Twelfth International Writing Analytics Conference-2026

The Twelfth International Writing Analytics Conference will explore Writing Analytics in the Classroom and Workplace Environments.

All conference attendees are invited to submit proposals for presentations on current research findings and new directions for research, with special attention to pedagogy.

Where: University of South Florida, St. Petersburg 

When: February 19 & 20, 2026

Conference Hotel: TBA

Registration: Registration is $150 and the registration portal is open. 

Schedule: TBA

Conference Location: SLC 2100 Judy Genshaft Center for Student Life, University of South Florida St. Petersburg

Flyer: Here

Conference Organizers and Contacts:

  • S. Morgan Gresham, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg: gresham.at.stpt.usf.edu@gmail.com 
  • Alaina Tackitt, New College of Florida: adtackitt@gmail.com 
  • Norbert Elliot, New Jersey Institute of Technology: elliot@njit.edu
  • Megan Kane, Seton Hall University, WAC Clearinghouse New Scholar Fellow (2025-2026)

2026 Conference Theme:

Writing Analytics in the Classroom and Workplace Environments

Conference Description: Advances in writing analytics have demonstrated its impact on teaching and learning. Our conference will focus on the integration of tools, data, and insights into instructional design and pedagogical practice in academic and workplace settings. Of special interest is research that can translate analytic findings into actionable strategies for educators and students, employers and employees. 

We are especially interested in conference proposals by teacher-researchers employing case classroom and industry experiences or study methods that generate the potential for widespread adoption. We are equally interested in presentations on pedagogical approaches that focus on systematic, iterative design and implementing tools for data-informed writing pedagogy. Emphasis on instructional design, teaching strategies, and student experiences are hallmarks of this conference. 

To advance the conference theme, we invite presentations on the following themes: 

  • Transfer: Which areas of research have the greatest potential use for learners? While corpus analysis has been shown to be a powerful tool in the DocuScope suite of platforms, what roles might other areas of research, such as AI integration and learning analytics, play in the instruction?
  • Taxonomy: What constitutes a taxonomy of writing analytics pedagogy? How may traditional writing studies pedagogies (product centered, process-driven, genre, workshop, critical language awareness) influence, and be influenced by, writing analytics?
  • Tools and Technologies: What digital platforms exist that may be used in pedagogical practice? While a variety of tools (from Grammarly’s focus on sentence-level editing to Criterion’s orientation towards assessment-based instruction) and technologies (such as varied forms of Generative AI) exist, how might these be aligned to a writing program’s mission, vision, and values?
  • Generalization: What generalization inferences may be drawn from case studies to classroom and workplace use? While the Institute of Education Studies has provided guidelines for research involving single case study design, what other forms of descriptive work, such as exploratory (for initial investigation), descriptive (to provide a robust account, and explanatory (to demonstrate causation), may have pedagogical impact at specific institutional sites?
  • Instructional Practices: How are instructors employing terms or techniques to allow students to look closely at their own writing or the writing of others? How can a writing analytics approach to teaching and learning be moved into academic and workplace practices? How can AI tools be used to support a writing analytics perspective in pedagogical practices or assignments? While a distinct pedagogy for writing analytics does not yet exist, it is our hope that this conference will lead to generalizable models. 

Proposal Deadline: Please submit presentation proposals by January 15, 2026. Colleagues are encouraged to submit proposals between 500-1000 words related to any of these themes. Proposals will be peer reviewed by the Editors-in-Chief, and accepted presentations will be organized by conference themes. Collaborations will be encouraged to submit articles for the journal, including articles that fit the new journal genre of Writing Analytics in the Classroom. 

Keynote Speaker: 

Laura Aull, Professor of English and Linguistics at University of Michigan, is a well-known scholar whose work bridges writing studies and linguistics by using corpus-linguistic methods to investigate how students and experts express stance, generality, and knowledge in academic writing. In How Students Write: A Linguistic Analysis, Aull analyzes sentence-level patterns across first-year and upper-level student writing, distinguishing genres such as argumentative vs analytic to show how discourse choices evolve with experience. Aull also engages with issues of writing assessment, arguing that attention to language enables more just and knowledgeable approaches to evaluating writing. Aull’s multidisciplinary approach makes the work of interest not only to applied linguists but also to writing instructors, assessment specialists, and educational policymakers. Aull’s most recent book is You Can’t Write That: Eight Myths about Correct English (Oxford University Press, 2023).

Invited Workshop:

Danielle Wetzel is Teaching Professor and Director of the Writing and Communication Program at Carnegie Mellon University. Wetzel’s research focuses mainly on teacher training, curriculum design, and assessment, specifically for first-year writing. With David West Brown, Wetzel is co-editor of Corpora and Rhetorically Informed Text Analysis (John Benjamins, 2023). 

Featured Workshop: 

Jessica Nastal is Assistant Professor of English at College of DuPage, specializing in writing assessment and two-year college literacy studies. With Mya Poe and Christie Toth, Nastal is editor of Writing Placement in Two-Year Colleges: The Pursuit of Equity in Postsecondary Education (The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado), winner of the 2022 CWPA Best Book Award. Nastal is, most recently, winner of the 2025 TYCA Midwest Teaching Excellence Award.