Role of Writing in WRIT 1301
The Role of Writing in 1301--
Through frequent practice and study of writing, WRIT 1301 introduces you to typical university writing practices, including an emphasis on developing well-researched, properly cited papers. Really, everything we do in WRIT 1301 is designed to improve your writing, and for this reason it fulfills the first-year composition requirement.
Activities include but are not limited to: introduction to academic genres of reading and writing; critical reading and analysis of writing for rhetorical principles of audience, purpose, and argumentative strategies; emphasis on performing research with electronic and print library; and sequenced readings and writing, with a researched paper as a major assignment. Though the research paper will necessarily be completed near the end of the course, you should not think of it as the main (or only) goal of the course; instead, it is one more way of engaging your mind in the critical thinking process.
You will practice using writing to develop, refine, and communicate ideas in academic contexts, but not merely ones in which research is required. Moreover, you should expect to write formally and informally, produce drafts, read and respond to each other’s drafts, and revise, edit, and proofread. You will also share your writing with others in the class, receive their feedback, and read and respond carefully to their work. I have found in my own writing that having more than one perspective is tantamount to developing and articulating a position.
So, the class is structured around writing activities, discussion of reading and writing, and group work of various kinds. And, your active participation in both group and individual work is an important component in making this class worthwhile.