to use language for a variety of purposes at work to communicate with customers, coworkers and supervisors.

Here are some key points about writing and learning that will help you in your studies:

Learning and Using New Vocabulary

In College you are expected to use the vocabulary you learn both in your written and spoken assignments, and also during the practical parts of the program (labs, scenarios, clinical, etc.):

  • learn and use new vocabulary in your writing and speaking;
  • use a variety of techniques to learn new vocabulary such as
    • keep a list of new terms and definitions you have learned in class or from the textbook
    • keep a list of commonly used phrases from your area of study (i.e. business, health, technology language)
    • practice using the terms; create flashcards to review them away from class
    • learn how to pronounce the word and its various forms
    • use new terms and definitions appropriately in your written assignments, as well as in hands-on assignments
  • you may use a translator (electronic) or bilingual website to translate terms from English to your first language while you are studying but this may not be possible during class activities, tests, and in practical situations
  • avoid writing an assignment in your language and then translating the entire assignment into English; this often results in writing that is incomprehensible
  • practice reading English outside of your college studies: online newspapers, magazines, books and closed captioned videos and movies

Listening and Speaking

  • practice listening to podcasts and newscasts about your area of study; choose ones that have English closed Captioning or scripts so that you can listen and read at the same time
  • Practice speaking English as much as you can in class and outside of class

Useful Links