Writing in the Disciplines Knowledge Base

We are all members of tribes — family, community, faith, professions, hobbies, vocations, entertainment, social media, leisure. Each has its own vocabulary, its communication rituals. We are accepted as members when we use the tribe’s language and customs. James Paul Gee calls these “social languages”, and we humans are uniquely gifted with the ability to use multiple social languages fluently.

Even so, we are not born into social languages the way we are to our native tongues. Social languages have to be learned. The goal of the Writing in the Disciplines Knowledge Base (WiDKB) is to catalyze that process. The WiDKB is a web-based, open resource created by UF’s University Writing Program. It is part textbook, part repository, part teacher’s manual. The student populations we serve are mostly undergraduates, so the material here largely targets those newest to their discipline’s communication conventions. The KB includes DIY student lessons for writing various discipline-specific genres, strategies and plans for teaching discipline-specific writing, and a searchable base of lessons, explanations, and resources for all users.

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You, a computer, and a writing assignment…the Bermuda Triangle of Education. Once inside, hope dissipates like steam. Why does the process of putting words in a line for another human being to understand feel so much like getting tangled up in fluctuating magnetic forces from which there is no easy escape?

We can help. The WiDKB is designed to help new discipline writers navigate text creation in their field. Each Pathway takes a different approach.

• Students — you have two options, the Discipline Pathway and the Assignment Pathway.
  • The Discipline Pathway — If you’re new to a field/major and want to understand writing as it happens in that field, this is the pathway for you. All the examples and explanations take place in a specific field of study (e.g., medicine, law, engineering). This pathway is a good choice for immersing yourself in how a discipline operates through text.
  • The Assignment Pathway — If you have a paper to write and just want to learn how to write that kind of paper, this is the pathway to follow. All the examples can be applied to any field requiring that type of paper. This pathway is a good choice for understanding how a particular genre works (e.g., research reports or review papers).
• Teachers — we recommend using the Discipline and Assignment Pathways as a class textbook, but for recommendations on how to teach a writing assignment, you have a pathway all your own.

To get started, choose a Pathway!

Discipline Pathway “I need information about writing in a specific  [field/major/discipline]” e.g., “I’m in psychology — where’s stuff for me?”

Assignment Pathway “I have to write a research paper about [insert topic], e.g. “I have to write a paper about a brain disorder” or “I have to write my data up into a research report”.

Teacher Pathway for those who would like to add discipline-specific writing to a course, improve the outcomes of a current assignment, or create an entire class.