Resources for Students
Resources for Students
Resources for Students
Resources for Students
Core Courses
WCS 150: Rhetoric and Composition
Students in this course will learn to write clear, persuasive, and logical arguments. Through a series of assignments that build upon each other, students will produce two major papers. While engaging thoughtfully and critically with a variety of sources, they will learn to summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize information. They will also learn to analyze a variety of rhetorical strategies. The course emphasizes writing as a process and taking a rhetorical approach to communication. It provides students with foundational reading, writing, research, critical-thinking, and oral-communication skills. This course satisfies the Core Curriculum Year 1 Writing & Communication requirement.
-
If taken as an elective, this counts as a Humanities course.
-
NOTE: A final grade of C- or higher is necessary to progress to a 200-level core writing or communications course.
-
This course is offered in Fall and Spring semesters. A limited number of sections may be open in the Summer term.
-
To see a sample syllabus for this course, click here
-
For a list of themes offered by WCS 150 Instructors, click here
WCS 200: Introduction to Public Speaking
This course focuses on extemporaneous speaking. Students will develop research, rhetorical, and organizational skills to facilitate the delivery of information to specific audiences. They will learn to support their delivery with advanced preparation, practice, and the use of outlines. The course is designed for students majoring in any subject. This course satisfies the Core Curriculum Year 2 Writing & Communication requirement.
-
If taken as an elective, this counts as a Humanities course.
-
Prerequisite: WCS 150 (C- or higher)
-
This course is offered in Fall and Spring semesters.​
-
To see a sample syllabus for this course, click here
WCS 210: Technical and Professional Writing
This course presents students with practical information about communicating in different professional and technical discourse communities. Building on the principles and practices introduced in WCS 150, this course highlights key characteristics of technical writing and emphasizes the importance of planning, drafting, and revising texts. Students will analyze and produce writing in common professional and technical genres while considering the rhetorical, ethical, and technical aspects of developing and producing texts. The course is designed for students majoring in STEM and the social sciences who are interested in becoming skilled writers of IMRAD (research) reports and professional documents like CVs, cover letters, and memos. The course satisfies the Core Curriculum Year 2 Writing & Communication requirement.
-
If taken as an elective, this counts as a Humanities or a Social Sciences course.
-
Prerequisite: WCS 150 (C- or higher)
-
This course is offered in Fall and Spring Semesters.
-
To see a sample syllabus for this course, click here
WCS 220: Science Writing
Students in this course will become more effective writers of scientific texts. Building on the principles introduced in WCS 150, the course highlights key characteristics of science writing and emphasizes the importance of organizing texts around research outcomes and communicating difficult discipline and statistical concepts clearly and effectively for both scientific and general audiences. Students will analyze and produce texts in common scientific writing genres while considering the rhetorical, ethical, and technical aspects of developing and producing texts. Topics include effective writing principles, writing process and anxiety-reduction methods, ethics in science writing, and writing for general audiences. This course satisfies the Core Curriculum Year 2 Writing & Communication requirement.
-
If taken as an elective, this counts as a Humanities or a Social Sciences course.
-
Prerequisite: WCS 150 (C- or higher)
-
This course is offered in Fall and Spring Semesters.
-
To see a sample syllabus for this course, click here
WCS 230: Say What You Mean: Clarity, Precision, and Style in Academic Writing
Students in this course will learn to make grammatical and stylistic choices that let them express their ideas accurately while accounting for their readers’ expectations. To do this, they will explore strategies for identifying effective subjects and verbs, shaping them into well-balanced sentences, writing clear and coherent paragraphs, and omitting needless words. They will read texts in a variety of genres, both academic and popular, to learn how these strategies are used by experienced writers. Because sentences and paragraphs do not exist in a vacuum, students will practice these strategies in the context of short essays and other projects that provide opportunities to improve their rhetorical skills. This course is designed for students majoring in any subject who want to become better writers and editors. This course satisfies the Core Curriculum Year 2 Writing & Communication requirement.
-
If taken as an elective, this counts as a Humanities course.
-
Prerequisite: WCS 150 (C- or higher)
-
This course is offered in Fall and Spring Semesters.
-
To see a sample syllabus for this course, click here
WCS 240: Writing for Digital Media
Students in this course will learn how to build and break down arguments and information in a variety of modalities, including text, image, audiovisual, and web. The course applies rhetorical analysis to design, expanding students’ communication abilities beyond text and speaking. Students will develop composition skills across media through individual and group projects. They will utilize design skills to produce quality content. The course is designed for students majoring in any subject who want to present their ideas and their research effectively to different audiences in multimodal environments. Coding and/or advanced proficiency with creation/editing software are not required. The course satisfies the Core Curriculum Year 2 Writing & Communication requirement.
-
If taken as an elective, this counts as a Humanities course.
-
Prerequisite: WCS 150 (C- or higher)
-
This course is offered in Fall and Spring semesters.
-
To see a sample syllabus for this course, click here
WCS 250: Advanced Composition
This course builds on the argumentative writing skills and rhetorical knowledge acquired in WCS 150. Students will be introduced to the norms and conventions of writing in the human and social sciences by learning about well-established research-process genres like the research article and practicing others (e.g., the literature review). They will expand their repertoire of reading strategies, as well as their analytical and synthetic writing skills, through scaffolded and portfolio assignments that foreground revision and self-reflective practice. The course underscores the responsive and responsible character of academic writing. This course satisfies the Core Curriculum Year 2 Writing & Communication requirement.
-
If taken as an elective, this counts as a Humanities or a Social Sciences course.
-
Prerequisite: WCS 150 (C- or higher)
-
This course is offered in Fall and Spring Semesters.
-
To see a sample syllabus for this course, click here
WCS 260: Creative Writing: Introduction to Fiction Writing
In this workshop-oriented seminar, students will work together to read and critique published fiction as well as exercises and short stories that they will write. Students will read a significant amount of canonical and contemporary fiction in order to learn the basic elements of their craft. Students will also write exercises to deepen their understanding of these elements and to develop their creative interests. Each student will finish the semester with a collection of exercises as well as two fully edited and polished short stories that have been discussed in class. This course satisfies the Core Curriculum Year 2 Writing & Communication requirement.
-
If taken as an elective, this counts as a Humanities course.
-
Prerequisite: WCS 150 (C- or higher)
-
This course is offered in Fall and Spring semesters.
-
To see a sample syllabus for this course, click here
​
​
​