GUIDELINES FOR WRITING-INTENSIVE COURSES
The requirement for a writing-intensive course outside of the Writing Program is intended to familiarize students with the
thought processes, structures, and styles associated with writing in the liberal arts.
To be included in the pool of writing-intensive courses that fulfill this requirement, a course must meet the following
guidelines:
1. All the writing assignments should be designed to promote learning pertinent to the course. A wide range of
possible writing assignments, such as reading responses, article or book reviews, idea journals, critiques,
argumentative essays, research projects, laboratory reports, case studies, or collaborative projects, such as class
magazines, are possible.
2. A minimum of four writing assignments, including drafts, totaling at least 4,000 words is required. One
assignment must be at least 1,000 words.
3. At least two writing assignments must be out-of-class papers or drafts. Assignments that provide students with
sequenced opportunities to improve their writing skills are encouraged. These could include drafting, substantive
revisions, or writing the same kind of paper (e.g., a deliberative essay) several times over the course of a
semester.
4. When in-class essays are used to meet these requirements, each must take at least 30 minutes to write.
5. At least three of the assignments must be returned to the students, with commentary and corrections, within two
weeks.
6. All facets of writing (e.g. content, organization, conceptualization, grammar and usage, and spelling) should be
subjects of attention, though how each facet is attended to could vary from assignment to assignment.
7. Writing-intensive courses are to be limited to 25 students, or they must have sections in which writing is dealt
with that are limited to 25 students.
8. Separate 1-2 credit courses that require co-registration with a parent disciplinary course will be considered for
inclusion in the pool of acceptable courses.
9. Courses outside the College of Arts and Sciences will be considered for inclusion in the pool if they meet the
above guidelines.