NCW Blog

The NCW blog highlights brief analyses of commonly-asked questions from the National Census of Writing database. Entries focus on just a few data points and explain how scholars and administrators engage with the data. As lead researchers, Jill Gladstein and Brandon Fralix will provide some conclusions they have drawn from the data. They also invite other users of the database to explain how they have engaged with the Census to further their scholarship and/or writing program.

If you have used the Census and are interested in contributing to the NCW blog, please reach out to Jill or Brandon.

6 Fun Things to Do with the National Census of Writing Data!

During the Fall 2016 semester, Jill Gladstein spoke with Shirley Rose's graduate seminar at Arizona State University and Brandon Fralix spoke with Mark McBeth's graduate seminar at the City University of New York (CUNY) about the origins of the NCW.  Sean Moxley-Kelly, a student in Shirley Rose's course,  shares his advice for having fun with the NCW database.  

Posted by Sean Moxley-Kelly on January 3rd, 2017

Taught to Teach: How are Peer Tutors Trained to Support English Language Learners?

Bar graph click to view live chart

As an undergraduate peer tutor, part of my job is helping students navigate institutional barriers.  The ability to write well is essential to navigating the curriculum at my school, as well as applying for scholarships and jobs.  Students face a variety of challenges navigating these barriers, but English Language Learners(ELLs) have different struggles from their Native English Speaking (NES) peers.  

Posted in: 
ELL
peer tutor
training
Posted by Tom McGovern on September 27th, 2016

Seeing Ourselves a New Way: Answering the Census Questions and Next Steps

Posted by Sharon Mitchler on September 25th, 2016

Using the NCW to advocate for full-time, tenure-track faculty

I started work on the National Census of Writing (NCW) because I longed for comparable data from institutions similar to my own. Like all of us who have read any of the listservs for the discipline, I have seen the multiple emergency requests for data—and have even made a few—and I hoped to help create a resource that provided this information so that we, as administrators, would have this information as we need it. 

Posted in: 
Full-time faculty
Administration
Posted by Brandon Fralix on August 31st, 2016

Who participated in the National Census of Writing?

As someone who directs a writing program at a small liberal arts college, I often approach the Census data with that lens in mind.  I’m curious how practices and discussions represented in the field of writing studies map onto different institution types.  As stated in the about section of the database, 680 four-year schools and 220 two-year schools participated in the National Census of Writing (NCW); however, how do these numbers break down by institution type?

Posted in: 
institution type
diversity
Posted by Jill Gladstein on August 19th, 2016