Writing about Writing (WAW), is a method or theory of teaching composition which puts emphasis on reading and writing about writing in the writing course, and reimagines first-year composition as an “introduction to writing studies.” This is not to say WAW only teaches a first-year writing course as if it were an introduction to a writing major, but rather it advocates merging the how of writing with its practice. An introduction course to a writing major has both a different audience and purpose than a first-year composition course framed in WAW. The development of WAW is largely credited to Elizabeth Wardle, University of Central Florida, and Douglas Downs, Montana State University, after the publication of their 2007 article “Teaching about Writing, Righting Misconceptions.”

A relatively new area of first-year composition, WAW continues to emerge and change as it gains recognition by academics and composition scholars.

— Wikipedia contributors, “Writing about Writing,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Writing_about_Writing&oldid=620296821 (accessed September 29, 2014).