WR - Writing

WR090 Writing Skills: Paragraph to Essay

Credits 4Summer/Fall/Winter/Spring

Registration Requirement: Placement in WR090 is based on the college writing placement test (CPT) scores or instructor referral. Concurrent enrollment in RD090 is encouraged.

This course provides instruction on producing clear, mechanically correct sentences of maturing quality while providing students with both an introduction to and practice with the expository essay. Summarization skills are further developed and practiced in an effort to build upon and sharpen students' analytical reading and thinking abilities in preparation for college-level writing. The course emphasizes and provides tools necessary for clear, correct writing aimed at a defined audience. Students will produce three formal essays of 600- 700 words each for a total of 1800 - 2100 words of revised, final draft copy over the term.

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Write a one-paragraph formal summary of a short expository essay.
  2. Produce multi-draft, process-oriented writing through the use of pre-writing, revision, and editing to address such elements as thesis, organization, development, and clarity.
  3. Write simple, standard expository essays that are developed primarily through the use of personal examples and, to a lesser extent, ideas from assigned readings.
  4. Use coordination, subordination, adjective clauses, and transition words to improve the logical relationships between sentences, reduce choppiness, and/or add more details.
  5. Identify and correct common proofreading errors.
  6. Demonstrate how to correctly format a paper following MLA guidelines.
  7. Demonstrate an awareness and/or the use of campus resources, especially those that are pertinent to writing.

WR091 Integrated Reading and Writing

Credits 6Summer/Fall/Winter/Spring

Registration Requirement: Placement is based on reading and writing college placement test (CPT) exam scores; or instructor referral.

This course provides beginning instruction in reading and expository writing in order to prepare students for college-level work. Skills and strategies related to vocabulary, reading comprehension, composition, critical thinking and information literacy are introduced and practiced through varied and numerous reading and writing assignments. Much attention is given to understanding the relationships between reading and writing so as to strengthen students' confidence and abilities to more successfully comprehend and produce expository writing. This course is equivalent to RD090 and WR090.

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Use a variety of strategies to determine unfamiliar word meaning at an intermediate level.
  2. Identify transition words at an intermediate mastery level;
  3. Differentiate between main ideas and author’s supporting details at an intermediate mastery level;
  4. Identify organizational patterns within a text and create a visual representation of the main idea and supporting details using skills such as creating an outline or map at an intermediate mastery level;
  5. Demonstrate metacognition in both reading and writing at a beginning mastery level by choosing and utilizing specific strategies at appropriate times;
  6. Use a variety of reading strategies, such as previewing, annotations, prediction, visualization, recalling and reacting to text at an intermediate mastery level
  7. Produce multi-draft, process-oriented writing through the use of pre-writing, revision, and editing to address such elements as thesis, organization, development, and clarity;
  8. Write a one-paragraph formal summary of a short expository essay;
  9. Write simple, standard expository essays that are developed primarily through the use of personal examples and, to a lesser extent, ideas from assigned readings;
  10. Use coordination, subordination, adjective clauses, and transition words to improve the logical relationships between sentences, reduce choppiness, and/or add more details;
  11. Identify and correct common proofreading errors;
  12. Demonstrate how to correctly format a paper following MLA guidelines;
  13. Distinguish fact from opinion in both reading and writing at a beginning level;
  14. Identify an author’s purpose and audience in a text at an intermediate level
  15. Demonstrate an awareness and/or the use of campus resources, especially those that are pertinent to writing and reading.

WR101 Workplace Communications I (Course offered online)

Credits 3Summer/Fall/Winter/Spring

Registration Requirement: RD090 and WR090; or IECC201R and IECC201W; each with a grade of "C" or better; or placement above stated course levels.

Designed for students in professional/technical programs, WR101 helps students improve their ability to communicate effectively by developing skills in preparing and presenting documents such as resumes, letters, memos, short reports and instructions.

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Demonstrate appropriate use of technology for workplace communication
  2. Demonstrate conventions of Edited American English adequate for daily workplace writing in a variety of fields
  3. Demonstrate how to organize, format and label content to meet a variety of audience expectation
  4. Demonstrate how to respond to the needs, abilities and expectations of a variety of workplace audiences
  5. Demonstrate the communication process and its various forms, including the most appropriate for a specific situation
  6. Demonstrate the intended purpose and potential results of workplace document
  7. Demonstrate tome, style and word choice appropriate to specific audiences

WR115 Introduction to College Writing (Course offered online)

Credits 4Summer/Fall/Winter/Spring

Registration Requirement: RD090 and WR090; or IECC201R and IECC201W; each with a grade of "C" or better, or placement above stated course levels; or instructor consent.

This course introduces students to college-level reading, thinking, and writing. Students will be introduced to rhetorical concepts and will collaborate to produce writing for a variety of purposes and audiences while considering appropriate modalities to achieve or enhance a final written draft. Reading, writing, and critical thinking activities will focus on inquiry and the development of metacognition throughout all stages of the writing process. This class also introduces students to information literacy and to integrating source material and practicing MLA citation. Students will produce three formal essays of 700 to 800 words each for a total of 2000 to 2500 words of revised, final draft copy over the term.

View Course Outcomes:

  1. RHETORICAL AWARENESS: A. Develop and practice rhetorical awareness & competence
  2. RHETORICAL AWARENESS: B. Recognize key rhetorical concepts; begin to apply these concepts through analysis of texts
  3. CRITICAL THINKING PROCESSES, READING, AND WRITING: A. Develop and demonstrate critical reading strategies of college-level texts; practice critical reading as a component of the writing process
  4. CRITICAL THINKING PROCESSES, READING, AND WRITING: B. Practice the evaluation of sources provided; recognize the conversational nature of academic conversations and of research
  5. WRITING PROCESS: A. Identify and practice stages of the writing process
  6. WRITING PROCESS: B. Recognize that composing processes and tools are a means to discover and reconsider ideas
  7. WRITING PROCESS: C. Experience collaborative aspects of writing processes through giving and receiving feedback
  8. KNOWLEDGE OF CONVENTIONS: A. Recognize and practice the conventions of Standard Edited English
  9. KNOWLEDGE OF CONVENTIONS: B. Understand the effects of genre on text structure, paragraphing, sentence structure, and word choice
  10. KNOWLEDGE OF CONVENTIONS: C. Practice citation conventions
  11. METACOGNITION AND TRANSFER: A. Recognize that composing practices enact and impact thinking\\n
  12. METACOGNITION AND TRANSFER: B. Investigate how to transfer and apply writing knowledge to new contexts

WR121Z Composition I (Course offered online)

Credits 4Summer/Fall/Winter/Spring

Registration Requirement: RD090 or IECC201R; and WR115, each with a grade of "C" or better; or placement above stated course levels.

WR121Z engages students in the study and practice of critical thinking, reading, and writing. The course focuses on analyzing and composing across varied rhetorical situations and in multiple genres. Students will apply key rhetorical concepts flexibly and collaboratively throughout their writing and inquiry processes.

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Apply rhetorical concepts through analyzing and composing a variety of texts.
  2. Engage texts critically, ethically, and strategically to support writing goals.
  3. Develop flexible composing, revising, and editing strategies for a variety of purposes, audiences, writing situations, and genres.
  4. Reflect on knowledge and skills developed in this course and their potential applications in other writing contexts.

WR122Z Composition II (Course offered online)

Credits 4Summer/Fall/Winter/Spring

Registration Requirement: RD090 or IECC201R; and WR121 or WR121Z; each with a grade of "C" or better; or placement above stated course levels.

WR122Z builds on concepts and processes emphasized in WR121Z, engaging with inquiry, research, and argumentation in support of students' development as writers. The course focuses on composing and revising in research-based genres through the intentional use of rhetorical strategies. Students will find, evaluate, and interpret complex material, including lived experience; use this to frame and pursue their own research questions; and integrate material purposefully into their own compositions.

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Apply rhetorical concepts to achieve writing goals within a given discourse community.\\n
  2. Locate, critically evaluate, synthesize, and integrate multiple perspectives from a variety of sources.
  3. Engage in research and writing as recursive and inquiry-based processes, participating in the communal and conversational nature of academic discourses.\\n
  4. Reflect on knowledge and skills developed in this and other courses and potential transfer to future contexts.
  5. Develop strategies for generating, drafting, revising, and editing texts based on feedback and reflection.

WR198A Writing: Independent Study

Credit 1Fall/Winter/Spring

Registration Requirement: Instructor and dean permission are required.

This course is designed for students who wish to develop individual projects in creative and expository writing, critical analysis or special research. These projects may not duplicate work in scheduled courses. Enrollment requires a written project proposal that must be approved by the instructor before registration. Maximum of three credits for WR198. Contact division for availability.

View Course Outcomes:

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  2. -Demonstrate the ability to use Edited Standard Written English to address an academic audience-Use a writer's handbook and/or other resources for style, grammar, and citation
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  7. -Practice active reading of college-level texts, including: annotation, cultivation/development of vocabulary, objective summary, identification, and analysis of the thesis and main ideas of source material-Appreciate and reflect on challenging points of view through reading and writing
  8. measure another writer’s viewpoint against personal experience and assumptions and the experience of others
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  11. -Use a database and the Internet to locate information and evidence-Evaluate source materials for authority, currency, reliability, bias, sound reasoning and validity of evidence-Demonstrate an ability to summarize, paraphrase, and quote sources in a manner that distinguishes the writer's voice from that of his/her sources
  12. -Use appropriate technologies in the service of writing and learning. For example: use word processing tools to prepare and edit formal writing assignments (spell check/grammar check, find and replace)
  13. understand the limitations of such tools
  14. locate course materials and resources online
  15. and use online communication tools such as e-mail-Word process and format final drafts with appropriate headings, titles, spacing, margins, demonstrating an understanding of MLA citation style
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WR198B Writing: Independent Study

Credits 2Fall/Winter/Spring

Registration Requirement: Instructor and dean permission are required.

This course is designed for students who wish to develop individual projects in creative and expository writing, critical analysis or special research. These projects may not duplicate work in scheduled courses. Enrollment requires a written project proposal that must be approved by the instructor before registration. Maximum of three credits for WR198. Contact division for availability.

View Course Outcomes:

  1. -Employ strategies of development appropriate for the purpose and audience-Demonstrate the ability to use Edited Standard Written English to address an academic audience-Use a writer's handbook and/or other resources for style, grammar, and citation
  2. -Practice active reading of college-level texts, including: annotation, cultivation/development of vocabulary, objective summary, identification, and analysis of the thesis and main ideas of source material-Appreciate and reflect on challenging points of view through reading and writing
  3. measure another writer’s viewpoint against personal experience and assumptions and the experience of others

WR198C Writing: Independent Study

Credits 3Fall/Winter/Spring

Registration Requirement: Instructor and dean permission are required.

This course is designed for students who wish to develop individual projects in creative and expository writing, critical analysis or special research. These projects may not duplicate work in scheduled courses. Enrollment requires a written project proposal that must be approved by the instructor before registration. Maximum of three credits for WR198. Contact division for availability.

View Course Outcomes:

  1. -Use a writer's handbook and/or other resources for style, grammar, and citation-Practice active reading of college-level texts, including: annotation, cultivation/development of vocabulary, objective summary, identification, and analysis of the thesis and main ideas of source material-Appreciate and reflect on challenging points of view through reading and writing
  2. measure another writer’s viewpoint against personal experience and assumptions and the experience of others

WR227Z Technical Writing (Course offered online)

Credits 4Summer/Fall/Winter/Spring

Registration Requirement: RD090 or IECC201R; and WR121 or WR121Z; each with a grade of "C" or better; or placement above stated course levels.

WR227Z introduces students to producing instructive, informative, and persuasive technical/professional documents aimed at well-defined and achievable outcomes. The course focuses on presenting information using rhetorically appropriate style, design, vocabulary, structure, and visuals. Students can expect to gather, read, and analyze information and to learn a variety of strategies for producing accessible, usable, reader-centered deliverable documents that are clear, concise, and ethical.

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Apply key rhetorical concepts through analyzing, designing, composing, and revising a variety of deliverable documents for technical/professional contexts.
  2. Engage in project-based research, applying appropriate methods of inquiry for clearly defined purposes (e.g., user experience research and client/organization research).
  3. Collaborate with various stakeholders to develop and apply flexible and effective strategies for managing projects.
  4. Develop and adapt document design and composition strategies to meet the demands of diverse clients, organizations, and multicultural audiences.
  5. Examine and respond to individual and professional ethical responsibilities across organizational contexts.

WR240 Creative Writing: Nonfiction

Credits 4Fall/Winter/Spring

Registration Requirement: RD090 or IECC201R, with a grade of "C" or better, or placement above stated course level; and WR121Z or equivalent.

This is a writing elective designed for students of composition who wish to improve personal writing styles and to explore forms of creative writing other than fiction and poetry. Autobiography, biography, memoir, journal, review, letter, interview and journalistic essay are some of the forms discussed in this workshop-oriented class.

This course fulfills: Arts & Letters; Human Relations

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Identify various forms of nonfiction.
  2. Demonstrate nonfiction writing strategies to target a specific audience.
  3. Employ workshop skills to analyze and critique peer writing and use feedback to edit and revise their own writing.
  4. Analyze the purpose of a piece of writing and compose effective analysis of creative nonfiction to illustrate an understanding of craft.
  5. Create oral presentations related to students' creative nonfiction to further develop their written work.
  6. Assess publishing opportunities for creative nonfiction.

WR241 Creative Writing: Fiction I (Course offered online)

Credits 4Summer/Fall/Winter/Spring

Registration Requirement: RD090 or IECC201R, with a grade of "C" or better, or placement above stated course level; and WR121Z; or instructor consent.

This course is a practical study of the proven techniques for creating vivid, successful stories. Students learn basic elements of conflict and plot, how to create openings that grab and complications that build tension and how to move readers with detail and well-drawn characters.

This course fulfills: Arts & Letters; Human Relations

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Analyze the stories of peers and provide written and verbal feedback for revision
  2. Develop the practice of deep revision of short works of fiction
  3. Identify a post-classroom research and action plan including service learning options in the literary arts.
  4. Identify and create characters which are comple,X consistent and believable
  5. Identify and create descriptions which are vivid, which capture and heighten the sense of reality and which show a concern for style and word selection
  6. Identify and create plots which are causal and clearly establish the relationships among character, motivation, conflict and tension
  7. Identify and create stories which are balanced in terms of scene, summary, description and exposition
  8. Identify and create tones and moods established by obvious attention to style, language and detail selection

WR242 Creative Writing: Poetry I (Course offered online)

Credits 4Fall/Winter

Registration Requirement: RD090 or IECC201R, with a grade of "C" or better, or placement above stated course level; and WR121Z; or instructor consent.

Beginning poetry writing is designed for students with little or no previous experience. The course emphasizes basics of poetic language and form. Students practice using these elements by writing their own poetry and discussing it in a workshop atmosphere.

This course fulfills: Arts & Letters; Human Relations

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Accurately use vocabulary specific to poetry writing when critiquing other students' poems as well as discussing his or her own poems. These may include but are not limited to terms such as: metaphor, image, end-stopped vs. enjambed lines, alliteration, rhyme, etc.
  2. Analyze own poems' strengths and weaknesses
  3. Demonstrate an awareness of the interplay between form and content in poetry
  4. Demonstrate awareness of immediate physical environment through written images
  5. Demonstrate understanding of poetic elements while constructively critiquing others’ poems
  6. Identify and analyze strengths and weaknesses in others' poems, including student and published poems
  7. Identify emotions evoked by various poetic techniques, including but not limited to: diction, synta,X line breaks, metaphor, symbol, sound devices and image
  8. Integrate suggestions from peers and the instructor when revising poems
  9. Prepare and submit manuscripts for publication or performance
  10. Read and understand poetry from a variety of established poets

WR244 Creative Writing: Poetry II

Credits 4Spring

Registration Requirement: WR242 or instructor consent.

For further practice in poetry writing, students write a small portfolio of poems, explore the work of a contemporary poet they admire and learn the basics of poetry performance and publication.

This course fulfills: Arts & Letters; Human Relations

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Employ critical thinking and problem-solving techniques to critique others' poems constructively and use criticism of their own poetry and self-reflection to revise their own poems for publication
  2. Employ imagery, metaphor, line breaks, stanzas, alliteration, assonance, rhyme and rhythm, in increasingly complex ways
  3. Engage in a local poetry scene, becoming familiar with poetry websites, poetry awards, live poetry readings, poetry workshops, and publication opportunities, and submit manuscripts for publication or performance
  4. Identify metrical patterns within a poem and write poems employing various forms, such as sonnets, villanelles, sestinas, and syllabics
  5. Read a wide range of established poets from multiple nations and aesthetic traditions to learn techniques demonstrated in their work
  6. Study the poetics of established poets and reflect upon their own values to develop their own personal poetics

WR245 Creative Writing: Fiction II

Credits 4Spring

Registration Requirement: WR241 or instructor consent.

This course explores some of the advanced techniques of professional fiction writers. Students learn how to create strong, believable dialogue, how to refine characters, how to pace a story with scene and summary, how to enhance their language and create styles of their own.

This course fulfills: Arts & Letters; Human Relations

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Add analysis and feedback on peers' work, developing workshop skills and creation of effective criticism
  2. After careful analysis of a main character's backstory, consciousness and driving forces, create a character who arrives at change through conflict
  3. Become aware of contemporary creative work in various forms including digital media
  4. Critique the works of other apprentice and/or professional writers, analyzing their style and use of literary components such as flashback, scenes and summaries, pacing, metaphor and stream-of-consciousness
  5. Experience real world artistic practices: publishing, editing, finding jobs in the field
  6. Identify and practice techniques such as flashback and stream of consciousness, as well as more experimental techniques
  7. Justify the point-of-view or multiple points-of-view you chose to narrate the story
  8. Learn how to enter a field of literary arts crafting query letters and developing a working relationship with the publishing industry
  9. Make choices in setting, metaphorical language, diction, syntax and mood that are effective for your story, chapter or experimental piece
  10. Radically revise and edit a story to illuminate its theme
  11. Write an imaginative prose work such as a short story or chapter that reveals a truth about being alive

WR291A The Literary Publication I

Credit 1Fall

Registration Requirement: RD090 and WR090, or IECC201R and IECC201W, each with a grade of "C" or better, or placement above stated course levels; and instructor consent.

This course is for students interested in magazine publishing and creative writing and the arts. In the fall term, students work on creating online and print advertising to solicit submissions, selecting a team of graphic designers who will create the magazine, organizing into editorial groups based on submission types (from nonfiction to film), and working in class and on a blog to accept or reject submissions. A maximum of 9 hours may be taken under the WR291/292/293 designation (one or two credits per term).

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Carry out independently, according to group instructions, a number of assigned roles throughout the publicationprocess
  2. Evaluate several literary and arts magazines, identifying target audience, personality and style of publication
  3. Participate in group discussion, both in class and online, to evaluate and select submissions in the seven genres (fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, film, music, art, photography
  4. Work with graphic and web design teams to construct the overall concept of the magazine and web presence

WR291B The Literary Publication I

Credits 2Fall

Registration Requirement: RD090 and WR090, or IECC201R and IECC201W, each with a grade of "C" or better, or placement above stated course levels; and instructor consent.

This course is for students interested in magazine publishing and creative writing and the arts. In the fall term, students work on creating online and print advertising to solicit submissions, selecting a team of graphic designers who will create the magazine, organizing into editorial groups based on submission types (from nonfiction to film), and working in class and on a blog to accept or reject submissions. A maximum of 9 hours may be taken under the WR291/292/293 designation (one or two credits per term).

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Carry out independently, according to group instructions, a number of assigned roles throughout the publication process
  2. Evaluate several literary and arts magazines, identifying target audience, personality and style of publication
  3. Participate in group discussion, both in class and online, to evaluate and select submissions in the seven genres (fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, film, music, art, photography)
  4. Work with graphic and web design teams to construct the overall concept of the magazine and web presence

WR292A The Literary Publication II

Credit 1Winter

Registration Requirement: RD090 and WR090, each with a grade of "C" or better, or placement above stated course levels; and instructor consent.

This course is for students interested in magazine publishing and creative writing and the arts. In the winter term, students work on selecting submissions, creating a website, determining the concept for the magazine, and collaborating with graphic services on the design. A maximum of 9 hours may be taken under the WR291/292/293 designation (one or two credits per term).

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Carry out independently, according to group instructions, a number of assigned roles throughout the publication process
  2. Evaluate several literary and arts magazines, identifying target audience, personality and style of publication
  3. Participate in group discussion, both in class and online, to evaluate and select submissions in the seven genres (fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, film, music, art, photography)
  4. Work with graphic and web design teams to construct the overall concept of the magazine and web presence

WR292B The Literary Publication II

Credits 2Winter

Registration Requirement: RD090 and WR090, or IECC201R and IECC201W, each with a grade of "C" or better, or placement above stated course levels; and instructor consent.

This course is for students interested in magazine publishing and creative writing and the arts. In the winter term, students work on selecting submissions, creating a website, determining the concept for the magazine, and collaborating with graphic services on the design. A maximum of 9 hours may be taken under the WR291/292/293 designation (one or two credits per term).

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Carry out independently, according to group instructions, a number of assigned roles throughout the publication process
  2. Evaluate several literary and arts magazines, identifying target audience, personality and style of publication
  3. Participate in group discussion, both in class and online, to evaluate and select submissions in the seven genres (fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, film, music, art, photography)
  4. Work with graphic and web design teams to construct the overall concept of the magazine and web presence

WR293A The Literary Publication III

Credit 1Spring

Registration Requirement: RD090 and WR090, or IECC201R and IECC201W, each with a grade of "C" or better, or placement above stated course levels; and instructor consent.

This course is for students interested in magazine publishing and creative writing and the arts. Students work on selecting final submissions, especially in the areas of film and music, editing and proofreading galleys, organizing and running the launch party for the magazine, and marketing the final product. A maximum of 9 hours may be taken under the WR291/292/293 designation (one or two credits per term).

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Carry out independently, according to group instructions, a number of assigned roles throughout the publication process
  2. Evaluate several literary and arts magazines, identifying target audience, personality and style of publication
  3. Participate in group discussion, both in class and online, to evaluate and select submissions in the seven genres (fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, film, music, art, photography)
  4. Work with graphic and web design teams to construct the overall concept of the magazine and web presence

WR293B The Literary Publication III

Credits 2Spring

Registration Requirement: RD090 and WR090, or IECC201R and IECC201W, each with a grade of "C" or better, or placement above stated course levels; and instructor consent.

This course is for students interested in magazine publishing and creative writing and the arts. Students work on selecting final submissions, especially in the areas of film and music, editing and proofreading galleys, organizing and running the launch party for the magazine, and marketing the final product. A maximum of 9 hours may be taken under the WR291/292/293 designation (one or two credits per term).

View Course Outcomes:

  1. Evaluate several literary and arts magazines, identifying target audience, personality and style of publication
  2. Participate in group discussion, both in class and online, to evaluate and select submissions in the seven genres (fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, film, music, art, photography)
  3. Work with graphic and web design teams to construct the overall concept of the magazine and web presence

Course fees are subject to change. Additional section fees (web, hybrid, etc.) may apply.

Online option regularly offered

Cultural Literacy course