Writing Across the Curriculum: Where Does Horticultural Science Fit In?

Abstract

In Fall 1999, the University of Minnesota implemented a Writing-Intensive requirement for undergraduates. As part of the requirement, students must take one upper division Writing-Intensive course in their major. The Department of Horticultural Science offers an Environmental Horticulture major which currently has only one Writing-Intensive course in its entire curriculum. Teaching faculty was interviewed and syllabi were reviewed to gather information on what types of writing are currently being assigned and to discuss where more Writing-Intensive courses should be placed in the Environmental Horticulture curriculum in the future. These surveys and interviews revealed that the majority of classes assign formal writing and that the majority of the faculty review or are willing to review a draft of an assignment, two key components of the Writing-Intensive requirement. Informal writing assignments are less common, indicating a deficient area of the curriculum. With slight modifications, many classes in the Environmental Horticulture curriculum can meet the requirements to become designated as WritingIntensive. Faculty agreed that Writing-Intensive courses should be placed in upper-level, smaller classes that place less emphasis on production techniques or plant identification.