The Marginal Utility of Student Writing

Authors

Seth Andrew Killingbeck, Brigham Young University
Dr. Kristine Hansen, Brigham Young University

Keywords

marginal utility, student writing, instructional tools, comprehension

College

Humanities

Department

English

Abstract

Because of a widespread concern that students fail to genuinely comprehend the subject material they study, during the 1980s many American academics began to advocate simple British instructional tools emphasizing writing. Contemporary literature and conversations refer to these tools as Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC), Writing in the Disciplines (WID), and Writing to Learn. Each of these related initiatives seeks to improve the educational quality of students by encouraging them to write more about classroom topics. Underlying pedagogical theory and empirical evidence indicate that, when implemented properly, increased student writing benefits students not only in their own comprehension, but in their ability to communicate their knowledge to others. These improvements, while important in virtually every field of study, have important applications in undergraduate economics, specifically at Brigham Young University.

Recommended Citation

Killingbeck, Seth Andrew and Hansen, Dr. Kristine (2013) "The Marginal Utility of Student Writing," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 710.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/710