Writing Intensive Courses and Writing Across the Curriculum
Writing in courses across the curriculum can help students:
- develop critical thinking skills
- decrease writing anxiety
- view writing as an important life and learning skill
- improve retention and understanding of course material
- connect with course material
- become familiar with writing conventions of particular career fields
Writing Intensive Courses (WIC) at Ferris are non-freshman-level courses that include
a substantial amount of writing. These courses partially satisfy the communication competence general education requirement.
General criteria for WIC courses:
- students write the equivalent of four 3-5 page papers
- students receive instruction in the role of writing in professional/academic settings,
strategies for determining document style, effective writing techniques for different
audiences, and organizing papers for various purposes.
- students may write in a variety of forms, including correspondence, memoranda, proposals,
reports, logs, descriptions, observations, creative writing, journals, and many other
forms of course-related assignments.
Support for WIC courses includes:
- The FSU Writing Center provides assistance for students writing in any course; the Writing Center Web site
includes information for faculty on writing, as well as online handbooks and other
reference materials.
- WIC liaisons from the Languages and Literature department. Each content area has a designated liaison to provide information about writing and
writing in content courses.
For more information about having a current course designated as WIC, developing a
new WIC course, or integrating writing into any course, please contact a member of
the WIC committee, the General Education committee, or the Languages and Literature department.
