Composition in Canadian Universities

Abstract

Most commentators on writing instruction—both its history and its present practice—focus on American examples, at least in part because of a lack of information about how other countries organize writing instruction. This article seeks to redress this situation by providing information about how Canadian universities organize writing instruction. The article presents a short orientation to the development of universities in Canada before presenting the results of a national survey of all the universities in Canada who belong to the Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada. The Results and Discussion section is divided into two parts based on the language of instruction in the universities being considered (English or French). The discussion seeks to answer three questions: How widespread is writing instruction? What do we know about the people who teach and research writing at universities? What is the range of instruction?

Complementary Learning: Piloting a Blended Format for Canadian Composition Courses

“…My own search of 64 public Anglophone and bilingual 2017-18 Canadian university calendars found 53 institutions offered courses specifically in composition, many identifying a focus on academic writing. As noted in previous research (Brooks, 2002;Graves, 1993), these courses appear in diverse institutional contexts, but they do exist in significant numbers and are often identified as first-year requirements. 1 In delivering these courses, as a number of writing program administrators and composition instructors have noted, "a delicate balance exists between the student's need for a satisfactory and effective learning experience, and the institution's need for efficiency" (Waddoups, Hatch, & Butterworth, 2003, p. 271).…”

“…This is a significant knowledge deficit, since Canadian writing instruction tends to differ from the U.S. "freshman comp" format in two key ways. First, Canadian writing instruction occurs in a wider range of settings, and, second, there is a greater focus in Canada on academic and technical over popular forms of writing (Graves, 1993;Smith, 2006). As Kevin Brooks (2002) notes, "the nature of the first-year English curriculum in Canada is significantly different than the typical composition requirement in American colleges and universities" (p. 673).…”

Le profil motivationnel d’étudiants de collèges et d’universités au regard du français écrit

“…Les universités et les collèges québécois ne sont pas les seuls à être confrontés à ce problème et à se retrouver dans l'obligation d'offrir des cours de rattrapage en langue écrite. Dans les universités canadiennes anglophones, on constate, entre autres, que 76 % des facultés de droit et 55 % des facultés de génie offrent des cours de communication écrite à leurs étudiants (Graves, 1993). Aux EtatsUnis, l'enquête de Thompson, Werner et Rothschild (1989) révèle que 98 % des 105 universités qui ont fait partie de l'échantillon proposent des cours de base en anglais écrit aux étudiants de première année.…”

Writing Instruction, Academic Labour, and Professional Development

“…While the behemoth of First-Year Composition in the United States has a lengthy institutional history, writing instruction in Canada is more varied and disparate in location and approach. Roger Graves (1993) has identified rhetoric and belletristic traditions as dominant in the Canadian writing instruction context , pointing out the longstanding tradition of disavowing an "American" approach. This disavowal lacks ethos if the timeline of Canadian and U.S. composition courses is taken into consideration.…”