General Education Writing Intensive (WI) Course Guidelines
Writing Intensive courses are a critical part of General Education. All students, from Business to Biology, take three writing courses in their first two years of GE (Foundation Writing I and II and Discovery Writing) in which they build a foundation for successful writing in a variety of forms for different audiences in different disciplines. In their Writing Intensive courses, students focus on learning how to write for their particular field of study.
In order for a course to qualify as Writing Intensive, it must meet the following criteria:
- Writing assignments must be an integral, ongoing part of the course, and the writing assignments must constitute a substantial (minimum 40%) part of the final course grade.
- The course must instruct students in the kinds of writing that are practiced by and valued by members of the discipline.
- Some class time must be devoted to preparing students to complete writing assignments and instructors must provide feedback on students’ writing assignments.
- There must be at least four distinct writing assignments spread throughout the semester, not including in-class essay exams.
- Student formal and informal writing for the course should total approximately 5000 words (equivalent to roughly 20 typed, double-spaced pages).
Download the the Writing Intensive Course Guidelines.
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