Almost all of the courses offered in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric satisfy the University of Washington’s Composition (“C”) or Writing (“W”) credit. Scroll below to see the array of courses we offer, brief course descriptions, sample syllabi and/or materials, and the 100-level course outcomes.
100-Level Courses
All of the 100-level courses offered in PWR follow our 100-level course outcomes and are strongly encouraged for first- and second-year students. If you are an upper-division student seeking to fulfill your C requirement we encourage you to consider our 200- or 300-level courses below. Topics, assignments, and readings vary across courses but all work toward building skills and capacities in our central course outcomes.
| Course |
Description |
Sample Syllabus |
| English 109 |
Critical Composition 1: Inquiry
Approaches writing as social action and language as tied to identity, culture, and power. Centers students' diverse language resources and discourse traditions. Builds rhetorical capacities for composing ethically, critically, and impactfully across different contexts, audiences, genres, and goals within the university and beyond. Emphasizes inquiry. (DIV, W with at least a 1.7; C credit awarded with completion of ENGL 110 with at least a 2.0).
|
ENGL109 Syllabus 2019
ENGL109 Syllabus 2022
|
| English 110 |
Critical Composition 2: Research
Approaches writing as social action and language as tied to identity, culture, and power. Centers students' diverse language resources and discourse traditions. Builds rhetorical capacities for composing ethically, critically, and impactfully across different contexts, audiences, genres, and goals within the university and beyond. Emphasizes research. (prerequisite: ENGL 109).
|
ENGL110 Syllabus 2022
ENGL110 Syllabus 2022
|
| English 111 |
Composition: Literature
Uses narratives to study writing as social action and language as tied to identity, culture, and power. Centers students' language resources and goals in developing rhetorical and research skills for composing ethically and critically across different contexts and genres. Prepares students for writing to audiences both within and beyond the university. (Prerequisite: may not be taken if minimum grade of 2.0 received in either ENGL 121, ENGL 131, or ENGL 182.)
|
ENGL111 Syllabus 2021
ENGL111 Syllabus 2022
|
| English 115 |
Writing Studio
Supports multilingual students concurrently enrolled in a composition course. Builds academic reading skills in order to analyze complex texts, review, and analyze grammar structures to produce different writing effects. Also assists students to develop critical reflective skills to become better familiarized with the writing and revision process. Credit/no-credit only. (Does not earn C or W credit).
|
|
| English 121 |
Composition: Community-Based
Uses community-engagement learning opportunities to study writing as social action and language as tied to identity, culture, and power. Centers students' language resources and goals in developing rhetorical and research skills for composing ethically and critically across different contexts and genres. Prepares students for writing to audiences both within and beyond the university. Includes service learning component. (Prerequisite: may not be taken if minimum grade of 2.0 received in either ENGL 111, ENGL 131, or ENGL 182.)
|
ENGL121 Syllabus 2017
ENGL121 Syllabus 2021
|
| English 131 |
Composition: Exposition
Uses a variety of texts across genres to study writing as social action and language as tied to identity, culture, and power. Centers students' language resources and goals in developing rhetorical and research skills for composing ethically and critically across different contexts and genres. Prepares students for writing to audiences both within and beyond the university. (Prerequisite: may not be taken if minimum grade of 2.0 received in either ENGL 111, ENGL 121, or ENGL 182.)
|
ENGL131 Syllabus 2022
ENGL131 Syllabus 2022
|
| English 182 |
Composition: Multimodal
Studies writing as social action and language as tied to identity, culture, and power, focusing on how multimodal elements of writing work together to produce meaning. Centers students' language resources and goals in developing rhetorical and research skills for composing ethically and critically across different contexts and genres. Prepares students for writing to audiences both within and beyond the university. (Prerequisite: may not be taken if minimum grade of 2.0 received in either ENGL 111, ENGL 121, or ENGL 131.)
|
ENGL182 Syllabus 2022
ENGL182 Syllabus 2023
|
200/300 Level Composition
Our 200- and 300-level courses are excellent options for students seeking to fulfill their Writing (“W”) requirement or for upper-division students looking to fulfill their Composition (“C”) requirement.
| Course |
Description |
Sample Syllabus |
| English 281 |
Intermediate Composition
Writing papers communicating information and opinion to develop accurate, competent, and effective expression.
|
|
| English 282 |
Intermediate Multimodal Composition
Engages writing as social action and language as tied to identity, culture, and power, with emphasis on how multimodal elements of writing--words, images, sound, design--work together to produce meaning. Students’ language resources and goals are centered and provide a starting point as they compose ethically, critically, and impactfully across different contexts, audiences, and genres both within and beyond the university.
|
ENGL282 Syllabus 2022 |
| English 381 |
Advanced Composition
Concentration on the development of prose style for experienced writers.
|
ENGL381 Syllabus 2022 |
| English 382 |
Special Topics in Multimodal Composition
Focuses on emerging questions, debates, genres, and methods of multimodal analysis and production. Topics vary but might include transmedia storytelling, digital humanities, audiovisual essays, new media journalism, and performance. Although the course has no prerequisites, instructors assume knowledge of academic argumentation strategies.
|
|
Outcomes
Outcome 1
To compose strategically for a variety of audiences and contexts, both within and outside the university, by
- recognizing how different elements of a rhetorical situation matter for the task at hand and affect the options for composing and distributing texts;
- coordinating, negotiating, and experimenting with various aspects of composing—such as genre, content, conventions, style, language, organization, appeals, media, timing, and design—for diverse rhetorical effects tailored to the given audience, purpose, and situation; and
- assessing and articulating the rationale for and effects of composing choices.
Outcome 2
To work strategically with complex information in order to generate and support inquiry by
- reading, analyzing, and synthesizing a diverse range of texts and understanding the situations in which those texts are participating;
- using reading and writing strategies to craft research questions that explore and respond to complex ideas and situations;
- gathering, evaluating, and making purposeful use of primary and secondary materials appropriate for the writing goals, audience, genre, and context;
- creating a ‘conversation’—identifying and engaging with meaningful patterns across ideas, texts, experiences, and situations; and
- using citation styles appropriate for the genre and context.
Outcome 3
To craft persuasive, complex, inquiry-driven arguments that matter by
- considering, incorporating, and responding to different points of view while developing one’s own position;
- engaging in analysis—the close scrutiny and examination of evidence, claims, and assumptions—to explore and support a line of inquiry;
- understanding and accounting for the stakes and consequences of various arguments for diverse audiences and within ongoing conversations and contexts; and
- designing/organizing with respect to the demands of the genre, situation, audience, and purpose.
Outcome 4
To practice composing as a recursive, collaborative process and to develop flexible strategies for revising throughout the composition process by
- engaging in a variety of (re)visioning techniques, including (re)brainstorming, (re)drafting, (re)reading, (re)writing, (re)thinking, and editing;
- giving, receiving, interpreting, and incorporating constructive feedback; and
- refining and nuancing composition choices for delivery to intended audiences in a manner consonant with the genre, situation, and desired rhetorical effects and meanings.
