Writing Center: Cross-Cultural Understanding

Interested in the differences between Eastern and Western cultures? Check out the link to some minimalistic visualizations!

Writing Across Borders is a 3-year documentary project funded by Oregon State University's Center for Writing and Learning and its Writing Intensive Curriculum Program. The documentary's purpose is to help faculty, writing assistants, and other professionals work more productively with international students in writing environments.

The film's goal is to address some of the most significant challenges international students face when writing for American colleges and universities. In addressing these challenges, it asks the following questions:

• How does culture play out in writing, and how are our expectations shaped by cultural preferences?
• Do we assess international student writing when we have to grade it alongside the writing of native speakers, and how can we think about surface error in a fair and constructive manner?
• What kinds of teaching and testing practices disadvantage international students and which help them improve as writers?