First-Year Writing Seminar

The First-Year Writing Seminars (FYWS) are offered by different departments across the curriculum and fulfill the first component of the F2 Requirement.

Director of College Writing: Rebecca Finlayson, Department of English

151. First-Year Writing Seminar.

Fall, Spring. Credits 4.

Degree Requirement: F2s.

A course that develops the ability to read and think critically, to employ discussion and writing as a means of exploring and refining ideas, and to express those ideas in effective prose. Individual sections of the course will explore different topics in reading, discussion, and writing. Topics are selected by individual professors and are designed to help students develop transferable skills of analysis and argumentation, applicable to the various disciplines of the liberal arts and sciences. Several papers will be required, at least one of which will involve use of the library and proper documentation. The seminar will emphasize successive stages of the writing process, including prewriting, drafting, and revision, and will provide feedback from classmates and the instructor. Students may not take both FYWS 151 and FYWS 155.

155. First-Year Writing Seminar: Daily Themes.

Fall, Spring. Credits 4.

Degree Requirement: F2s.

An alternative to FYWS 151 offered to outstanding first-year writers, by invitation from the Director of College Writing. The course is limited to 12 students who meet as a class once a week and individually with the instructor or in small groups with the Writing Fellow once a week. Students will turn in 4 one-page themes each week. Some research will be required, and students will use their daily themes as the basis for two longer papers: one at mid term and the other at the end of the semester. Students may not take both FYWS 151 and FYWS 155.