Learning to write in agronomy

Abstract

ABSTRACT Writing is a skill all agronomists need for successful careers. Although students and faculty alike recognize the importance of writing, more needs to be done to incorporate writing into the classroom. This paper discusses writing as a three‐part process: prewriting, writing, and rewriting. In prewriting, students discover what to write by choosing a topic, asking questions, envisioning an audience, gathering the literature, and creating ideas. In writing, the most creative phase of the process, students make discoveries as they convert their ideas to words in the first draft. Rewriting, the last phase of the process, is a reshaping and rethinking of the first draft. Agronomy teachers can implement writing in their classes by drawing on their knowledge of the writing process, and by following several practical steps: teach writing as a process; encourage and reward prewriting; encourage discovery in writing; use peer responses in evaluation; and emphasize rewriting. A survey of 92 students in junior‐ and senior‐level agronomy courses (agricultural climatology, crop physiology and metabolism, agronomic research, and cropping systems) showed that 88% of the students agreed that writing skills were necessary for their careers. Most students felt that writing helped them learn the subject matter (86%), that writing helped them write better (70%), and that the benefits of writing were worthwhile (79%). Students viewed peer response as a mechanism to help them see weaknesses in their own writing (74%), and valued constructive criticism from their peers (81%).

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