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The Writing Program at Muhlenberg (Fall, 2008)
The Writing Program at Muhlenberg has evolved since 1989, when the faculty voted to implement a writing across the curriculum program. Typically, upwards of forty writing-intensive courses are offered each semester across the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. The College is committed to writing as an essential skill in a liberal arts education and to the conviction that writing instruction is the shared responsibility of faculty in all disciplines and not the province of any single department.
Students at Muhlenberg are required to take three writing-intensive (W) courses for graduation. The first of these is a first-year seminar. (The faculty voted to substitute first-year seminars for freshman composition in 1992.) Students select the second W from anywhere in the curriculum, including their major. The third W must be a course offered or designated by the student’s major department. Double majors must take a writing-intensive course for each major.
Writing intensive courses share basic requirements and a philosophy.
*The courses are small, encouraging discussion and collaboration.
*They offer frequent opportunities to produce analytical writing.
*They use writing as a means of enriching students’ understanding of course content.
*They embrace writing not only as a means of presenting finished pieces of thinking but also as a form of learning.
Thus, W courses involve more than just a significant amount of writing. They present a particular kind of learning experience for students—one in which overt attention is devoted to both the writing process and the written product.
Parts of the Program
First-Year Seminars (FYS) are small, discussion-oriented courses that engage students in thinking deeply and talking, reading and writing critically about ideas. Taught by full-time faculty from departments throughout the college, seminars vary in their subjects. Some examine a topic from an interdisciplinary perspective; others focus on particular questions or issues within a discipline.
Other Writing-Intensive Courses are regularly listed offerings that faculty apply to have designated as Ws. Often they foreground the characteristic thinking processes of a discipline, as well as the particular forms the discipline employs to convey knowledge.
Criteria for a Writing-Intensive Course
*a minimum of three pieces of analytical writing, totaling 20 pages
*a diagnostic writing assignment early in the semester to identify students whose writing may need special attention
*overt attention to revision—for example, a revision based on the instructor’s oral or written comments
*an enrollment cap of 15 in first-year seminars and 20 in other W courses (in recognition of the additional work required of the instructor and the needs of a course in which writing and discussion are central)
A Few Notes about the Criteria:
A single term paper handed in at the end of the semester does not meet the W requirement.
Creative writing courses do not receive a W designation unless they also include a significant amount of expository and analytical writing.
There are various ways to implement the revision requirement: a longer paper that grows out of shorter papers; multiple writing tasks that come at the same problem in different ways; the expansion of a previous draft to include more material; rewriting in response to faculty comments, faculty-student conferences, and/or peer review.
The Writing Program encourages faculty to experiment with different kinds of writing assignments, including those that invite students to write informally prior to producing more finished pieces of work.
Independent studies do not normally qualify for a W because the College mandates that independent studies may not be used to satisfy a graduation requirement. (A student in a tight spot may appeal to the Curriculum Committee for a waiver of this rule.)
In unusual circumstances a student may petition the Writing Program Committee for a Special W Designation, which allows him or her to receive W credit for a course that is not officially a W. A sheet describing this appeal procedure is available at the Registrar’s office and on the Writing Program website.
Procedures for Participating in the Writing Program
Any course may receive a W designation so long as it satisfies the basic criteria for a writing-intensive course (listed above). The professor needs to have the department head communicate to the registrar that the course should be listed as a W in a given semester. The professor also needs to submit a proposal to the Writing Program Committee (WPC). Proposal forms are available on the Writing Program website. This proposal remains on file and does not need to be resubmitted for the same course unless it is taught by another person.
First-year seminar proposals are typically solicited in January for the following fall and spring. Other W proposals should be submitted in the semester prior to the course being offered—at the latest, before registration. All faculty whose courses meet the W criteria (mindful of the enrollment cap) are encouraged to apply for the W designation. In unusual circumstances a professor may have a course designated a W during the term when it is offered.
Resources
Faculty Workshops on writing and writing instruction are offered by Jill Stephen, David Rosenwasser, and members of the Writing Program Committee: the Late Summer Seminar in August and a more extended Learning Community on Writing in May.
The Writing Center, located on Level A of the library, provides students with drop-in tutorial sessions in which tutors help students develop their ideas, improve their organization, and refine matters of style and delivery. Tutors are students selected through faculty recommendation, interview and portfolio. They are trained in a semester-long course on writing pedagogy and by apprenticeship to experienced tutors. This fall, the Writing Center will begin a collaboration with reference librarians in a combined writing and research center.
The Writing Assistants Program puts tutors in the classroom. WA’s are assigned to first-year seminars where they work closely with the professor to help students make the transition from high school to college writing and learning. They attend all classes and meet one-on-one with students several times during the semester to work on writing assignments.
The Writing Associates Program links a Writing Center tutor with a writing-intensive (W) course at any level beyond the first-year seminar. The writing associate meets with students in the course about their papers but does not attend classes. Ideally, he or she is a major in the discipline and (best case scenario) has already taken this course with the professor with whom he or she is working. Faculty interested in having a writing associate should contact Jill Stephen or David Rosenwasser.
The Writing Mentors Program provides weekly individual tutorial sessions for students who may benefit from more consistent, in-depth support. Mentoring arrangements are made by contacting Kate Conrad, the Assistant Director of the Writing Center, or Wendy Cole, Director of the Academic Resource Center.
Writing Program Website
Contact Information
Jill Stephen, Co-Director, Writing Across the Curriculum and the Writing Center, and
Professor of English Ext 3312, stephen@muhlenberg.edu
David Rosenwasser, Co-Director, Writing Across the Curriculum and the Writing Center, and
Professor of English Ext 3334, rosenwas@muhlenberg.edu [sabbatical, Fall, 2008]
Linda Bips, Director, First-Year Seminar Program, and
Professor of Psychology Ext 3419, bips@muhlenberg.edu
Kate Conrad, Assistant Director of the Writing Center
Ext 3276, kaconrad@muhlenberg.edu
For more information about each of these programs, see:
In addition to the Writing Program, there is also a Writing Concentration within the English Department. Click here for more information.
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