WRITING 220

Credits: 3 | Consent: With permission of department | May not be repeated for credit

In this course, students admitted to the Minor in Writing will investigate why we write, how we write, and how writing shapes us — intellectually, emotionally, and cognitively. Through peer review, instructor feedback, regular contributions to the Minor in Writing blog, and other forms of collaboration, students will develop a shared vocabulary for reflecting on their own writing and cultivating a reflective practice that will provide a basis for assessing their growth as a writer throughout the Minor in Writing. Students will create an electronic portfolio of their writing that will become the basis for the final portfolio for the Minor in Writing. Their research will include various platforms and software for creating electronic portfolios and their visual and audio dimensions. They will also create other multimedia and multimodal forms of writing.

Course Requirements:
This writing-intensive class involves formal, revised essays in print and digital media format, including biweekly informal reading responses and testing ideas on a blog and reflective writing. The first 3- to 4-page essay states “Why I Write.” Next are two substantially linked projects that select a previous piece of writing and then write a new piece that re-purposes its argument in a new genre and for a new audience. Finally students remediate the re-written argument to realize it in a new form. For example, a course paper becomes a young adult magazine article; or a documentary video or blog post becomes an academic research paper and then a museum web page. Classes include small-group presentations on new media writing platforms. In the end, students will produce an electronic portfolio to present themselves as writers, including their class work, other writing representative of their abilities and interests, and new reflective writing.

Intended Audience:
Undergraduates who have applied and been admitted to the Minor in Writing