The language of instruction in any Writing Requirement class must be English.
The primary method of assessment in a Writing Requirement class must be the evaluation of students' writing assignments. (Translations and oral reports do not meet this requirement.) Form and content should have approximately equal weight. At least 80% of the final class grade
must be based on the student's written work (excluding examinations). Instructors who make essay examinations a part of their class may reduce the writing component of the final grade to 70% (again, their essay examinations would not form part of this 70%). In this case, the essay exam must be worth at least 10% of the final grade.
So as to provide students with continuous practice and evaluation of their writing skills, writing assignments should be no fewer than four per term. Formal instruction in writing, variation in the types of writing assigned, and opportunities for revision are all desirable elements that should be incorporated into all Writing Requirement classes. The total amount of work required in each Writing Requirement class should not vary unreasonably from the total amount required by other Writing Requirement classes.
It must be possible for students to receive individual attention and advice from professors or graduate teaching assistants with respect to improving their writing. No Writing Requirement class may be offered if the ratio of students to teaching staff (including teaching assistants) is
greater than 30.
Introductory English Course Content
All 1000-level ENGL courses should provide overviews of cultural techniques and forms, particularly literary genres. There should be variety in both periods covered and cultural perspectives presented; students should be introduced to some basic vocabulary and approaches that critics use in discussing literary works and other cultural forms, including, as appropriate to the specific course, vocabulary and approaches relevant to discussing popular culture or popular fiction; and students should learn to discuss the relationship between a work's form and its content.
ENGL/CRWR1030 Reading and Writing Stories (WR) provides an overview of literary genres and techniques (creative non-fiction, prose fiction, and poetry) and instruction and workshopping in the craft of creative writing. Students should be introduced to some basic vocabulary and approaches that literary critics use in discussing literature; learn to discuss the relationship between a work's form and its content; and be given ample opportunity to discuss and review each other鈥檚 creative work.
All Writing Requirement (WR) sections of 1000-level English courses, including ENGL / CRWR 1030, should provide instruction in the organization of writing (thesis sentences, opening paragraphs, use of evidence, argumentative structure, transitions, handling of quotations) and in the principles of writing grammatically correct sentences (agreement and presence of subject and verb, correct pronoun form, agreement of pronoun with antecedent, punctuation). They must also meet all other requirements for Writing Requirement courses set by the Writing Across the Curriculum Committee.
The Undergraduate Advisor (or, more formally, the Chair of the Undergraduate Committee) serves as the coordinator of 1000-level English courses. As coordinator, the UG Advisor provides advice to instructors, reviews syllabi, and ensures equity across all sections.
