The University Writing Seminar
In the absence of definitive answers, the writer’s most important task is the understanding of complex issues and the communication of this understanding to others. University Writing Seminars focus on strategies and techniques of college-level argument taught through the exploration of a subject. By the end of the course, students should be able to compose expository essays that reflect their own points of view and that demonstrate thoughtful engagement with complex readings of some length. The 400-500 pages of UWS course readings typically include books and articles as well as excerpts of longer works collected in source packets. In four papers of increasing complexity (25-30 pages total finished work), students learn to frame analytical questions, make original claims, structure complex ideas, integrate sources of various kinds, and revise for greater cogency and clarity. Each course assigns a close reading essay, a lens essay, a research-based argument, and a paper in another genre. Students prepare for each of the four major essays through short pre-draft assignments as well as drafts, which faculty comment on in writing and discuss with student writers in individual conferences. Students examine their own writing in draft workshops and in small groups. The course also teaches basic skills of research, from using the library to appropriate citation of sources.
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