Writing through Modeling: Using Various Scholarship Enhancement Programs and Activities To Build Writing Interest and Skill.

This paper focuses on the efforts at Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina to extend the writing efforts of a writing across the curriculum (WAC) retreat into a greater matrix of scholarly activity, not only in the classroom but outside as well. Noting that the initial idea was that an intensive year of emphasizing scholastic activity could raise the level of scholarly awareness and build an understanding of its range beyond the conventional classroom throughout the University, the paper states that the title "Year of the Scholar" emerged, and WAC faculty reached agreement to present the concept to others on campus. According to the paper, the administration offered both moral and financial support, and allowed the faculty to develop their own ideas. The paper explains that some projects, such as the undergraduate journal, "The Gardner-Webb Review," and the annual Scholarship Showcase and Colloquium highlight student writing, while other activities focus on offering accessible models of scholarly discourse to students in expanded contexts. It lists some of these activities, such as a scholarly lecturer series, a film festival featuring award-winning films, a lunch time discussion with scholars, a freshman essay contest, and multicultural evenings, and it discusses these activities in the context of modeling writing across the curriculum. The paper finds that the "Year of the Scholar" programs and activities support their organizers' ideals in moving toward a goal of intellectualizing the totality of the University experience. (NKA)