Best Practices in GE Writing Intensive Classes

In its review of courses proposed for WI status, GEAC and GEIT found a number of syllabi that showcase particularly effective strategies and practices for teaching writing.  Below, organized by category, are snippets from GE course syllabi that we identified as having particularly good assignments, assignment sequences, and discussions of writing practices.

Multiple Drafts and Revision

• Evolution (BIOL 302)
• Professional Writing for Public Audiences (Jour 130)
• American Ethnic and Regional Writers (ENGL 264)

Chunking Writing into Manageable Parts

• Women (Gender, Sexuality) & Politics (POLS 324)
• Justice and Global Issues (PHIL 341)

Peer Critique/Editing and Revision Workshops

• Environmental Rhetoric (ENGL 338)
• Perspectives on Gender & Disease (NURS 326)

Teacher Feedback on Writing

• Literature, Politics, and Activism (ENGL 356)
• Literature for Life (ENGL 240)

Significant Amounts and Kinds of Writing

• Self, Identity, and Sustainability (UNIV 105)

A Variety of Genres or Kinds of Writing

• Human Sexuality (HCSV 265)

Low-Stakes, Reflective, or "Writing to Learn" Activities

• Death, Dying, and the Afterlife (RELS 264)

Writing Integrated with Course Content

• Scientific Inquiry and the Nature of Science (NSCI 311)