A writing program for mechanical engineering

Abstract

A writing program was initiated for mechanical engineering undergraduate students. The program is part of a larger, university-wide effort called the Writing Enriched Curriculum (WEC) program. The purpose of WEC is for faculty, in a bottom-up process, to infuse disciplinespecific writing instruction into their curricula. The three-phase WEC process is (1) to develop a writing plan based on discipline-specific writing outcomes desired for graduating majors, (2) implement the plan and (2) assess the plan and revise based on the assessment. The plan for mechanical engineering defined nine attributes of mechanical engineering writing and 14 desired writing ability outcomes for graduating majors. Stakeholders agreed that problem sets were the number one form of writing for engineering students and that attention paid to writing a problem set would help students to learn the material. The plan was implemented by targeting three core courses for explicit writing instruction and raising the awareness of writing in other required courses in the program. Assessment is on-going and is tied to the ABET accreditation process. © 2011 American Society for Engineering Education.