Courses

The Writing Program offers a variety of courses, including the First-Year Writing Seminars (Writing 109, 110, and 111) and upper division writing courses at the 200 and 300-level. Note that not every course is offered every semester. View currently offered courses here.

WRI 109. Writing Seminar, Part I. (2 h)

First course of a two-semester sequence in which students explore writing as a recursive process. Students practice engaging with others’ views and texts; developing and reflecting on their own claims, evidence, and reasoning; connecting writing choices with rhetorical purposes and effects; and composing in various genres. Enrollment limited.

WRI 110. Writing Seminar, Part II. (2 h)

Second course in a two-semester sequence in which students explore writing as a recursive process. Students practice engaging with others’ views and texts; developing and reflecting on their own claims, evidence, and reasoning; connecting writing choices with rhetorical purposes and effects; and composing in various genres. Enrollment limited. P-WRI 109.

WRI 111. Writing Seminar. (4 h)

Foundational course in which students explore writing as a recursive process. Students practice engaging with others’ views and texts; developing and reflecting on their own claims, evidence, and reasoning; connecting writing choices with rhetorical purposes and effects; and composing in various genres. Class limited to 16. Satisfies the Basic Writing Requirement. 

WRI 210. Exploring Academic Genres. (3 h)

An advanced composition course focused on the study of academic writing. Students consider the rhetorical and linguistic features of research-based writing, examine methods of research and evidence-gathering, and analyze argumentation across disciplines. Enrollment limited. P – WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 212. Literary Nonfiction: Art of the Essay. (3 h)

Reading, writing, and analysis of the essay. Consideration of the rise and evolution of various forms of the essay; inclusive of essayists from a variety of disciplines. Enrollment limited. P – WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 306. Special Topics in Rhetoric and Writing. (1.5, 3 h)

Study of significant rhetorical or writing theories and practices focused on one area of study. May be repeated once for credit. P- WRI 110 or WRI 111, or permission from instructor. 

WRI 307. Contemporary Theory of Rhetoric and Writing. (1.5, 3 h)

Study of key historical developments and theories in the current field of rhetoric and writing studies since its 20th-century inception. May be repeated once for credit. P- WRI 110 or WRI 111, or permission from instructor. 

WRI 310. Interaction in Language: Introduction to Written Discourse Studies. (3 h)

Analysis of theoretical traditions in discourse studies, including Pragmatics, Analysis of Institutional Talk, Genre Analysis, and Corpus Linguistics, designed to provide students with new approaches and tools with which to question, investigate, and critique how language works in discourses that are meaningful to them. P – WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 320. Writing in and about Science: Scientists as Writers and Writers as Scientists. (3 h)

Reading, writing, and analysis of scholarly and popular science writing. Consideration of scientists as writers and rhetoricians, namely, the varied purposes and audiences for which scientists and science writers compose. Enrollment limited. P – WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 322. Investigating Innocence at the Intersection of Journalism, Narrative, and the Law. (3h) 

Learn to write like a journalist and think like a lawyer, on the premise that lawyers have much to learn from journalists about storytelling and journalists have much to learn from lawyers about evidence. Working together, students in the Law School and undergraduates investigate an ongoing case of a wrongful conviction under review by the law school’s Innocence & Justice Clinic. POI Required. Also listed as JOU 322.

WRI 340. Practice in Rhetoric and Composition. (3 h)

Training and practice in rhetorical analysis and composition. Students work on developing effective composing processes and strategies, then put them into practice toward a variety of purposes. Course topics vary across semesters. May be repeated once for credit. P- WRI 110 or WRI 111.  

WRI 341. Writing Center Pedagogy. (3 h)

Introduction to composition pedagogy and writing center theory and practices, with special emphases on one-to-one and small group peer tutoring techniques. The course includes classroom-based work – reading, writing, responding, discussing, and exploring instruction and consultation processes – and field experiences. Students spend a total of 20 hours observing in writing classrooms, the WFU Writing Center and/or community sites, and tutoring. Students reflect on these experiences to prepare a final researched writing project. Required for undergraduates interested in working in the Writing Center as peer tutors. P – WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 342. Writing Practicum. (1-3 h)

Practical or professional experience in writing, rhetoric, and composition. Students must be supervised and mentored by a faculty adviser. Cannot be repeated.

WRI 343. Independent Study. (1-3 h)

Independent study with faculty guidance. By prearrangement.

WRI 344. Magazine Writing. (3 h)

Learn and practice the skills needed to produce magazine stories for publication. Focusing on a single topic of their own choosing, students learn advanced principles of interviewing, document research, story structure, character development, and explanatory journalism as they read and analyze some of the best magazine stories written over the past thirty years. Also listed as JOU 340. P – JOU 270 or POI.

WRI 350. Writing Minor Capstone. (3 h)

Seminar course in which students read widely in writing studies, compose new and revise previous essays, and create an e-portfolio. Required of all students wishing to graduate with an interdisciplinary writing minor.