ABSTRACT
Several thought-provoking arguments suggest that computer science (CS) departments should work actively to develop student writing. When CS faculty review writing, students learn that principles taught in English apply in technical areas as well. When programming is only part of a course, students understand that computer science extends beyond coding. Programming naturally will be an important part of many introductory courses. As CS faculty consider the appropriate use of writing in the CS curriculum, some insights may come from experiences of the calculus reform movement which often has expanded the role of writing in mathematics. Writing assignments require students to articulate their ideas – not just base work on intuition or guesswork. Undergraduate graders and teaching assistants often are ill-prepared to help with the grading of written assignments. Ultimately, faculty must decide how technical writing fits within an undergraduate computing curriculum. Computing tools support tasks and activities.
