Writing program FAQs

Courses designated with a W meet the writing requirement. They can be found in the course catalogue and on the website. The Director of the Writing Program also sends a list to advisors and students prior to registration. You can refer to the course offering document available on the Registrar’s page to clarify which courses offered in the upcoming term meet the writing requirement.

In addition, there’s a self-placement guide on the Writing Program page that includes all writing courses that currently meet the writing requirement. This guide is designed to help clarify the course load and content in order to help you determine which writing courses would best fit your needs, goals, and interests. Additional student resources are also available, such as overview of key terms and revision/editing resources.

Courses that meet the writing requirement courses serve a specific pedagogical purpose that is different from, for instance, creative writing courses, literature courses, psychology, history, and other content courses. Courses that meet the writing requirement adopt a pedagogical approach called genre-based instruction , which other courses do not (see the next question for additional details). Genre-based instruction is built on social science research on writing/literacy development, (second) language learning, and language teaching from various fields such as applied linguistics, writing studies, composition, and adult literacy/education. It was developed by researchers who research language, writing, and literacy learning/teaching in various educational contexts.

No, most institutions have a specific course that meets the writing requirement that’s pedagogically different from a creative writing course (but some institutions have a two-course policy). If you have any questions about how creative writing courses are taught or specific pedagogy for creative writing courses, please contact a creative writing faculty member on campus who you can locate through the directory.

The writing requirement is not determined by the number of books or writing assignments teachers assign. Writing courses are not determined by the length of written assignments. Additionally, the writing requirement isn’t determined by the number of writing assignments or the amount of writing students do in a course, or by the inclusion of peer-review workshops.

Writing in a discipline-based class, such as psychology, teaches you how to write in a psychology class. This is known as Writing in the Discipline (WID) and does not pedagogically prepare students for writing across multiple genres, audiences, and contexts, including professional contexts. For example, a psychology course develops students’ writing/literacy practices within the discipline and prepares them for academic and professional work in psychology. The focus is on the content, i.e., psychology. A writing course that meets the writing requirement teaches students how to navigate different genres and rhetorical situations rather than how to write in one specific discipline, not to mention, all class activities and assignments are focused on the topic of writing.

College Seminars meet three times a week, which allows for more time in class with the instructor. Non-College Seminar writing courses meet twice a week. Both types of courses adopt genre-based instruction and the course goals are the same. So, the only real difference is extra time in college seminars. While the course types were different when they were first introduced, the only real difference right now is the addition of a lab for College Seminars. Having an extra lab allows students more time to process what they’re learning, and additional time for hands-on experience through genre/rhetorical analysis activities. This model of a third class/lab is common in various writing programs across the country but different words are used to refer to them (e.g., lab, tutorial, extended). Students self-select these courses based on their interests and needs. These courses are open to everyone.

No, creative writing courses do not meet the writing requirement at COA. Most institutions have a specific course that meets the writing requirement that’s pedagogically different from a creative writing course. If you need to take a writing course, please complete it within our first year. We have resources to help you to determine which course is best for you. 

More information can be found here. Go to the Writing Program page, then click on Writing Requirement.

Genre-based instruction is a departure from “traditional” writing pedagogies that most students have been exposed to: these were primarily rule-governed and focused on grammar corrections and perceived standards for writing. These approaches were not really grounded in research about writing and language/literacy learning. For example, a common “rule” that’s still taught is that personal pronouns (e.g., I, we) can’t be used in science writing, which isn’t accurate. Another “rule” that’s taught is that contractions can’t be used in academic writing, however, this is not accurate either. Writing is, in fact, dynamic and ever-changing (compare, for instance, academic papers from 1920 with today’s conventions). Researchers who research writing are also collaborating more with non-writing folks, which has resulted in great insights into literacy practices in various disciplines e.g., foreign/second language education, chemistry, engineering, physics, and so on.

Researchers who specialize in language learning, writing education, and writing/literacy have found that writing and literacy are not fixed, so teaching or memorizing rules doesn’t help. They have also found that “fixedness” exists in a spectrum of low-stakes vs. high-stakes genres. Low-stakes genres are used in contexts in which the risks are lower, such as texting a friend what time you will have breakfast, or sending someone a postcard. In contrast, high-stakes genres involve more risks, consequences, and less room for the writer to negotiate, such as research papers, tax forms, job applications, and so on. Whether a genre is low- or high-stakes depends on the context as one genre can be both depending on the context.

As “rules” can’t be applied to every single genre or context of writing, students are taught how to navigate the different genre conventions and rhetorical situations. Through genre-based instruction, students are taught to examine various genres and different rhetorical situations and social domains in which they’re used. Instead of teaching fixed rules in writing courses, e.g., “don’t use contractions”, students examine whether contractions would make sense for the genre and the rhetorical situation, as well as the rhetorical effect they wish to achieve.

Students develop their writing and literacy practices through genre analysis and rhetorical analysis activities to essentially “dissect” the genres. By breaking apart genres, students develop an understanding of how they work, i.e., genre knowledge and rhetorical awareness. To use a metaphor, to understand the inner workings of a car, taking it apart and putting it back together will provide that knowledge. Here are some examples of what students learn:

• Developing students’ rhetorical awareness: For example, who is the audience? What is the purpose? What is the context? How do these shape the choices writers have to make when they write?
• Develop genre knowledge to figure out how to write something they have never written before: Students develop analytical abilities to dissect genres by identifying patterns and conventions in terms of the lexical and syntactic choices, as well as multimodal choices. In other words, genre analysis helps students identify the internal structure of a text. This builds genre knowledge and “genre memory” so they can recreate it.
• Students learn how to utilize their “genre memories”, i.e. patterns of writing humans store in their brains, as a starting point to develop their metacognitive and metalinguistic abilities. Metacognition helps students understand their writing process, while metalinguistics helps students learn how to talk about writing.
• They learn how to navigate different kinds of information and evaluate the validity and accuracy of various genres. Examples include cross-checking/referencing.

Classes are very meta: all classes are grounded in discussions about writing. Courses are based on discussions and active engagement with various genres. Students often complete readings and reading responses prior to class. Readings are related to the course theme and writing.

Hands-on activities primarily include genre analysis of real genres, such as cover letters, research articles, resumes, blog posts, recipes, business cards and so on. It’s a mix of high-stakes genres and low-stakes genres. Essentially, students break down genres based on various elements, such as the written text itself, design choices, organization, visuals, multimodality. (Explanation for key terms can be found here). They learn how to talk about the different patterns and features of a genre (such as a review, resume, research paper, blog post, cover letter), which develops genre knowledge and rhetorical awareness. They learn how to talk about the rhetorical situation, which helps them understand the connection between genre conventions and larger contextual elements, such as the audience or purpose, that shape writing. These are connected to the broader theme of the course, e.g., language variation, multimodality, and so on.

Since the curriculum at COA is transdisciplinary, students take many different courses and will work in different professional contexts in the US and abroad. Therefore, teaching students to write in one genre will not adequately prepare them for life during or after college. Instead, we prepare students for diverse academic and professional activities by developing their abilities to navigate a range of genres through genre-based instruction. Through genre-based instruction, students develop their abilities to identify genre conventions. Students also learn how to identify the rhetorical situations (contexts) and discourse communities in which the genre is used because writing is not produced in isolation.

This approach prepares students to shift how they think about writing. Instead of memorizing rules, they learn how to think about writing and learn how to ask questions that help them understand the writing they have to do in a specific context. For example, instead of teaching the rules for grant proposals, students learn how to think about understanding the audience, the purpose, and the context in order to write as there isn’t one way of writing grant proposals. Genre-based instruction focuses on developing skills to navigate different kinds of high-stakes and low-stakes writing, audiences, and contexts.

The writing courses are also connected through shared Writing Program vocabulary, e.g., genre, rhetorical situation, discourse community, to facilitate students’ metacognitive and metalinguistic skills. These skills can be transferred to other courses and activities, such as senior projects, internship reports, residencies, and independent studies. Beyond COA, these are necessary for job applications, graduate studies, and professional work.

All W courses adopt genre-based instruction. The course is grounded in a particular theme that facilitates students’ developing genre knowledge, rhetorical awareness, metacognition, and metalinguistic abilities through hands-on activities and active discussions about writing in relation to the course theme. These are the main practices and components foregrounded in all activities, discussions, and assignments:

• Metalinguistic abilities: talk about writing (it’s all very meta). This is accomplished through the use of shared vocabulary that comes from writing-disciplines e.g., writing studies, applied linguistics, and composition. You can find the list of key terms if you go to student resources. 
• Develop metacognitive abilities: learning to think about writing as a process is critical to understanding it better
• Making visible students’ genre memories (patterns of writing) to build them through class activities and assignments
• Research literacies: empirical, analytical, evidence-based writing and citation practices
• Understanding of writing and critical thinking as an interconnected, iterative, and dynamic processes
• Genre analysis and genre knowledge: Understanding of and ability to identify and analyze micro-level elements of writing, specifically core and negotiable genre conventions, such as syntactic structures, lexical choices, and multimodality. For example, knowing that instructions usually are constructed using imperative forms (e.g., turn to the right, then turn to the left) or that politeness in requests is often encoded through the use of modal verbs (e.g., would you be able to pick up the book from the library?)
• Rhetorical analysis and rhetorical awareness: Understanding of and ability to identify macro-level elements i.e., rhetorical situations and social domains, in which genres are used. For example, politeness when making requests will be different depending on the audience and purpose (e.g., pick up the book from the library vs. please pick up the book from the library, vs. would you be able to pick up the book from the library?)
• Understanding of connections between micro-level elements of genre conventions, such as syntax and lexical choices, in relation to macro-level structures, such as rhetorical situations and social domain. Developing an understanding of writing as a collective, dynamic, and iterative process through peer review and tutoring sessions

Writing is very complex, and the pedagogical work goes beyond correcting grammar and making edits to papers. When looking for tutors, we don’t select students who are the “best” writers because this is subjective. As with any pedagogical role, we want potential tutors to want to help others develop their writing and literacy. We want potential tutors to want to grow in the role as peer-mentors. It helps if they are interested in language and writing, but it’s critical that they want to help others and can support others in a small group of one-on-one settings. If you have students who might thrive as tutors, fill out our Google Form.

No, you can drop in whenever you can as long as the Writing Center is open! The schedule can be found online.

Yes, absolutely! After you make the appointment, you can email the Writing Center and the tutor to notify them that you would like to meet remotely on Zoom.

You can contact the Registrar for additional information registrar@coa.edu (Krystal Meservey kmeservey@coa.edu or Kellie Hoffart khoffart@coa.edu)

There are several steps to make sure that tutors are well-trained and understand the pedagogical work that tutors and Writing Centers do. The initial step is to either be recommended by a faculty/staff member. Students can also recommend themselves as tutors. Students can contact the Director of the Writing Center, and faculty/staff members can submit students’ information in a Google Form.

After the Director of the Writing Center has a list of names, they interview students (almost like a job interview). If the interview goes well, the Director will reach out and ask students to enroll in Methods for Tutoring Writing Across the Curriculum, which is offered in the Spring term every year. After completing the course, most students become tutors but there’s no guarantee.

While it might seem like a long process, you will go through your entire life training, mentoring, and teaching others in various roles. Having an understanding of how to teach and support someone is incredibly useful and important in any role.