| The present study attempts to fill a gap in L2 writing research literature by examining large samples of syllabi and assignment handouts in university content classes and investigating their potential impact on ESL writing classes. In the first part of the study, the investigated constructs were the categories of writing assignments of various programs, their cognitive demands, and their prompt formats. Content analysis design was employed to categorize a variety of assignments from approximately four departments from each college at a large Midwestern university. After syllabi and handouts from 350 different content courses were collected, a descriptive scheme was developed. Results indicated that, among the out-of-class writing assignments students were required to do in content classes, the most frequent genres were research papers and reaction papers. The results also revealed their cognitive demands differed according to the level of the courses for which the assignments were given. Analyses also indicated that text-based prompts are the most common prompts in these assignments. The second part of the study investigated the potential impact of such content analyses on actual ESL teaching. 13 ESL writing teachers were interviewed. Results revealed that the potential impact of such analyses depended on the proficiency level of ESL classes. The ways to establish an agenda for future research based on the teachers' comments are also discussed. |
