MavEd Framework (p. 5 & 8):
Breadth courses are centered on the methodology of a given area (e.g., social sciences, humanities) while simultaneously reinforcing skills from at least one fundamental skills area (e.g., writing). Courses satisfying Humanities should reinforce writing.
MavEd Framework (p. 12):
Written Communication. Students will focus on writing skills through an iterative process that includes drafting, receiving feedback, and revising their work. This process will constitute a significant portion of their overall effort and grade in the course, emphasizing the importance of continuous development and refinement in written communication.
Overview | Description of Writing Assignments
For Humanities MavEd courses, writing is not a one-time product but a process that unfolds across the course, where:
- Students draft, receive feedback, and revise,
- Writing is central to learning in the course, not peripheral,
- Feedback comes multiple times and from meaningful sources,
- Revision is required and consequential (not optional or cosmetic), and
- Instruction in discipline-appropriate writing strategies integrated intoassignments or course activities.
Examples may include:
- argument development
- thesis-driven writing
- rhetorical analysis
- use and integration of evidence
- conceptual clarification and definition
- literature review practices
- outlining techniques
- drafting and revision strategies
- writing for specific audiences and genres
Detailed Description of Writing Assignments
Proposals should demonstrate that writing is a central component of the course and that students engage in an iterative writing process. This means students produce written work throughout the semester that includes drafting, receiving feedback, and revising, rather than submitting only a final product. Courses should include at least one substantive writing assignment that unfolds in multiple stages (for example, proposal, draft, and final version). Proposals should clearly describe how revision is required and how it contributes to student learning.
Proposals should also indicate how students receive repeated feedback from the instructor during the writing process. Feedback from the instructor may include written comments on drafts, rubric-based feedback, conferences, or other structured forms of response. The proposal should explain when feedback occurs and how students are expected to use it in revision.
Writing and the writing process should constitute a significant portion of the overall course grade (at least 25%), and assignments should be designed to support the ongoing development of students’ written communication skills. Proposals that include only a single, final writing assignment without opportunities for feedback and revision, or that do not clearly describe the role of writing in the course, will not meet this requirement.
Examples of How Courses May Meet This Requirement
Proposals may demonstrate writing reinforcement in a variety of ways, including:
- A scaffolded assignment sequence (for example, topic proposal → annotated bibliography → draft → revised final paper)
- Required revision of at least one major writing assignment based on instructor feedback
- Structured draft workshops or peer review combined with instructor comments
- Short written checkpoints (such as thesis statements or outlines) that receive feedback before a full draft
- Revision memos in which students explain how they used feedback to improve their work
- Multiple, shorter writing assignments that build toward a larger, revised project