At Sweetland, we promote linguistic and cultural diversity as resources that can enrich the English writing experience. Sweetland provides focused/dedicated support for all international and multilingual undergraduate students in the U-M community. Some ways that Sweetland serves international and multilingual students are by: small class sizes, credit-bearing courses, appointments with experienced instructors to discuss writing, and peer writing centers at several campus locations. Welcome!
In-Person and Online Writing Meetings
Writing Workshop
Meet with a Sweetland faculty member in-person or online to discuss your course-related writing. Appointments are 30 minutes. Students may use Writing Workshop once per week.
Peer Writing Center
Meet with a Sweetland-trained, undergraduate Peer Writing Consultant in-person or online to discuss any one piece of writing, personal or course-related. Appointments are 45 minutes. Students may use one Peer Writing Center service per day.
Courses
Writing 160
Multilingual Writing
What does it mean to be multilingual in the US today? How does fluency in a language other than English impact written English fluency? How does multilingualism affect multimodal college writing?
The US has had a fraught history with multilingualism, even as “multiculturalism” has been held as a defining American value. College and university programs for multilingual students, as well as for students studying languages other than English, have fluctuated in funding as a result of political and historical shifts in public opinion towards multilingualism and immigration. In the current political climate, multilingualism is typically viewed as an asset promoting diversity and globalization, but practical support for multilingual college writing is not always apparent; for example, college writing programs often focus on assimilating student writing to meet Standard Academic English ideologies. However, multilingual skills such as code-switching and translation can be resources that students draw upon to convey their ideas in English writing more completely, particularly as multimodality continues to rise in importance in college writing. College writing, like US society as a whole, is becoming increasingly global and digital, and this course will explore how multilingual skills can be harnessed as a resource to meet modern students’ college writing needs.
This course will explore the causes and effects of multilingual education policies (or opposition to them) in the US, the benefits of multilingualism in college writing and scholarship, and how English writing in general, as well as multimodal writing specifically can be enhanced by multilingualism. Current research in Critical Language Awareness and linguistic justice will be highlighted. This course is designed to meet first-year writing goals while encouraging students to develop a rhetorical perspective on multilingualism related to academic writing.
Note: This section topic is offered in fall semester only.
Writing 229
Editing & Style for International & Multilingual Students
This course is designed for international and multilingual students to practice English academic and professional writing in a supportive environment. This course runs on a discussion and workshop format, in which students explore the rhetorical effectiveness of stylistic elements commonly found in American academic and professional writing. To achieve this goal, students will participate in an online core grammar program, practice fundamental editing strategies, read exemplary essays and discuss their stylistic features. In each class, students will work individually on editing exercises and collaboratively in stylistic discussions. Students will have a chance to bring their own essays and editing questions to workshops with their classmates and the instructor. In each class, you will work individually on editing exercises and collaboratively in stylistic discussions. Additionally, you will identify and practice styles of writing in different contexts, such as writing in science and business.
