What’s in a word? Plenty, in fact. As one of Distance Learning’s course content reviewers (and a former writing instructor), I’d like to share some thoughts on how inclusive language policies can help make your courses more inclusive and equitable.
Inclusive language resources
Inclusive language is a wide umbrella. Northwestern’s Inclusive Language Guide covers a remarkably comprehensive range of best practices, including language related to gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, disability, religion, and national identity. Distance Learning also maintains a guide on accessible and inclusive course content, with detailed sections on inclusive language, name and pronoun usage, and more. Similarly, the APA’s inclusive language website does a good job of explaining the origins behind many terms and why they are (or are not) recommended.
Punitive grammar policies: More harm than good
Beyond phrasing, it’s also important to consider how we frame language, especially in online courses, where it can be sometimes difficult to convey a welcoming tone. I’ve seen many draconian rubrics that promise dire punishments for missteps in grammar, spelling, and punctuation, with the demoralizing implication that “A” work must be 100% perfect. In reality, even the best writers—and the most popular grammar checkers, like Grammarly or Word—make mistakes. Indeed, as a copyeditor, I can report that sometimes the sternest policies contain the very errors they warn against!
Of course, students should review their work carefully, and learning to wield the conventions of written English is crucial. However, harshly framed policies don’t accomplish this pedagogical goal. Instead, they encourage learners to prioritize prescriptive nitpicking over quality of content; they privilege students who can afford external proofreading services (note: university writing centers usually don’t proofread or “fix” papers); and they place extra stress on marginalized students, such as those with certain learning disabilities or those for whom English is not a first language. In today’s generative AI-flooded ecosystem, I also worry that these policies will further incentivize anxious students to turn to ChatGPT.
Finally, and perhaps most frustratingly, such approaches bolster a view of “standard” English that has historically dismissed forms of language used by oppressed groups, as explored with special brilliance in articles like Prof. Vershawn Ashanti Young’s “Should Writers Use They Own English?” (2010).
Rather than impose a “one strike” rubric in which minor errors lose major points, you could adjust these point values or roll grammar into a larger category that includes other criteria (such as formatting). You could share resources on proofreading strategies, such as this resource from UNC on Editing and Proofreading. You could allow students to correct preliminary errors for partial or full credit. You could also take this as a teaching opportunity to underscore when and why some errors in your field (e.g., spelling a client’s name wrong) might be worse than others (e.g., splitting a stray infinitive).
Overall, policies that emphasize long-term writing skills, flexibility, and real-world conditions are crucial for accessibility and engagement.
Fostering critical language awareness in course design
Inclusion isn’t just memorizing a static list of phrases or rubber-stamping a single policy. The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) has shared a wealth of suggestions for course design and instructional practices that cultivate Critical Language Awareness—i.e., that engage students in critical thinking about the relationship between language, power, and access. Inspired by these suggestions, here are just a few approaches you could incorporate:
- A discussion board that asks students to research, report on, and discuss the history of key or controversial terms in your field.
- A case study that examines the misapplication of language in high-stakes situations (e.g., stigmatization in coding Black patients or how poor translations during climate crises endanger Indigenous populations) and potential solutions.
- An assignment in which students analyze—then experiment with!—the rhetorical strategies, vocabulary, and grammatical quirks in a prominent piece of media in your field.
The possibilities are endless! Feel free to reach out to the Distance Learning team via a consultation to discuss your ideas. Let’s cap the red pens and imagine exciting, expansive ways of using language to engage meaningfully with equity, inclusion, and justice.