COMMUNICATION AND REASONING COMPETENCIES

WRITTEN DISCOURSE:  Students must satisfactorily complete with grades of C or higher or S a lower division Writing Intensive course, which is expected to be completed within the freshman or sophomore year, and a Writing Intensive course at or above the 300 level, normally completed within the student�s major. These courses use writing as an important tool in the discipline studied and are not designed primarily to teach the technical aspects of writing. The emphasis is on using writing as a means of sharpening critical thinking in and understanding of the subject.

Approved courses must meet each of the following four criteria:

A Substantial Body of Finished Work:  This is generally expected to be a total of 20+ double-spaced pages in at least two, preferably more, submissions. It may be in a variety of forms-journal, reports, essays, research papers, etc.-not all of which need to be graded.

Opportunity for Students to Receive Assistance in Progress:  Such assistance may take several forms, from visits to the Writing Center (HU-140) to conferences with the instructor.

Opportunity to Revise Some Pieces:  Such assistance may take several forms, from visits to the Writing Center (HU-140) to conferences with the instructor.

Opportunity to Revise Some Pieces:  As revision is an essential characteristic of good writing, students should be able to revise some portion of their work.

Response to Student Writing:  Such response may take several forms-from extended comments from the instructor to peer evaluation in student groups. It is expected, however, that the instructor will respond in detail to some extended work of the student.

Note:  Transfer students who enter the University with credit for an �English Composition� course or a two-semester combined literature and writing course will be considered to have completed the lower-level writing intensive requirement at this University.

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