Writing Tutors in the Economics Classroom: A Case Study

Cet article rapporte les résultats d'une étude sur l'insertion de tutrices et de tuteurs en écriture dans un cours d'économie obligatoire de troisième année. Nous établissons d'abord les liens entre écriture, pensée critique et acquisition de connaissances, puis nous décrivons le cours et le système de tutorat en écriture ainsi que le lien avec le centre d'aide en écriture de l'université. Enfin, nous rapportons les commentaires des tuteurs et étudiants qui ont participé au cours, indiquant que l'initiative semble remporter du succès. Nous concluons l'article avec certaines considérations à envisager dans l'adoption de ce système de tutorat. Other research on writing supports the use of writing as a tool for learning. Janet Emig (1977) has argued that "writing serves learning uniquely because writing as process-and-product possesses a cluster of attributes that correspond uniquely to certain powerful learning strategies" (p. 89), and this idea is further explored by Bereiterand Scardamalia in The Psychology of Written Composition (1987). They emphasize that the writing process has the potential to "transform" the writer's knowledge of the content through critical reflection. They distinguish between two ways of writing: "knowledge telling" and "knowledge transforming." "Knowledge telling" refers to the writing process often used by immature writers who simply write from memory of content and genre knowledge without engaging in the problem-solving process that characterizes "knowledge transforming." This more complex writing process is typically used by experienced writers whose critical engagement with both content and text form leads them to new insights, and it is the desire to move students from "knowledge telling" to "knowledge transforming" that drives writing in the disciplines and the WAC movement. However, if all students are to be pushed towards critical engagement in the writing process, external support is required. Reporting first on the so-called bottom line, all students who participated (N=37) in the survey agreed to strongly agreed with the statement: "The writing tutor system should be retained in Economics 381." Recalling that the writing tutors commented on the students' introductions and literature reviews, 99% of the students agreed to strongly agreed that they were more knowledgeable about the structure and organization of a literature review and the introduction of a research proposal after taking part in the writing tutor system. Re