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7-20-2015
GE Capstone Writing Intensive Course Creation Guide
For faculty seeking GE Capstone Writing Intensive guidelines, suggestions, and
examples to guide them with their WI proposal, this Course Creation Guide will assist
them with this process. Feel free to contact the Director with any questions or to meet
with him to review your proposal before you submit it.
Background on WI Policy
The CSULB General Education Policy states the following five points,
 3.4. At least nine (9) units of the General Education program must be approved
upper-division Capstone courses taken after the student achieves upperdivision standing (completion of sixty [60] semester units) and normally must
be completed at California State University, Long Beach (see special
requirements). All students must fulfill one (1) of their three (3) upper division
GE Capstone requirements by taking a three-unit Writing Intensive Capstone
(i.e., one course).

3.7. Capstone
3.7.1. The final nine (9) General Education units form the Capstone. All students,
including transfer students who have completed a certified lower-division
General Education program, must complete nine (9) units of Capstone courses.
All students must fulfill one (1) of their three (3) upper division GE Capstone
requirements by taking a three-unit Writing Intensive Capstone (i.e., one
course).

7.10.8. Writing Intensive Capstone
7.10.8.1. All students must fulfill three (3) of their nine (9) upper-division GE
Capstone unit requirements by taking a three-unit Writing Intensive Capstone
(i.e., one course). No Writing Intensive Capstone course shall have more than
thirty-five (35) enrolled students.

7.10.8.2. Instructors in all writing intensive courses will integrate into the
course a substantial writing component that meets student learning writing
outcomes as established by the GEGC. This is usually interpreted to mean at
least a total of 5,000 words in the various assignments. The writing component
is integrated throughout the courses or may be a cumulative report or project
that incorporates regular opportunities for revision, ongoing evaluation, and
feedback throughout the semester. The writing assignments may be in
whatever form the instructor deems appropriate to the subject matter and
methodology of the course, but the assignments must be a substantial factor in
evaluating student performance. This is interpreted to mean at least a total of
two-thirds of the final grade is based on the student’s writing.
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
7.10.8.3. Faculty who teach these courses should refer students with serious
writing difficulties to seek writing instruction, tutoring, or other appropriate
assistance to improve their writing skills as early as possible. For this reason,
there must be early (usually week three [3] of the term) feedback on student
writing and further feedback throughout the term, including opportunity for
revision where appropriate to the assignment.
(http://web.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/grad_undergrad/senate/policy/academic/alp
habetical/GeneralEducationPolicy.html)
A few years ago a checklist for WI requirements was created to assist faculty in
creating WI classes. The information on the checklist was straightforward and did not
include details, explanations, or examples to help faculty understand how they could
create a WI Capstone.
To better assist faculty with their WI class proposals, we have teased out the
original checklist and included examples for most of the requirements. As a teacher,
you may never have had a writing class, that is, a class that focused on how to write as
opposed to a class that has a lot of writing, or you may never have taught writing in
your discipline (as opposed to assigning a lot of writing). This GE Capstone Writing
Intensive Course Creation Guide will help you better understand what you need to do
and why. Moreover, the Writing Across the Curriculum Program maintains an active
website with abundant materials to assist you in integrating writing into your classes,
and regularly offers an array of workshops and fellowships throughout the year (noted
on the WAC homepage). The WAC Director also is available for one-on-one mentorship.
Eleven Standard Course Outcomes and WI Component Requirements with Examples
Standard 1: SCO showing well thought out writing outcomes (SCO SECTION IV):
 Example 1
Written Communication
Measurable Benchmarks – Upon successful completion of the course, students
should be able to demonstrate advanced writing processes as evidenced by the
abilities to: 1) develop ideas; 2) draft original assignments using the
conventions of standard written English; 3) revise written assignments to
conform to scholarly conventions of the social and behavioral sciences; 4)
synthesize source materials and original contributions as appropriate to
support arguments; 5) cite the works of others in accordance with the
conventions of the American Psychological Association.

Example 2
Capstone: Writing Intensive
Course Goals:
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To provide students with a writing intensive experience, affording them the
opportunity to write at least 5,000 words throughout the semester, to receive
instructor feedback on drafts, and to participate in peer-review writing
workshops by receiving and giving feedback on drafts. Two thirds of the final
course grade will be based on student writing. The course will address all of the
writing learning outcomes identified by the Academic Writing Assessment Task
Force and especially will concentrate (1) on the students’ ability to express and
synthesize their own and others’ ideas; (2) on the students’ ability to
demonstrate comprehension of literary and cultural texts through the drafting
of accurate summaries, reasoned analyses, and persuasive responses; and (3)
on the students’ ability to evaluate and incorporate source materials as
appropriate for each assignment. During the first three weeks of the course,
students will receive instructor feedback on their writing. This feedback will
continue throughout the term, and there will be opportunities to revise written
assignments where appropriate.
Standard 2: Consistency of SCO Standards Across Sections (Section XIV)
 Example 1
Writing Skills Outcomes – By the end of the semester, successful students will
be able to demonstrate advanced writing processes as evidenced by the abilities
to: 1. develop ideas; 2. draft original writing assignments using the conventions
of standard written English; 3. revise written assignments to conform to
scholarly conventions of the social and behavioral sciences; 4. synthesize source
materials and original contributions as appropriate to support arguments; and
5. cite the works of others in accordance with the conventions of the American
Psychological Association.

Example 2
Instructional Activities – Specific assignments will vary by instructor, but
typical assignments include:
1) in-class introduction to writing assignments; 2) in-class practice of
prewriting and drafting; 3) in-class exploratory writing; 4) in-class and takehome revision in response to instructor feedback on drafts and revisions; 5) inclass and take-home grammar exercises; 6) in-class and take-home editing
exercises; 7) lecture and discussion; 8) in-class and take-home peer review
activates; and 9) library exercises to hone research techniques; 10) Evaluation
Strategies – Specific evaluation strategies will vary by instructor, but typical
strategies include: A) completion of prewriting and drafting assignments
assessed on standardized rubrics for evaluating content, organization,
reasoning, rhetoric, and writing conventions; B) revision assignments assessed
on standardized rubrics for evaluating content, organization, reasoning,
rhetoric, and writing conventions; and C) participation in peer review and peerediting.

Example 3
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The exact set of course assignments will vary depending on the instructor.
A. Consistent with University policy, however, no single evaluation of student
achievement may count for more than one-third of the student’s final grade.
B. Consistent with departmental policy and the written communication GE
designation of this course, at least 12 pages of original writing shall be assigned.
C. Assignments may include variations or combinations of assignments from the
following examples:
Model 1:
Weekly Essay Quizzes (5 at 3% each) 15%
Three Exams (3 at 10% each) 30%
Two Research Papers (at 15% each) 30%
Case Study Assignment 10%
Homework (editing, peer-review assignments, and/or chapter questions)
10%
Attendance and Participation 05%
Model 2:
Four Essay Quizzes (5 at 5% each) 25%
Two Research Papers (at 10% each) 30%
Case Study Assignment 10%
Homework (editing, peer-review assignments, and/or chapter questions)
10%
Attendance and Participation 05%
Final Exam (at least half of points based on essays) 20%
Model 3:
Two Exams (2 at 15% each) 30%
Three (3) Reaction Papers/Essays (at 10% each) 30%
Rough Draft Workshops 15%
Research Paper 20%
Attendance, Participation, and Presentation 05%
The grading breakdown should include the percent (or points) that you deem
appropriate for each task. The actual description of assignments that you share with
the GEGC in your proposal should be congruent with the assignments you list for
grades. Last, the assignments should be briefly listed on the week-to-week schedule,
e.g.,
 Tuesday, February 12: Rough Draft Workshop for Essay 1
The examples above illustrate on this part of the SCO that the proposers thought
through the pedagogies for the writing components for the courses, and that these
elements would serve as guides for future instructors teaching the course. By including
a brief week-to-week schedule proposers also show they understand the time needed
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to integrate writing into their courses.
Standard 3: Clear Writing Assignments
Good writing assignments always start with a clear goal that we can express,
usually on the syllabus, so students understand the goal as well. Then, the assignment
is listed (does not need to be detailed) and paced on the day-to-day syllabus. Drawing
from a study of assignments here’s our reasoning for asking for clear assignments:
• “… based on (i) identified features of writing quality in writing plans, (ii)
evaluative terms commonly used as criteria to measure writing performance in
both large-scale and classroom assessments, and (iii) theory and research in
writing, was developed and used to assess a sample of 1,797 writing plans.
• Correlation and regression analyses were used to determine relationships
between quality of writing plans and writing scores.
• Evidence of features of writing quality in writing plans was associated with
higher writing scores.”
(From: C. Chai. “Writing plan quality: Relevance to writing scores.” Assessing Writing
11 (2006) 198–223)
The CSULB General Education Policy states that your SCO and syllabus should
show “regular opportunities for revision, ongoing evaluation, and feedback throughout
the semester.” This point has been the most difficult to understand and apply because
it’s packed with disciplinary understandings of what the activities mean and how they
can be practiced in the classroom. While flexible, they still have some basic elements
that need to be present in your proposal.
So what does it mean? “Revision, ongoing evaluation, and feedback” are parts of
what is commonly called process writing (or plural, writing processes). The pedagogy,
drawing from empirical research, theory, history, and pedagogy, stresses that we teach
students to go through certain stages (not always linear) in producing a piece of
writing in the same fashion as experienced, professional writers (like us), as opposed
to what our students (inexperienced writers) do now.
In our teaching we stress writing as a process by oftentimes breaking
assignments into scaled stages or steps for our students; this allows our students to
talk and think about the writing choices they make as they develop and rewrite their
ideas. A typical writing process might begin a project in class showing how the course
readings and discussions are helping students understand the course’s ideas, while
also getting them ready to enter into the discipline’s conversations in the form of an
essay. At this point we might begin activities like brainstorming, listing, diagramming,
freewriting, or use of a journal (if we require a journal to explore understandings of
class readings). If we require outside research we might include a visit to the library
and an annotated bibliography; here our students are learning research skills, reading
appropriate sources, summarizing the ideas in their own words, and documenting in
discipline appropriate format, e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago. We could then develop an
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assignment requiring a few paragraphs, making claims about the readings that would
serve to springboard students to writing a rough draft. The next stage in our process
could be a peer-reviewed rough draft workshop with questions we’ve developed for
our students to read and evaluate each other’s essays. Here it is important for you to
create workshop questions that require students to critically read and write responses
to each other’s essays/projects; since our goal is revision we should not worry about
mechanical issues at this stage. Once students finish the rough draft workshop they can
revise according to the suggestions they receive. When we receive the essays we can
comment on them and allow students to revise their projects once again based on our
feedback. As you can see, writing intensive means we ask students to write a lot but we
work with them to learn how to become better writers in our disciplines. The take
away, which research confirms, is that quality-writing assignments foster better
writers, not more writing.
Here are some examples showing writing process from faculty syllabi:

Example 1
Reaction Papers1
A reaction paper is an analysis and an evaluation of the material
presented. If you have been asked to write a reaction paper covering a large
amount of reading, such as a book chapter, you may choose to (a) select isolated
concepts from the reading and craft a reaction paper that concentrates on those
concepts alone, or (b) broadly address the material touching on general
concepts that permeate throughout the reading. Reaction papers are popular
with faculty and students since it is easier to write about something that sparks
your interests in the material assigned, rather than to be asked to write an
essay on a topic in which you have little interest.
Your reaction paper can be written in many ways, depending on the
topic. For example, you may concentrate on the reading’s concepts, theories, or
philosophical ideas, or you may write about placing concepts from the reading
within the context of current social issues or practices.
How to Write a Reaction Paper. As a starting point for your reaction paper,
summarize the material in two to three paragraphs. What was the author trying
to say? What were the main points? What important concepts or ideas were
presented? Endeavor to summarize the material in its broadest terms. Next,
select two or three major points from the following list and write a paragraph
for each point.
React to the ideas presented. Are they clear and suitable? Explain the ideas,
give examples of their application in the material presented, and
compare/contrast the ideas with your own.
1 Adapted from “Writing a Reaction Paper,” University of Hawaii Writing Center
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Discuss specific insights or facts you have learned or gained from reading
the material presented. Discuss each insight or fact you have learned in a
detailed paragraph, using direct examples from the material presented. Include
a page reference to the material to which you are reacting.
Make a judgment about the material presented and support it. Did you like
it? Why/why not? Elaborate on your answer by commenting on the content,
style, clarity, and validity of ideas and method of presentation.
Analyze the material presented. What is its purpose? How does it go about
achieving its goal? What is the plan/method of presentation?
Tell what others might gain from the material presented. Is it valuable? Is it
informative, entertaining, or accurate? Do you think your instructor should use
it again? Why/why not?
In your conclusion, summarize your ideas and tie them together.

Example 2
Reflection Journals.
Sample prompts for reflection journals which will be formative assessment of
service learning component. Assignments correspond roughly to course outline
(sec. V) and possible readings.
First day:
Describe where your service occurs. Is it outside or inside? What are the
predominant sights, sounds, smells of the place? What wildlife is there? How do
others appear to perceive the place? How does the place itself condition the life
(human or nonhuman) that occurs in it? Try to use some of the same
descriptive techniques that we saw in the texts we’ve read so far.
Second day:
Describe the service that your community partner is engaged in. What are the
goals of the partner? Does the group want to solve a problem? What is it? How
will the group go about solving the problem? What is your role in that? Can you
define the problem or the goals of the community partner using concepts that
we’ve seen in the reading?

Example 3
Research project and presentation based on service learning
Research assignment: draw one main idea from the texts we’ve read (e.g., the
Land Ethic, biophilia, biocentrism, environmental racism, stewardship,
restoration, relinquishment, ecological wisdom, etc.) and connect it to the issue
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or problem that your community partner was concerned with. Use analysis and
research to explain the concept and how it connects environmental literature to
community issues.
Your research may be presented in a variety of formats: a research
paper, website, teaching unit, video documentary, and so on. If you choose any
format other than the research paper, you will have to write an essay (about 5
pages) explaining why you chose the format you did, how you integrated the
research, and what the main point of the project is. All research, regardless of
format, must be documented with a standard method of documentation (MLA,
APA, etc.).
Students will present individually or in a small group depending on the
service they performed. Presentations will cover these topics at the very least:
 Describe the mission and function of the community partner, what
environmental issues it is concerned with.
 Describe your service with the community partner. What did you do,
what were your responsibilities, how did you service contribute to the
goals of the organization?
 Reflect on the service learning experience. What was difficult about it?
What was most rewarding? What was most effective about the service?
How would you improve it?
 Connect the issues that the community partner is concerned about with
the course texts. What ethical stances do you use to engage in the
service? What concepts from the readings helped you draw meaning
from the service experience? Did you find one author in particular a
good model for the service you performed?
 What will your final research project be and how will relate to the
service learning experience? What have you discovered in your research
that extends or changes the knowledge you gained from the service
experience?
Standard 4: Examples of Week-by-Week Schedules
Your Week-by-Week schedules do not need to be extensively detailed. You do need
to show where you are incorporating your writing activities, how you are pacing them,
and devoting time to teaching writing in your discipline. While the first example below
shows a week-by-week breakdown, the second clumps the class by subjects and
activities. Both are effective.
 Example 1
Week # Date Event
Week #1 8/ 27
Topic
To-Do List
Introduction to the ClassPurchase the text; review course
requirements and course schedule
8/ 29 Chapter 1 Buying, Having and BeingReaction Papers discussed
Week #2 9/3 Chapter 2 Perception
Reaction Paper/article #1 Due to
BeachBoard
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9/ 5 Chapter 2
con’t
Chapter 3
Week #3 9/10 Chapter 3
con’t
9/12 Library
Session
Week #4 9/17 Chapter 4
Perception
Learning and Memory
In-class rough draft workshop;
bring a printout of your work to
class.
Learning and Memory
Meet in Library – Spidel
Room
Motivation and Global
Values
Bring Laptop to class;
Homework #1 Due to BeachBoard
Rewrite reaction paper / article #1
and submit
to BeachBoard; Study for Exam #1
9/19 Exam #1
 Example 2
(Weeks 1-5) Introduction to English Studies, major issues in criticism, relevant critical
terminology. Students write self-reflexive essay on skills in English Studies and do
short assignments so faculty can assess writing and analytic skills as well as provide
feedback on student writing in the first three weeks. Discussion of primary texts to be
worked on over the course of the semester and genre issues. Library visit and
introduction to research methods. Library assignment; MLA style assignments; short
papers analyzing primary texts. Discussion of use of literary and non-literary evidence
in constructing an argument and use of historical and cultural contexts in writing on a
primary text. Students write abstracts for longer paper.
…
(Weeks 13-15) Completing of final papers and assembling of portfolios, which include
drafts of the final paper and all shorter assignments. Students discuss and write a selfreflexive essay on their progress over the course of the semester. Students show in
discussion how they will apply their acquired knowledge of critical movements and
research methods to texts read in other classes. Final exam on criticism, MLA style, and
relevant terminology.
Standard 5: WI classes have a class cap of 35.
 Most departments, at the chair’s discretion, lower this to 20-25 to reflect the
additional workload required to teach a WI class.
Standard 6: 2/3 of students’ final grades should be based on student writing.
 Your grading breakdown (percent or points) should clearly show this.
Standard 7: Students must produce 5,000 words (12 double-spaced pages).
 This reflects total page counts, including drafts, revisions, responses,
summaries, journals, annotated bibliographies, etc.

Example 1
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Consistent with departmental policy and the written communication GE
designation of this course, at least 12 pages of original writing shall be assigned.
Appropriate assignments may include (the proposer then lists three options).
Standard 8: You must give students feedback on their writing within the first 3
weeks, and throughout the semester. Note this on the weekly syllabus, e.g., “essays
returned with instructor comments.”
 Example 1
Moreover, the class should be designated as a Writing-Intensive one because:
(a) students research and write more than 5,000 words over the course of a
minimum of three assignments; (b) weekly writing instruction team-taught by
criminologists and writing instructors incorporates regular opportunities for
revision, ongoing evaluation, and feedback throughout the semester; (c)
students receive their first instructor feedback on a written assignment within
the first 2-3 weeks of class; (d) writing (both in terms of papers and essayexams) account for more than two-thirds of final grade in the course; and (e)
the course is always capped at less than 30 students.

Example 2
Students will begin to receive feedback on their writing by week three of the
course.
Standard 9: GE Capstone Writing Intensive SCO must include this statement:
“Students must have scored 11 or higher on the GWAR Placement Examination
or successfully completed the necessary portfolio course that is a prerequisite
for a GWAR Writing Intensive Capstone.”
Standard 10: The bibliography included in the Standard Course Outline should
include a composition text or other materials that would be helpful to prospective
instructors and students.
 This isn’t a mandate, but use of a writing text could be useful if you integrate at
least some of it into your class plans. A text or texts could also be useful for
faculty who teach this class in the future. Visit the WAC web for a list of texts;
you may find one specific to your discipline.
Standard 11: If your class has a research component make sure you expose students
to the appropriate research tools (and show this on your syllabus, e.g., a visit to the
Library for a reference training session on the best search engines in your field).
Contact Tiffini Travis to schedule a workshop (Tiffini.Travis@csulb.edu).
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