Proposal to offer a New Writing Intensive (W) Course

To apply for Writing Intensive (W) status , please fill out the form below. Please note that FYS courses applications are a separate process. In general, W-designation is awarded before a course is taught, not retroactively (if retroactively, an application needs to be submitted to, and considered by the Writing Program Committee).

Name*

First NameLast Name

Email Address*

Department

Name of Proposed W Course

Enrollment Cap for Proposed W Course

Please select below which of the following conditions apply:*

This is the first time the course has been taught at the collegeThis is the first time the course is being taught by a particular instructorThis is the first time an existing course is being offered as a Writing Intensive

Will your course be capped at no more than 20 students?*

YesNo

Academic, scholarly, and/or critical writing is important because it allows students to clarify thinking, engage with evidence, think beyond their experience, and position themselves within a disciplinary conversation– all of which are essential components of a liberal arts education. Examples of writing assigned in W-courses include but are not limited to: critiques, metacognitive reflections, thesis-driven arguments, exploratory writings, feasibility reports, syntheses, and reader responses. Writing should be a substantial part of the class. The course should include at least fifteen double-spaced pages of writing in total across all assignments, at least one of which should be a substantive assignment with a minimum of three pages.

In the context of your course, how will you incorporate substantive academic, scholarly, and/or critical writing? Please include the number of assignments and intended page requirements.*

Revision is a valuable component of successful writing processes. Substantive revision is the mark of writers who have the ability to expand their thinking, take feedback from other people, and re-see their own work over time. Revision is not just about fixing spelling or grammatical errors but should involve revisiting ideas and sources, thinking about structure, and making new connections across course materials. To that end, W-courses should actively endeavor to engage students in revision processes. Some examples of how to do this include, but are not limited to:

Conducting peer review workshops structured for students to receive and incorporate feedback.
Scaffolding drafts in such a way that allows time for students to re-think their ideas and revisit their assertions.
Incentivizing Writing Center or library visits at key points during students' composing processes.
Using class time to incorporate instruction on aspects of writing, such as how to give and receive feedback, how to apply comments globally across a work, how to organize one's flow of thoughts, etc.

How do you plan to incorporate revision into your assignments to ensure that students’ writing ability is growing from initial draft to final?*

Briefly describe how you think writing will shape both the pedagogy and assignments of your course. What kinds of analytical writing assignments do you envision and how many? How will these assignments be structured over the course of the semester?

How do you plan to incorporate revision into the course?

The Writing Program Committee will discuss your application at their biweekly meeting and will let you know the status of your application.