WR Guidelines
Courses that fulfill the writing requirement will normally include the following elements.
• A total of 15 to 25 pages of graded writing required for the semester.
• 2 or more graded writing assignments.
• Instructor feedback on writing, with opportunities to put suggestions into practice.
• Time spent teaching writing in class.
• Writing assignments that count, cumulatively, for 25% or more of the final course grade.
WR Seminars limited to 20 students; WR sections led by TFs limited to 15 students.
In these guidelines, "writing" means both style and substance. The College has designed the WR requirement to integrate teaching writing and teaching subject matter in our courses; we honor this integration by teaching students not only to write better prose, but also to argue well, work with evidence, and explore problems appropriate to our subjects. In teaching students to write, we teach them to create knowledge and to communicate effectively.
These are guidelines, not a checklist of required elements. WR course proposals should include an explanation of how the course is suitable to the requirement, and the Writing Committee is eager to consider courses that approach these elements creatively. Please note that Teaching Fellows for WR lecture courses must be trained by the Writing Center and will normally be permitted to teach only one section per term.
