In the Second-Edition Writing Plan, the discipline-specific writing characteristics established in the First-Edition Writing Plan remain integral and unchanged. These characteristics are essential for effective communication in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences (SLHS) and continue to guide the department's teaching and assessment of writing. These key characteristics include:

Precision and Clarity: Effective communication in SLHS demands precision and clarity in conveying complex concepts and data, both orally and in writing. This involves using accurate terminology, defining key terms, and presenting information clearly and concisely that is easily understood by diverse audiences.

Evidence-Based Practice: Writing in SLHS reflects a rigorous evaluation of empirical research, scholarly literature, and clinical evidence. Effective communication in this field involves synthesizing information and supporting arguments and practices with well-rounded evidence.

Professionalism and Ethical Considerations: SLHS professionals must uphold high standards of professionalism and adhere to ethical guidelines. This includes maintaining confidentiality, respecting privacy and cultural sensitivity, and using empathetic, respectful, and nonjudgmental language when discussing individuals with communication disorders.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Given the interdisciplinary nature of SLHS, professionals often collaborate with counterparts from related fields. Effective communication is indispensable in bridging disciplinary divides and fostering fruitful collaboration. Professionals should be adept at engaging with colleagues from various fields and remain open to new perspectives to facilitate productive interdisciplinary discussions.

Audience Adaptation: Effective communication in SLHS requires tailoring messages to the needs and backgrounds of different audiences. Whether addressing clients, families, colleagues, educators, or policymakers, professionals must adapt their communication style to effectively convey their message.

Writing Conventions: Academic and professional writing in SLHS follows specific conventions, such as APA style, to ensure consistency, clarity, and credibility in scholarly and professional documents.

Students in the Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences (SLHS) major are expected to graduate with strong writing abilities that enable them to communicate effectively in various academic and professional contexts. Based on the faculty's articulated categories of desired writing abilities for the SLHS major, here are the key aspects to focus on:

Address specific readers intentionally and sensitively: SLHS students are expected to demonstrate the ability to adapt their writing to meet the needs and expectations of specific readers within the field. By intentionally and sensitively addressing specific readers, students will enhance their communication skills, promote understanding, and contribute to effective knowledge dissemination in the speech-language-hearing sciences.

Describe processes, sites, and data: Students should be able to express their ideas clearly and concisely, using appropriate language and terminology specific to the field of SLHS. This includes communicating complex concepts in a straightforward manner and avoiding unnecessary jargon or technical language that may hinder understanding.

Make a persuasive recommendation: Students are expected to demonstrate the skills necessary to make persuasive recommendations in the SLHS field. They will learn to support their recommendations with pertinent scientific, economic, or sociocultural perspectives, while demonstrating critical thinking and logical reasoning in their written communication.

Make and provide evidence for claims: Students in SLHS should demonstrate the ability to make clear and testable claims, substantiate those claims with credible evidence, and analyze and interpret the data or findings. They should effectively incorporate visuals, correctly scale them, and appropriately cite sources to support their claims and insights.

Organize contents logically: Students in SLHS should be able to organize text based on scientific processes and categories. They need to discriminate between empirical and theoretical evidence, summarize consistencies and inconsistencies in the literature, and facilitate logical comprehension and idea evolution.

Revise and proofread: Students are expected to produce well-structured sentences and coherent paragraphs while demonstrating command of standard grammar and punctuation. Rigorous revision and
proofreading are essential for ensuring clarity, consistency, and overall quality in their writing.

By acquiring these writing abilities, students in the SLHS major will be well-prepared to communicate effectively in academic and professional settings, produce high-quality research and clinical documents, and succeed in their future careers as speech-language pathologists and audiologists as well as in other related fields.

The SLHS faculty generated the following menu of criteria, based on the list of writing abilities members prioritize in working with student writers in their courses. One major challenge for faculty/instructors is to adapt and tailor these criteria based on their specific instructional objectives and assignment requirements. Regular communication and feedback between faculty and students can help address any concerns and ensure that grading practices align with the desired writing abilities and goals of the SLHS program.

For the 2024–2026 period, SLHS plans to undertake a comprehensive set of initiatives to enhance writing instruction and assessment across the curriculum. The first major objective is to conduct curricular mapping to align the menu of writing criteria with writing assignments and activities across SLHS courses. This will ensure that writing assignments are effectively integrated into the curriculum and aligned with the desired writing abilities. This mapping will be coordinated with the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and the WEC team to implement a sequenced and laddered approach to writing instruction. This ladder system ensures that writing skills are progressively developed, refined, and aligned with students’ learning outcomes throughout the curriculum. This leads to integrating these skills into the required capstone project and presentation at the end of the program.

To enhance the quality of writing instruction, faculty members and instructors in SLHS will enhance grading practices and feedback mechanisms by implementing structured feedback methods aligned with departmental writing criteria. Workshops will be crucial in this process, providing opportunities for faculty and TAs to share best practices and strategies for effective writing instruction and assessment. These workshops will include tutorials on using grading tools available on Canvas, sessions for mutual critique and support in revising rubrics, and discussions on integrating writing activities into various courses. Workshops will provide professional development opportunities to focus on increasing consistency in grading, improving grading efficiency, providing constructive feedback, enhancing TA support, and utilizing writing instruction techniques effectively.

As an outcome of these regular professional development opportunities, faculty will develop and provide clear and consistent rubrics for each writing assignment based on the established criteria and grading guidelines. These rubrics will provide a consistent framework for evaluating student writing, ensuring fairness and clarity in grading practices. In addition to formal writing assignments with detailed, clear, and consistent rubrics, integrating teaching and learning with writing through in-class writing activities will be emphasized to enhance student engagement, reinforce learning, and provide practical writing experience. The department has already launched an SLHS Writing Plan Canvas course, accessible to all instructors, to facilitate the exchange of ideas and share course materials and instructional strategies.