Writing Core Requirements

The Core has two writing requirements: Writing and Research and Writing in the Discipline.

Writing and Research

Writing is more than turning in assignments that only your professor reads; writing can affect others and effect change.

In Writing & Research, you’ll learn about the power of rhetoric: addressing audiences, writing efficient purposes, and analyzing situations. As you explore your research topic, you will engage with academic publications and have conversations about your writing with other students during class discussion, workshops, and peer review. Your professor will help you develop a productive process for writing, such as methods to avoid writer’s block, composing your essay over the course of days or weeks, and revising for stronger clarity and coherence.

Complete ENGW 180, Writing and Research, or ENGW 202, Writing About Disability, or ENGW 203, Writing: Book Editing and Design

Upon completion of this requirement students will be able to:

  • demonstrate rhetorical awareness in writing.
  • apply ethical and effective research to integrate academically appropriate sources into original writing.
  • use writing strategies to develop ideas and produce clear written communication.

Writing in the Discipline

Writing in the disciplines courses introduce students to the writing conventions particular to their majors. You’ll engage in authentic writing related to your major or future career and build on skills from previous writing courses — like audience awareness — as you practice composing in discipline-specific genres.

Writing activities will help you discover new ideas, make connections among the course content, and transfer information from one lesson to the next. You’ll also have opportunities to discuss or workshop your drafts or writing with the professor and your peers.

This writing requirement will be met within your major. These courses are designated with a "W" in the course number. This requirement cannot be transferred in.

Upon completion of this requirement students will be able to:

  • develop knowledge through modes of writing appropriate within the discipline.
  • demonstrate knowledge of the disciplinary forms, vocabulary, and modes of analysis used within the field.
  • demonstrate knowledge of the needs and expectations of the audience specific to the discipline.