Reading and Writing for Real: Why it Matters for Learning

The purpose of traditional reading and writing assignments, in courses across the entire curriculum, is to evaluate the students’ and the authors’ work. I outline some reasons why this is a crucial problem for student learning. I describe some assignments that all entail creating occasions in which student writing has consequences other than a mark, and offer oppurtunities for learning which include, and go significantly beyond, the learning of “course content”—that help students learn what academic reading and writing is for, how it works, and how to wield its power.