WHAT WRITING TASKS DO TESOL PROFESSORS REQUIRE HYONSUK CHO

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HYONSUK CHO State University of New York at Buffalo Previous studies about writing assignments in higher education have explained that the library research paper, report on experiment, summary, and article/book review were the most common writing assignment tasks assigned across disciplines No previous studies have explored writing tasks in the TESOL discipline at a national level In this study information on 120 writing assignments, gathered directly from TESOL professors in the United States, with 28 available online, were analyzed to (a) explore the writing tasks frequently assigned to TESOL master’s students; (b) examine the importance of the writing assignments for course evaluation; and (c) compare TESOL assignments with those in social sciences, humanities, and the arts The study results will help to interpret characteristics of writing assignments in TESOL programs and to infer skills required for the writing assignments in the TESOL field Also, the study will help instructors of English for academic purposes in TESOL programs guide and prepare nonnative-English-speaking students doi: 10.1002/tesj.105 Writing assignments represent instructors’ objectives and values as well as the goals and values of their discipline (Melzer, 2009) A number of researchers have examined the types of writing tasks commonly assigned to college students across disciplines (e.g., Cooper & Bikowski, 2007; Hale et al., 1996; Horowitz, 1986; Leki & Carson, 1994, 1997) and those of a specific discipline such as business (e.g., Canseco & Byrd, 1989; Zhu, 2004) No previous studies have examined the types of writing tasks assigned specifically to TESOL students As Ramanathan and Kaplan (1996) point out, English is used differently in each discipline because each discipline has its particular culture As TESOL Journal 5.2, June 2014 © 2013 TESOL International Association 247 each discipline develops its own writing conventions, the nature and characteristics of writing assignments across disciplines can be different The present study examines required writing assignments given to TESOL master’s students in the United States To investigate the TESOL-specific writing assignments, I conducted a survey study guided by the following research questions: What are common writing assignments in TESOL master’s programs in the United States? What is the weight of a writing assignment in the course evaluation? How TESOL writing assignments differ from those in social sciences, humanities, and the arts? The purposes of raising these questions are (a) to characterize TESOL-specific writing tasks, (b) to infer skills needed for completing TESOL writing assignments, (c) to enhance the understanding of TESOL programs, and (d) to suggest how English for academic purposes (EAP) in TESOL programs can prepare students more effectively Many TESOL programs offer an EAP course to nonnative-English-speaking students who have not had academic writing experiences Such courses usually require writing research papers, literature reviews, summaries, critiques, and citations The results of this study would be informative for TESOL professors and students as well as for EAP course instructors TESOL professors and instructors who teach courses or an EAP course can be informed of the types or genres of TESOL writing assignments and the features that distinguish them from other disciplines, as well as specific skills to be emphasized to perform the writing assignments TESOL MASTER’S PROGRAMS What features distinguish TESOL from other programs? To identify TESOL-specific features, I examined descriptions of TESOL programs on the websites of 14 universities in the United States These include state and private universities across the nation I read the program descriptions available on each school’s website and assigned codes (e.g., prepare to teach, practicum, materials/curriculum development, teaching methods, language 248 TESOL Journal teaching/learning theory, research, linguistic knowledge, sociolinguistic knowledge, second language acquisition) and merged the codes into three categories: teaching, research, and knowledge Table summarizes the descriptions of each category and frequency The descriptions of the 14 universities’ TESOL programs and their aims are generally alike Almost all schools emphasize the three categories, though some schools add the understanding of culture and literacy It should be noted that the schools clearly specify the integration of the three categories, rather than emphasizing one of the categories independently That is, most schools aim that TESOL master’s students will be able to teach English as a second language, incorporating research and linguistic knowledge at the completion of their program Although incorporating teaching, research, and knowledge is a major goal, in my survey preparing to teach was mentioned the most In their survey, Richards and Crookes (1988) found that a practicum or practice of teaching was a compulsory course in 85% of the 78 TESOL master’s degree programs in the United States TABLE Descriptions of 14 TESOL Master’s Programs Category Descriptions Count Teaching Professional/teacher development, pedagogy/teaching methods, practicum, materials/curriculum/test development (e.g., prepares students to teach, understanding of a range of second language teaching approaches, advanced professional preparation in the teaching) Theory of language teaching/learning, research (e.g., provides educators with a research knowledge base, incorporating theoretical understanding) Linguistic knowledge, sociolinguistic knowledge, understanding of second language acquisition (e.g., solid foundation in the fields of linguistics; introduces the study of linguistic structure—phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics; the study of language use in social contexts; the study of second language acquisition; gain knowledge of critical linguistic and educational issues) 32 Research Knowledge What Writing Tasks Do TESOL Professors Require? 16 12 249 If classroom teaching is considered direct teaching, materials development is classified as indirect teaching in the sense that teachers develop or modify the materials for their teaching According to Tomlinson (1998), materials include anything used by teachers and learners to promote language teaching or learning Tomlinson states that teachers as materials developers provide information as a way to facilitate language learning Grosse’s (1991) survey of TESOL methods courses demonstrates that lesson plans, activity development, and curriculum development were the major parts of course requirements In addition to these practical skills, many TESOL programs offer courses that help students become well-balanced professionals by teaching second language acquisition theory and pedagogy, the structure of English, language assessment, linguistics, sociolinguistics, and educational research The brief examination of the TESOL master’s program descriptions and previous studies indicates that these programs place emphasis not only on teaching but also on research and knowledge, engaging students in diverse types of academic reading and writing throughout the program COMMON TYPES OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS ACROSS DISCIPLINES For most disciplines, a number of researchers have examined the commonly assigned types of writing tasks (e.g., Cooper & Bikowski, 2007; Hale et al., 1996; Horowitz, 1986; Leki & Carson, 1994, 1997) Although Hale et al (1996) examined writing assignments at undergraduate and graduate levels in eight universities, the programs they studied did not include education or linguistics Horowitz (1986) and Cooper and Bikowski (2007) share several findings, but several discrepancies also exist As for the methodology, Horowitz analyzed actual writing assignment handouts and essay examinations used at a university He collected a total of 54 assignments from primarily undergraduate courses in 17 departments Cooper and Bikowski collected 77 syllabi from professors at a single university as well as 23 syllabi from international students They also collected 100 publicly 250 TESOL Journal available syllabi from the Internet to reduce the bias created by choosing one university Unlike Horowitz, Cooper and Bikowski used only graduate-level courses, including master’s degree and doctoral degree coursework Despite the different data collection methods, Cooper and Bikowski (2007) and Horowitz (1986) found similar results In Horowitz’s study, common writing tasks assigned in the academic content courses included synthesis of multiple sources (15 out of 54 assignments), connection of theory and data (10 out of 54), summary of/reaction to a reading (9 out of 54), and reports on a participatory experience (9 out of 54) Other less frequent types of writing assignments included case studies, research projects, and annotated bibliographies The synthesis assignment refers to a typical library research paper that requires a summary of multiple articles or books Connection of theory and data requires linking specific theories with data obtained from multiple readings or personal experiences Summary of/reaction to a reading involves writing a summary of an article and/or a response such as critique or personal opinions A report on a participatory experience is a report on a survey or experiment, which was mainly used in communication arts and sciences courses Some writing assignments found in Cooper and Bikowski’s study (2007) were the same as those in Horowitz’s (1986), but they were named differently: library research paper (similar to synthesis of multiple sources), report on an experiment/project, and article/book review (similar to summary, reaction, or critique) Other assignments which were not included by Horowitz were proposal/plan, journal article, essay, unstructured writing, and short task Library research paper (or synthesis of multiple sources) and report on a project were the most common types of writing assignments required in any discipline and at any level, from undergraduate to doctoral However, it is not clear whether Cooper and Bikowski’s definition of a research paper refers to a paper that is based on the original/primary data or only includes a literature review Although it is known that graduate students are often asked to conduct research in addition to a review of literature or synthesis of resources from the library, Cooper and Bikowski did not make this distinction in their results Also, What Writing Tasks Do TESOL Professors Require? 251 because Cooper and Bikowski covered all graduate disciplines, it is difficult to pinpoint assignment patterns in education and TESOL areas METHODOLOGY Data Collection This study is a quantitative survey study using nonprobability sampling Universities where TESOL master’s degree programs are offered were selected from the school list on the TESOL organization website Among the schools listed, those that provided professors’ email addresses on their websites were selected The convenience sample was used due to the availability of contact information, so the sample does not represent all TESOL professors in the United States A total of 112 professors from 29 universities across the nation were contacted Selected professors included full professors, associate professors, assistant professors, and lecturers Whether their affiliation was with the graduate school of education or linguistics/applied linguistics, if they were instructors of a TESOL master’s degree program they were selected as potential respondents The invitation letter with an attached questionnaire was emailed to them Out of 112 professors, 23 professors from 14 universities completed the questionnaire or sent syllabi, and 24 professors replied “no” with various reasons (e.g., currently not teaching TESOL students, teaching another program, travel, retirement) A total of 120 assignments for 44 courses from 14 universities were collected directly from the 23 professors In addition to the data directly collected from professors, 28 assignments in 11 syllabi available online from schools used between 2006 and 2009 were added Thus, a total of 55 courses and 148 assignments from 21 universities, including private and public schools located in the West, East, and Midwest of the United States, were examined for the current study The course information was obtained through either the syllabus of a course or the questionnaire Most of the professors sent a copy of their syllabus or syllabi to me, but the questionnaire was designed to offer an option to professors who were reluctant to make their syllabi open for research The 252 TESOL Journal professors could copy and paste parts of their syllabi or write the information in the questionnaire: course name, descriptions of writing assignment, and its weight of the course evaluation Categories of Writing Assignments The writing assignments were categorized according to the names of writing tasks used by Cooper and Bikowski (2007) However, when an assignment did not fit into any category, new categories were created (e.g., materials development, materials review, reflective paper, online discussion), and some categories were defined differently (e.g., essay; see Table 2) Table provides the definitions and example instructions of each type of writing assignment used in the current study Assignments that occurred only once were not included To determine the type of assignment, I used the description of an assignment rather than the title of the writing task When the descriptions were missing, those assignments were not included in the analysis (e.g., midterm or homework without a description) Also, a collection of several writing assignments (e.g., portfolio, which occurred twice) was not included To investigate the frequency of the task, the number of assignments was calculated, and the percentage allotted to the assignment in the course evaluation was recorded RESULTS The first and second research questions concerned the types of writing assignments in the TESOL programs and their portion of the course evaluation Table shows the TESOL writing assignments along with the number of assignments found among 148 assignments, the frequency of these assignments among 55 courses, and the mean and standard deviation of the percentage of each assignment in the course evaluation Table compares frequently assigned writing tasks found in the present study as well as in Cooper and Bikowski’s (2007), and Horowitz’s (1986) studies The most commonly assigned task in the TESOL programs was the research paper, as found in other studies (e.g., Cooper & Bikowski, 2007; Horowitz, 1986) For the research paper in the What Writing Tasks Do TESOL Professors Require? 253 254 TESOL Journal Definition Examples Research paper A paper that synthesizes multiple sources and/or describes a student’s original study (Without data collection and analysis, a literature review is still considered a research paper.) Choose a topic to investigate Your research should concern some aspect of social variation in language and include original data collected through observation, elicited speech, interview, and use of library sources Read, evaluate, and synthesize a number of secondary sources to understand a particular TESOL topic in depth Write a reflective paper in which you, as a Reflective A paper or journal that expresses the writer’s paper reflections on a reading, course, teaching practicum, student teacher, explore your own teaching or language class observation and teaching issues Materials An assignment in which the student develops Write a lesson plan that incorporates best development teaching materials, such as lesson plans, curriculum practices for teaching reading and writing to development, and test development English language learners Construct a test, developing an appropriate test answer key or scoring rubric Essay A problem-based take-home exam that often requires The exam will be in essay format Students will bibliographic information be expected to demonstrate an understanding of and the ability to apply key concepts from class discussions in their responses You may quote the text while taking this exam Report A report based on teaching practicum, class Classroom observation report should include observation, or conference attendance descriptions, interpretations, and evaluations of what you observe in language classrooms Writing task TABLE Types of Writing Assignments in TESOL Master’s Programs What Writing Tasks Do TESOL Professors Require? 255 Definition Examples Online discussion An online posting for discussion, including questions Weekly reading responses should not be a simple and reflections usually based on class readings summary of the readings; instead, they should reflect active engagement with the concepts and (The format is informal and relatively short, and theaudience is a specified group or a whole class.) information found in the readings Proposal A paper that describes future research Write a proposal for the action research project The proposal should include the research topic, purpose, research questions, and possible methods for data collection as well as a list of four references that are relevant to the chosen topic Materials A review of teaching/learning materials, including Select a grammatical feature and a grammar review textbooks and tests (Reviews of article or books are textbook Evaluate the examples and not included in the materials review, but in the explanations and suggest how you might research paper category.) change the explanations to meet the needs of learners Quiz Short answers to questions, usually assigned in There is an in-class quiz on phonetic courses related to teaching of grammar transcription and features Annotated A list of references that includes a brief summary of Produce an annotated bibliography in a bibliography each article or book particular research area—approximately two books and 20 research articles Summary A piece of writing that reduces the original article/ Summarize the articles or book chapters that are book to a set of main ideas and major details relevant to the topic of your choice Provide an accurate, coherent, well-organized summary Writing task TABLE (Continued) TABLE Number and Frequency of Writing Assignments and the Weight of Course Evaluation in the 55 TESOL Classes N = 148 Research paper Reflective paper Materials development Essay Report Online discussion Proposal Materials review Quiz Annotated bibliography Summary Writing assignments Frequency in the courses (%) Weight of course evaluation (mean%) Weight of course evaluation (SD%) 37 21 19 16 13 12 11 67 38 35 29 24 22 20 13 11 28.5 20.5 27.9 25.6 23.5 19.6 22.7 20.7 22.5 18.8 17.5 12.4 10.1 10.7 8.1 14.3 6.6 12.1 4.5 16.1 15.5 3.5 present study, some professors asked students to critique and synthesize scholarly sources for a research topic (e.g., literature review, critical review), whereas others asked students to conduct a research study by collecting and analyzing data in addition to a literature review Sixty-seven percent of 55 courses assigned the research paper Also, the weight of research paper in the course evaluation was the highest among assignments—the mean was 28.5% and the maximum was 60% The reflective paper, materials development, essay, and report were the most assigned tasks following the research paper The reflective paper, as an unstructured and less formal paper, asked students to reflect on their experiences related to teaching and learning English and reading course materials Materials development (e.g., developing lesson plans, teaching materials or tests, curriculum development), unique in the TESOL program, was a requirement in 35% of the courses The essay was in the form of a take-home exam in most cases, and its weight in the course evaluation was high (25.6%) The report was found in 24% of the courses and included 23.5% of the course evaluation The report was usually based on the teaching practicum and class observation 256 TESOL Journal TABLE Comparison of Frequently Assigned Writing Tasks Cooper & Bikowski (2007): 100 syllabi and Current study: 148 100 additional syllabi Frequency assignments, TESOL from the Internet, (most to graduate courses, graduate courses, least) 21 universities university Research paper Reflective paper Library research paper Article/book review Materials development Essay Report on an experiment/project Plan/proposal Report Online discussion Proposal Case study Summary Essay 10 Materials review Quiz Annotated bibliography Summary Journal article Unstructured writing Annotated bibliography 11 Horowitz (1986): 54 assignments, undergraduate courses, 17 departments, university Synthesis of multiple sources Connection of theory and data Summary of/reaction to a reading Report on participatory experience Research project Case studies Annotated bibliography The online discussion (22%) was found as frequently as the proposal (20%) in the courses Materials review, quiz, annotated bibliography, and summary occurred in 13%, 11%, 7%, and 4% of the courses, respectively Whereas the reflective paper (38%) and the online discussion (22%) were frequently assigned, the percentage of these assignments in determining course evaluation was only 20.5% and 19.6%, respectively, lower than research paper, materials review, essay, report, proposal, and quiz When an assignment was used as an exam to evaluate student learning and knowledge, the percentage of the course grade for the assignment was relatively high (e.g., essay and quiz, 25.6% and 22.5%, respectively) The third research question concerned similarities and differences in writing assignments between the TESOL discipline and the social sciences, humanities, and arts (SSHA) Although What Writing Tasks Do TESOL Professors Require? 257 TESOL is usually affiliated with the SSHA, the comparison would identify whether TESOL writing assignments are distinguished from those in other graduate programs in SSHA The result of the current study was compared to the findings of the SSHA departments in Cooper and Bikowski’s (2007) study Table shows the percentage of classes that assigned specific writing assignments in the TESOL master’s programs and those assigned in graduate programs in the SSHA at a university The most frequently assigned task in the TESOL discipline was consistent with that in the SSHA departments Although Cooper and Bikowski’s description for library research paper did not specify whether it included both conducting an original study (from data collection to analysis) and library research, the current study included both the literature review and the research paper Only one task was statistically significantly different in the two groups: unstructured writing Unstructured writing includes the reflective paper, online discussion, and quiz The TESOL professors assigned unstructured writing tasks more than professors in the SSHA Discussion about unstructured writing will be further elaborated in the Discussion section Although materials development and materials review were popular tasks in the TESOL programs, the comparison was not feasible since those assignments did not occur in the SSHA TABLE Percentage of Classes Assigning Specified Writing Tasks in TESOL and Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts (SSHA) Assignment Research paper Unstructured writing Essay Report Plan/Proposal Annotated bibliography TESOL (55 courses) SSHA (103 courses) Chi-square value 67% 71% 29% 24% 20% 4% 53% 13% 13% 20% 20% 7% 0.11 0.00* 0.40 0.25 0.09 0.07 Note SSHA data collected in Cooper and Bikowski (2007, p 216) Unstructured writing includes the reflective paper, online discussion, and quiz Materials development in TESOL was not included because no appropriate comparison was available with tasks in SSHA *p < 01 258 TESOL Journal DISCUSSION In brief, the research paper, the reflective paper, and materials development are the three writing tasks most frequently assigned to TESOL master’s students in the United States Except for the materials development task (e.g., lesson plan, curriculum development, test development), which is unique in the TESOL programs, unstructured writing was significantly different from assignments in the SSHA What the results mean to TESOL graduate students and instructors who teach them? I group assignments according to the specific skills needed for them, rather than discussing each type of assignment In this way, the findings are more meaningful to TESOL instructors and students Although it is helpful to know how much the writing tasks affect the course grade, it is more important to know what skills are actually required to complete the tasks First, TESOL students need to integrate reading and writing skills Reading is a prerequisite for several assignments, such as research paper, literature review, reflective paper, online discussion, essay, annotated bibliography, and summary The major skills needed for the research paper and the literature review include synthesizing multiple sources on a topic The annotated bibliography and the summary require summarizing a source Depending on the purpose, the reflective paper and the online discussion can often be based on course readings Summarizing is “clearly crucial for education” (Seidlhofer, 1995, p 2) and is an essential skill for several writing tasks in the TESOL programs As listed in Table 4, however, summary was not frequently assigned in the TESOL programs, which contrasts with previous studies (Cooper & Bikowski, 2007; Horowitz, 1986) It does not necessarily mean that TESOL professors not value summarizing Rather, they assign summarizing as part of a writing assignment, instead of summary as an independent task For example, summaries of sources should be synthesized for a research paper; and for a reflective paper, a summary is presented before the reflections and discussion Because many writing tasks require integrated reading and writing skills, it is suggested that TESOL instructors provide detailed guidance on their expectations What Writing Tasks Do TESOL Professors Require? 259 to students when assigning writing assignments that involve reading, because writing assignments are learning tools in addition to assessment tools Second, TESOL students also need to be able to integrate their teaching-related experience and knowledge with their writing Some of the writing assignments (e.g., report, materials development, reflective paper) are based on a student’s direct teaching, class observations, or knowledge about language teaching These assignments can be completed with a combination of diverse skills, such as hands-on experience, previous knowledge, and reading skills Students need to develop effective ways to utilize their practicum field notes when writing a reflective paper and report, but more important, they need a creative and critical way to integrate their observations, experience, and knowledge Students may have difficulty formatting writing assignments that are based on teaching, such as reports of practicum or class observations, materials development, and reflective paper, because the genres of those writing tasks are unique in TESOL programs, and students may not have access to templates or examples Instructing specific guidelines of structure, organization, and tone of writing would be helpful for students Third, TESOL students should develop effective communication skills for learning The only writing assignment that was significantly different from other disciplines in the SSHA was unstructured writing The weight of unstructured writing in the course evaluation was not as high as its frequency This may indicate that professors frequently assign unstructured writing to promote learning, rather than for evaluating students’ performance The common forms of unstructured writing include posting questions about the weekly readings online and writing reflections on readings in connection with the actual language classroom environment To maximize the learning of not only each individual student but the whole group or class, the instructors should help students understand the rationale for the assignments It is widely encouraged at the graduate level that students should cooperate and contribute to the course by sharing their intellectual and practical experiences and understandings 260 TESOL Journal The skills described here should be practiced in EAP courses to prepare nonnative-English-speaking students to perform successfully in the program EAP teachers should teach writing along with reading (e.g., how to read for writing) The importance of integrating reading and writing is clearly stated by Hirvela (2004): “We must view reading as an integral part of the writing process” (p 44) EAP course instructors should also consider including informal writing or unstructured writing in their curriculum EAP courses often focus on formal academic writing, but nonnative-English-speaking students may not have experienced unstructured writing for academic purposes Students need to realize that it is important to learn how to write reflections, to pose thought-provoking discussion questions, and to respond to others’ comments CONCLUSION This study analyzed syllabi and information, collected directly from professors and online, about writing assignments recently used in TESOL graduate programs in the United States The results inform TESOL master’s students and instructors of TESOL programs and TESOL EAP courses with respect to writing tasks assigned in TESOL graduate courses Among 148 writing assignments, the research paper was most frequently assigned, followed by the reflective paper and materials development Unstructured writing of reflections on course readings, language teaching, and class observation (e.g., reflective paper, online discussion, quiz) was assigned to TESOL students significantly more than to students of other graduate programs in the SSHA The problem-based essay, report, online discussion, research proposal, materials review, quiz, annotated bibliography, and summary were also assigned The writing assignments found in this study represent the three crucial goals of the program as promoted by many TESOL master’s programs: research (doing research or incorporating theoretical knowledge), teaching (preparing to teach), and knowledge (obtaining linguistic knowledge and understanding of second language learning) Although the current study was conducted nationwide, the number of professors who participated was 33, from 21 What Writing Tasks Do TESOL Professors Require? 261 universities among more than 200 universities that offer TESOL programs in the United States Thus, the findings should be understood with caution There may be writing assignments that not belong to any of the categories, or some assignments may be more frequently assigned depending on the goals of the course and the program Another limitation is that the categories of assignments and the weight of the assignment in the course evaluation may not explain all the variations For example, one of the professors in this study did not separate the grade for oral (presentation) and written work (paper) for an assignment; however, the percentage of the assignment for the course evaluation was treated as a writing assignment in the current study In addition, different professors assign different values for each assignment when determining the course evaluation For example, one professor assigned 80% of a course evaluation for a research paper (mean is 28.5%), whereas another professor assigned 0% for a reflective paper (mean is 20.5%) Despite these limitations, this first nationwide survey study about writing tasks assigned to TESOL master’s students is a meaningful small step for understanding the TESOL discipline and a practical tool to help TESOL students with their academic life The results of the study suggest that TESOL students, whether native or nonnative English speakers, need a complex set of skills to perform the requirements in their coursework: (a) integrating reading and writing skills; (b) integrating teaching experience, knowledge, and writing skills; and c) developing effective written communication skills for learning Because each discipline has its own specific writing assignments and conventions, instructors in TESOL programs, including EAP course instructors, should clearly provide guidelines for writing assignments and discuss important skills needed for the assignments, in addition to emphasizing the values and purposes of the writing tasks ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I express my gratitude to the participating professors who shared their course information and answered my questions Without their help and support, this project would have been impossible 262 TESOL Journal I also thank Professor Brutt-Griffler and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments THE AUTHOR Hyonsuk Cho is a PhD candidate in the program of foreign and second language education at the State University of New York at Buffalo She graduated from the TESOL master’s program of the University of Pennsylvania Her research interests include second language reading and writing, bilingualism, and language socialization REFERENCES Canseco, G., & Byrd, P (1989) Writing required in graduate courses in business administration TESOL Quarterly, 23, 305–316 doi:10.2307/3587338 Cooper, A., & Bikowski, D (2007) Writing at the graduate level: What tasks professors actually require? Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 6, 206–221 doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2007.09.008 Grosse, C U (1991) The TESOL methods course TESOL Quarterly, 25, 29–49 doi:10.2307/3587027 Hale, G., Taylor, C., Bridgman, B., Carson, J., Kroll, B., & Kantor, R (1996) A study of writing tasks assigned in academic degree program (Educational Testing Service Research Report 54) Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service Hirvela, A (2004) Connecting reading and writing in second language writing instruction Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press Horowitz, D M (1986) What professors actually require: Academic tasks for the ESL classroom TESOL Quarterly, 20, 445–462 doi:10.2307/3586294 Leki, I., & Carson, J G (1994) Students’ perceptions of EAP writing instruction and writing needs across the disciplines TESOL Quarterly, 28, 81–101 doi:10.2307/3587199 Leki, I., & Carson, J G (1997) Completely different worlds: EAP and the writing experiences of ESL students in university courses TESOL Quarterly, 31, 39–69 doi:10.2307/3587974 Melzer, D (2009) Writing assignments across the curriculum: A national study of college writing College Composition and What Writing Tasks Do TESOL Professors Require? 263 Communication, 61, 240–261 Retrieved from http://www.ncte org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/CCC/0612-dec09/ CCC0612Writing.pdf Ramanathan, V., & Kaplan, R B (1996) Audience and voice in current L1 composition texts: Some implications for ESL student writers Journal of Second Language Writing, 5, 21–34 doi:10.1016/S1060-3743(96)90013-2 Richards, J C., & Crookes, G (1988) The practicum in TESOL TESOL Quarterly, 22, 9–27 doi:10.2307/3587059 Seidlhofer, B (1995) Approaches to summarization: Discourse analysis and language education T€ ubingen, Germany: Gunter Narr Tomlinson, B (Ed.) (1998) Materials development in language teaching Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press Zhu, W (2004) Writing in business courses: An analysis of assignment types, their characteristics, and required skills English for Specific Purposes, 23, 111–135 doi:10.1016/S0889-4906 (02)00046-7 264 TESOL Journal [...]... the writing experiences of ESL students in university courses TESOL Quarterly, 31, 39–69 doi:10.2307/3587974 Melzer, D (2009) Writing assignments across the curriculum: A national study of college writing College Composition and What Writing Tasks Do TESOL Professors Require? 263 Communication, 61, 240–261 Retrieved from http://www.ncte org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/CCC/0612-dec09/ CCC061 2Writing. pdf... writing tasks require integrated reading and writing skills, it is suggested that TESOL instructors provide detailed guidance on their expectations What Writing Tasks Do TESOL Professors Require? 259 to students when assigning writing assignments that involve reading, because writing assignments are learning tools in addition to assessment tools Second, TESOL students also need to be able to integrate... reading and writing in second language writing instruction Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press Horowitz, D M (1986) What professors actually require: Academic tasks for the ESL classroom TESOL Quarterly, 20, 445–462 doi:10.2307/3586294 Leki, I., & Carson, J G (1994) Students’ perceptions of EAP writing instruction and writing needs across the disciplines TESOL Quarterly, 28, 81–101 doi:10.2307/3587199... respectively) The third research question concerned similarities and differences in writing assignments between the TESOL discipline and the social sciences, humanities, and arts (SSHA) Although What Writing Tasks Do TESOL Professors Require? 257 TESOL is usually affiliated with the SSHA, the comparison would identify whether TESOL writing assignments are distinguished from those in other graduate programs... the TESOL master’s program of the University of Pennsylvania Her research interests include second language reading and writing, bilingualism, and language socialization REFERENCES Canseco, G., & Byrd, P (1989) Writing required in graduate courses in business administration TESOL Quarterly, 23, 305–316 doi:10.2307/3587338 Cooper, A., & Bikowski, D (2007) Writing at the graduate level: What tasks do professors. .. the two groups: unstructured writing Unstructured writing includes the reflective paper, online discussion, and quiz The TESOL professors assigned unstructured writing tasks more than professors in the SSHA Discussion about unstructured writing will be further elaborated in the Discussion section Although materials development and materials review were popular tasks in the TESOL programs, the comparison... analyzed syllabi and information, collected directly from professors and online, about writing assignments recently used in TESOL graduate programs in the United States The results inform TESOL master’s students and instructors of TESOL programs and TESOL EAP courses with respect to writing tasks assigned in TESOL graduate courses Among 148 writing assignments, the research paper was most frequently... as promoted by many TESOL master’s programs: research (doing research or incorporating theoretical knowledge), teaching (preparing to teach), and knowledge (obtaining linguistic knowledge and understanding of second language learning) Although the current study was conducted nationwide, the number of professors who participated was 33, from 21 What Writing Tasks Do TESOL Professors Require? 261 universities... about writing tasks assigned to TESOL master’s students is a meaningful small step for understanding the TESOL discipline and a practical tool to help TESOL students with their academic life The results of the study suggest that TESOL students, whether native or nonnative English speakers, need a complex set of skills to perform the requirements in their coursework: (a) integrating reading and writing. .. Horowitz, 1986) It does not necessarily mean that TESOL professors do not value summarizing Rather, they assign summarizing as part of a writing assignment, instead of summary as an independent task For example, summaries of sources should be synthesized for a research paper; and for a reflective paper, a summary is presented before the reflections and discussion Because many writing tasks require integrated