UNIVERSITY TOWN WRITING PROGRAM PILOT
OPEN TO ALL STUDENTS FROM: FACULTY OF ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES (FASS),
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS (BIZ), SCHOOL OF COMPUTING (SoC), SCHOOL OF DESIGN
& ENVIRONMENT (SDE), FACULTY OF ENGINEERING (FoE), FACULTY SCIENCE
(FoS), AND THE UNIVERSITY SCHOLARS PROGRAMME (USP)
We are pleased to announce that all students from the above Faculties/Schools may apply for
a place in the new University Town Writing Program (UTWP) pilot for Semester 1 of
Academic Year 2010-11.
About UTWP
NUS is pioneering an innovative model of learning and teaching to be integrated into the new
University Town’s residential colleges, scheduled to open in August 2011. The U-Town
curriculum will include a writing program, called the University Town Writing Program
(UTWP). UTWP modules are
Content specific. Each UTWP module focuses on a particular topic, with readings
selected to be accessible to first year undergraduates. Although each topic reflects the
concerns of a particular discipline, all modules introduce students to principles and
strategies that will help them write throughout their academic careers.
Rhetorically intensive. Argumentation is the heart of academic expository writing;
therefore each UTWP module focuses on how to best construct evidence-based
arguments that show readers why it is reasonable to problematize a previous analysis
and resolve the problem in a particular way.
UTWP modules are capped at 12 students. Within this small group environment, students are
encouraged to collaboratively negotiate alternative responses to problems they raise.
This semester, 9 UTWP modules will be offered:
Models of Press Freedom (WP2201B)
Mars/Venus?: Gender & (Mis)Communication (WP2201C)
Writing in a Digital World (WP2201D)
From Human to “Posthuman” (WP2201E)
Globalization and Screen Media (WP2201F)
Language and Migration (WP2201G)
Eating Right(s): The Politics of Food (WP2201H)
Messing with Nature: Unintended Consequences (WP2201I)
Politics of Prizes (WP2201J)
These modules will carry 4 MCs. They may be read on an S/U basis, provided that they are
not being taken to fulfill a Faculty requirement that requires a graded writing module.
Application Details
We especially encourage you to apply if you say, "That's me," to one or more of the four
statements below.

I want to make more sense about ideas that make only partial sense to me.

I want to work with ideas beyond those in my textbooks.

I want other people to pay attention to my ideas.

I don’t have to write extended papers for most of my modules, but I still want to be able
to write well.
How UTWP Modules Count towards Graduation Requirements
FASS students may take a UTWP module as an Unrestricted Elective (UE).
BIZ students who have already taken or are enrolled for ES2002 may still take a WP2201
module and have it counted as a UE. Otherwise, it can be taken in lieu of ES2002.
SoC students who have already taken or are enrolled for CS2301 may still take a WP2201
module and have it counted as an UE. Otherwise, it can be taken in lieu of IS2101 (new code
for CS2301).
SDE students may take a UTWP module as an Unrestricted Elective (UE).
FoE students who have already taken or are enrolled for EG1413 may still take a WP2201
module and have it counted as a UE. Otherwise, it can be taken in lieu of EG1413.
FoS students who have not read SP1202 may take a UTWP module to fulfill the Faculty
Requirements. Students who have read or choose to read SP1202, as well as a UTWP
module, will have to count SP1202 to the Faculty Requirements and the UTWP module as
UE. Pharmacy students, who are supposed to read SP1203 for their Faculty Requirements,
may only count the UTWP module as UE.
USP students who wish to read a UTWP module may do so, but not in lieu of Writing and
Critical Thinking Modules.
How and When to Apply


Bid for these modules via CORS. Depending on which Faculty you are from, the
modules will be available for bidding from either Round 1A or Round 1C. Please check
the list of modules available for bidding in each round for the UTWP modules and bid
accordingly.
Bid from your Programme Account.

Places are limited – each module section has only 12 places, to be distributed among
our participating Faculties/Schools/Programs. As an incentive to encourage participation
in these pilot modules, upon successful bidding, the module will be allocated at 1 bid
point. You will be refunded the rest of your bid points.

BIZ students who are pre-allocated ES2002 can still bid for a UTWP module. If you
intend to take a UTWP module in lieu of ES2002, please inform BIZ Dean’s Office to drop
ES2002 for you after you have successfully obtained a place in a UTWP module.

The usual maximum permitted workload per semester applies. If this is your sixth module,
please bid during Round 3A.
Please note
Prerequisites: Students must have passed/been exempted from the NUS Qualifying English
Test (QET) or have passed the CELC English for Academic Purposes (EAP)modules.
Preclusion: Students who have already read a WP2201 module.
Module Offerings for Seminar 1, AY2010-11
Common Objectives
All UTWP modules help students to produce expository writing that readers will recognize as
increasing their understanding of a given topic. These modules develop five sets of core
strategies that underlie successful scholarly writing in the arts, humanities, social sciences,
life sciences, physical sciences, and mathematics:





Analyzing how authors problematize what other authors say and how they argue their
responses to these problems,
Entering the conversations between these authors by problematizing their arguments and
arguing why one’s problem and response are reasonable with available evidence,
Organizing and wording ideas to help readers understand a line of reasoning,
Documenting sources so readers can check one’s use of other scholars’ ideas, and
Revising the content, wording, and organization of a paper, as well as surface features
such as spelling, punctuation, etc.
Paper Assignments
Students write three papers in every UTWP module.
Writing Assignment 1: 400-word Reflective Summary
This writing assignment asks students to (1) summarize an assigned/chosen reading and (2)
reflect on ideas in the text that strike them as new and interesting. The summary should
provide the following information:
 Identify the reading’s topic,
 Show how the reading uses its main claims/points to reach its conclusion(s), and
 Identify intended readers and the role that the reading’s author hopes readers will play if
they accept the conclusion(s).
The reflection should highlight the student’s understanding, especially any questions,
disagreements or agreements, examples that reflect the points made in the article and that
they would want to study further.
Writing Assignment 2: 600-word Comparative Paper
This writing assignment asks students to reflect on ideas in a given body of literature that
strike them as new and interesting. Students will choose two readings from the course pack,
discuss how the information in the articles relates to each other, how they reinforce or call into
question ideas or assertions, and how they suggest new ways of viewing the topic.
Writing Assignment 3: 1,000-word Expository Paper
This writing assignment asks students to (1) formulate an as-yet unresolved research
problem on a chosen/assigned topic, (2) draw conclusions about the problem from their
analysis of collected/given data, and (3) argue the contestable aspects of these conclusions.
Students will need to focus their research problems so that they are able to fully explicate
their arguments within the 1,000-word limit. Students should use both primary sources
(sources of data to be analyzed to resolve the problem) and secondary sources (other studies
used to show the research problem has not been raised but provide insights into how/if the
problem might be resolved). The paper does not need to offer a final resolution, but it should
advance the intended readers’ understanding of the problem as described by the secondary
sources.
Topical Overviews
WP2201B: Models of Press Freedom
Paul Nerney
This writing module explores a curious situation: most media scholars agree that news does
not encourage citizen participation in democratic communities. However, they disagree about
the causes. What leads thoughtful scholars to hold diverse, often opposing, views? These
scholars do not say, which provides an opportunity to analyze their work for differing,
unstated assumptions about democracy, press freedom, and the power of news to shape
public opinion. In small interactive classes, students will argue the existence of these
unstated assumptions in the module’s readings and how they lead to favoring certain
understandings of a dysfunctional press over other understandings.
WP2201C: Mars/Venus?: Gender & (Mis)Communication
James Martin
This writing course explores the pervasive topic of gender and communication. For example,
are men and women different by nature (from “Mars” or “Venus”) or are gender roles socially
constructed? How are these differences expressed in the language they use? What causes
miscommunication and how can it be addressed? In this small seminar-format class, students
read, analyze, discuss and respond to topical articles in a variety of genres, examining them
not only for information, but especially to make explicit the way writers address their
audiences, and then apply these insights to their own written responses and arguments on
the topic.
WP2201D: Writing in a Digital World
David Brown
In this course, students will investigate how and why different social spaces—from school to
the Internet—shape our writing. They will explore both the language patterns that distinguish
their own writing and the influence of digital communication—blogging, tweeting, texting,
etc.—on language change. Analyses of different linguistic environments will be facilitated by
the use of new, computer-aided tools, as well as through reading, discussing, and responding
to relevant articles. Through their analyses students will develop their awareness of the ways
writers attend to the demands of different rhetorical situations, and then apply these insights
to their own arguments.
WP2201E: From Human to “Posthuman”
Victor Cole
This writing course considers the eternal question of what it is to be human in relation to the
possibilities of transforming ourselves through genetic, neuro-cognitive or cybernetic
technologies. How significantly would individuals, populations or the entire species have to be
changed to warrant use of the term “posthuman” in describing them? How desirable would it
be to transcend certain of our current limitations or to acquire wholly new capabilities? In
small interactive classes, students will explore these questions through critical examination of
viewpoints expressed in both scholarly literature and imaginative media, ultimately developing
their own positions in written arguments.
WP2201F: Globalisation and Screen Media
Jasmine Nadua Trice
This writing course examines globalization’s intersections with culture, movies, and
television. Cases of transnational connection are common (Hollywood’s Asian
appropriations, the Korean Wave). However, their implications are hardly a settled matter.
How these processes work is a contentious issue, often centering on the best ways to
imagine these circulations. Is this a “global village,” or media imperialism? Have detached
nation-states given way to intermingling flows of ideas and people, or have these migrations
only solidified discrete cultural identities? We’ll investigate these questions by analyzing a
range of arguments. Students will apply these insights to their written responses to the topic.
WP2201G: Language and Migration
Beatriz P. Lorente
This course examines the relationship between language and migration. What does it mean
to live a life in a new language? What are the different kinds of migration and how well do the
languages of different migrants travel? Why are languages not equally mobile? In small,
interactive classes, students will explore these questions through the lenses of a wide range
of texts from autobiographies to movies to scholarly articles. Students will be encouraged to
develop their own informed views regarding the issues and they will be guided in making the
rhetorical decisions that best argue their view in writing.
WP2201H: Eating Right(s): The Politics of Food
Anuradha Ramanujan
Do you know where your last meal came from? Have you ever wondered how your dietary
choices affect communities, species and landscapes worldwide? This interdisciplinary writing
course examines some human and ecological impacts of contemporary food-related practices
and interactions. Readings from different perspectives focus critical attention on industrial
agriculture, factory farming, packaging/distribution networks and international trade
agreements in relation to issues of hunger, obesity, food security and environmental
sustainability. In small collaborative classes, you will examine the strategies used by
individual authors to construct persuasive arguments and learn to incorporate these rhetorical
skills into your own writing about food.
WP2201I: Messing with Nature: Unintended Consequences
Barry Griner
This small, interactive writing course considers the unintended consequences of the good
intentions of innovations and policies. Using the topic of invasive species as a springboard,
students will examine the history and discuss the unintended financial and environmental
consequences of the introduction of species for agricultural, ornamental, or pest control
purposes. What happened when mongooses were introduced to Hawai’i to control rats? What
have been the unintended consequences of other policies, such as switching to bio-fuels?
Students will learn rhetorical strategies to develop sound arguments for changing or
maintaining a given policy.
WP2201J: Politics of Prizes
Coleen Angove
This writing course considers the popular prize (e.g. American/Singapore Idol, the Oscars,
Asia’s Biggest Loser) to inspire students to read, analyze, debate, blog and write about a
variety of texts and audiovisual materials on the topic. Students read about and reflect on the
different parties invested in each prize and how the dynamic differs between prizes. Students
further consider how prizes evolve to respond to different cultural contexts, and what they
reflect about the nature of modern society. In this small-class, interactive environment,
students will be honing reading and writing skills, while becoming sensitive to different
rhetorical strategies.
About the CELC Staff Teaching UTWP Modules
Currently we have nine staff members designing and teaching UTWP modules.
Coleen Angove has an MA in English from North-West University (South Africa). Her thesis
focused on the plays of Athol Fugard; this interest in the performing arts is an abiding one.
She has taught a wide variety of courses at universities in South Africa and Singapore,
including Business Communication, English for Law students, and a variety of literature
courses, most recently on Shakespeare (text and performance) and on Modernism.
Victor Cole has a BA in English Literature from Reading University and an MA in Critical
Theory from Nottingham University. He is currently finishing his Ph. D in Bioethics with
Monash University, writing a dissertation on natural rights in relation to issues in human
genetic modification. He has taught a variety of critical thinking and writing courses at NUS
over the past decade and has an active interest in the development of critical thinking within
both the academic domain and professional practice (especially the healthcare professions).
David West Brown earned his PhD in English and Education from the University of
Michigan. He also holds a BA in English and a Master’s in Teaching from the University of
Puget Sound. His doctoral dissertation that developed curricular approaches to teaching
students who speak diverse varieties of English won the Dimond Outstanding Dissertation
Award in 2009. His research interests include sociolinguistics and corpus linguistics.
Barry Griner has an MA in Applied Linguistics and Teaching English as a Second Language
from the University of California, Los Angeles. His research interests include the
morphophonotactics of English and Japanese, as well as pronunciation, intonation, contentbased instruction, and teacher training and program development. Barry taught English for
ten years in Hiroshima, Japan. He has spent the past five years teaching and coordinating
writing and oral skills courses at the University of Southern California. In his free time, Barry
enjoys travel.
Beatriz P. Lorente has a PhD in Language Studies from the National University of
Singapore. Her dissertation on the linguistic capital of Filipino domestic workers in Singapore
was awarded the inaugural Wang Gungwu Medal and Prize for best PhD thesis in the
Humanities and Social Sciences in 2007. Her research interests are in the sociolinguistics of
globalization, language and migration, and language policy.
James E. Martin has a Ph.D in English, concentration in Rhetoric/Composition,
with additional emphasis in American Literature, from Bowling Green State University (Ohio,
USA), and an M.A. in TESL from University of Hawaii at Manoa. His dissertation addressed
theoretical issues in Contrastive Rhetoric research. He has taught composition, rhetoric
theory, various topics in American and British Literature, literary critical theory, ESL, etc. in
the US, the Pacific, Taiwan, China, and now Singapore. His interests remain all of the above.
Paul Nerney has a BA in English Literature from Providence College and an MA in
Linguistics from Ateneo de Manila University. He has taught a number of critical thinking and
writing modules at NUS’s Centre for English Language Communication and the University
Scholars Programme over the past 30 years. His interests include colonial and national
education, language policy, the uses of news and propaganda to shape communities as well
as the development of writing and critical thinking pedagogy.
Anuradha Ramanujan has a Ph.D in English from the University of Florida and an M.A. and
M.Phil from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Focusing on contemporary literature and
culture, her dissertation examines how marginalized collectivities constituted by struggle
around questions of caste, religion and sexuality, in India, challenge and reconfigure
dominant discourses of secularism, multiculturalism and citizenship. She has taught a range
of courses in British and South Asian literatures, comparative world literature, postcolonial
studies and composition in India and the US. Her research interests include subcontinental
literatures, postcolonial feminist theories, theories of secularism, nationalism and citizenship
and issues of environmental ethics and sustainability.
Jasmine Nadua Trice earned her PhD in the Department of Communication and Culture at
Indiana University – Bloomington. Her dissertation examines the circulation of alternative
cinemas in Metro-Manila, Philippines. She has taught courses in critical reading and writing,
film and media studies, rhetoric, and ethnography. Her scholarly interests include national
and transnational cinemas, globalization, public culture, and cultural studies. Her research
has been funded by fellowships from the American Association of University Women and the
Asian Cultural Council.