• Program Areas
• About CSTW
• Donors & Partners
• Calendar
• Jobs
• Newsletter
• Research
• Contact Us

Introduction | First-Level Writing: English 110 | Second-Level Writing: 367 | Third-Level Writing

Second-level writing classes, designated by the number 367 in the departments they are offered, continue the work begun in English 110, and give students further opportunity to practice communicating in writing and speech. In these discipline-based classes, students receive writing instruction as well as disciplinary content instruction. They are expected to write a number of papers and should also have an opportunity to present their ideas orally. Thematically, the courses address some aspect of the American experience, particularly topics that, as the model curriculum suggests, “deal with the pluralistic nature of institutions, society, and culture in the United States, with special attention to issues of race, gender, class, and ethnicity.”

In general, all second-level writing and related skills courses:

• deal with some aspect of the US experience;
• focus on expository writing, in which students write papers that employ/develop their skills in analysis, synthesis, and the use of evidence;
• provide writing instruction and extensive experience in writing;
• enhance students' skills in reading, listening, and speaking by encouraging students to analyze and synthesize course material in oral form and provide appropriate feedback;
• stress revision. Students submit drafts of their writing and have the opportunity to revise their work after receiving a teacher's comments and (in many cases) after receiving peer response.

Twenty-five departments throughout the University currently offer 367 courses; many of these were developed with the aid of the WAC program, which helped departments develop courses to meet the University’s curricular guidelines. A list of these courses can be found on the first page of the University-wide GEC requirement list. Students can fulfill the second-level writing requirement by taking any of these courses.

As a “writing intensive” requirement in the curriculum, WAC provides many resources specifically geared toward 367 instructors. The WAC program works closely with faculty coordinators in departments offering 367 and facilitates workshops on writing pedagogy to GTAs teaching 367 courses. The program has also developed a series of interdisciplinary workshops for 367 instructors on a variety of topics on issues of diversity in America, community-based pedagogy, uses of technology in the classroom, and tips for effective and efficient responding to student writing. In addition, over the past several years, the WAC program staff has developed a Second-Level Writing Handbook for 367 instructors in all disciplines, now available online.