Written English (WR)
WR 121, *ENGLISH COMPOSITION, 4 Credits
Focuses on analytical writing and rhetorical awareness. Approaches writing as a dynamic process and mode of inquiry, including acts of information literacy, research, analysis, and revision. Builds flexible strategies for using key rhetorical concepts across multiple genres and attending to issues of audience, purpose, convention, and discourse community. Emphasizes revision, particularly at the sentence- and paragraph-level, and establishing a reflective writing process. NO LONGER TAUGHT. REPLACED WITH COMMON COURSE NUMBER WR 121Z.
Attributes: CSW1 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing I
Equivalent to: WR 121H, WR 121HZ, WR 121Z
Recommended: WR 130
Available via Ecampus
WR 121H, *ENGLISH COMPOSITION, 4 Credits
Focuses on analytical writing and rhetorical awareness. Approaches writing as a dynamic process and mode of inquiry, including acts of information literacy, research, analysis, and revision. Builds flexible strategies for using key rhetorical concepts across multiple genres and attending to issues of audience, purpose, convention, and discourse community. Emphasizes revision, particularly at the sentence- and paragraph-level, and establishing a reflective writing process. NO LONGER TAUGHT. REPLACED WITH COMMON COURSE NUMBER WR 121HZ.
Attributes: CSW1 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing I; HNRS – Honors Course Designator
Equivalent to: WR 121, WR 121HZ, WR 121Z
Recommended: WR 130
WR 121HZ, *COMPOSITION I, 4 Credits
Engages students in the study and practice of critical thinking, reading, and writing. Focuses on analyzing and composing across varied rhetorical situations and in multiple genres. Applies key rhetorical concepts flexibly and collaboratively throughout writing and inquiry processes.
Attributes: CSW1 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing I; HNRS – Honors Course Designator
Equivalent to: WR 121, WR 121H, WR 121Z
Recommended: WR 130
WR 121Z, *COMPOSITION I, 4 Credits
Engages students in the study and practice of critical thinking, reading, and writing. Focuses on analyzing and composing across varied rhetorical situations and in multiple genres. Applies key rhetorical concepts flexibly and collaboratively throughout writing and inquiry processes.
Attributes: CSW1 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing I
Equivalent to: WR 121, WR 121H, WR 121HZ
Recommended: WR 130
Available via Ecampus
WR 130, FUNDAMENTALS OF GRAMMAR, SYNTAX, AND SENTENCE BUILDING, 1 Credit
Provides opportunities to improve writing at the sentence level. Focuses on the fundamental elements of the sentence (grammar), the principles and rules of sentence structure (syntax), and techniques for writing meaningful, compelling sentences (sentence building). Use modules, activities, and quizzes to advance understanding of grammar fundamentals and to practice writing, editing, and revising sentences. Emphasizes student questions and applying lessons to other academic writing projects.
WR 199, SPECIAL STUDIES, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 201, *WRITING FOR MEDIA, 3 Credits
Introduction to newspaper style. Introduction to reporting.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II
Recommended: WR 121Z with grade B or higher and 30 wpm typing speed
Available via Ecampus
WR 214, *WRITING IN BUSINESS, 3 Credits
Continued practice in writing with an emphasis on the rhetorical and critical thinking demands of writers in business and industry.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II
Prerequisite: WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better or Exam for Waiver - WR 121 with a score of 1
Available via Ecampus
WR 220, *STORIES OF THE US-MEXICO BORDER, 4 Credits
Analyzes stories from and about the US-Mexico border. Explores and challenges conventional ideas about undocumented immigration in the US and considers immigration as a complex phenomenon with various causes. Examines historical and current causes of migration across the US-Mexico border and the difficulties experienced on the migrant trail. Analyzes discriminatory practices of dehumanization, deportation, and detention and reveals immigrant resistance to oppression.
Attributes: CPDP – Bacc Core, Perspectives, Difference/Power/Discrimination
Equivalent to: WR 220H
Available via Ecampus
WR 220H, *STORIES OF THE US-MEXICO BORDER, 4 Credits
Analyzes stories from and about the US-Mexico border. Explores and challenges conventional ideas about undocumented immigration in the US and considers immigration as a complex phenomenon with various causes. Examines historical and current causes of migration across the US-Mexico border and the difficulties experienced on the migrant trail. Analyzes discriminatory practices of dehumanization, deportation, and detention and reveals immigrant resistance to oppression.
Attributes: CPDP – Bacc Core, Perspectives, Difference/Power/Discrimination; HNRS – Honors Course Designator
Equivalent to: WR 220
WR 224, *INTRODUCTION TO FICTION WRITING, 3 Credits
Discussion workshop. Student work examined in context of contemporary published work.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II; LACF – Liberal Arts Fine Arts Core
Prerequisite: WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better or Exam for Waiver - WR 121 with a score of 1
Equivalent to: WR 224H
Available via Ecampus
WR 224H, *INTRODUCTION TO FICTION WRITING, 3 Credits
Discussion workshop. Student work examined in context of contemporary published work.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II; HNRS – Honors Course Designator; LACF – Liberal Arts Fine Arts Core
Prerequisite: WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better or Exam for Waiver - WR 121 with a score of 1
Equivalent to: WR 224
WR 227HZ, *TECHNICAL WRITING, 4 Credits
Introduces students to producing instructive, informative, and persuasive technical/professional documents aimed at well-defined and achievable outcomes. Focuses on presenting information using rhetorically appropriate style, design, vocabulary, structure, and visuals. Gathers, reads, and analyzes information and learns a variety of strategies for producing accessible, usable, reader-centered deliverable documents that are clear, concise, and ethical.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II; HNRS – Honors Course Designator
Prerequisite: WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better or WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or Exam for Waiver - WR 121 with a score of 1
Equivalent to: WR 227Z
Available via Ecampus
WR 227Z, *TECHNICAL WRITING, 4 Credits
Introduces students to producing instructive, informative, and persuasive technical/professional documents aimed at well-defined and achievable outcomes. Focuses on presenting information using rhetorically appropriate style, design, vocabulary, structure, and visuals. Gathers, reads, and analyzes information and learns a variety of strategies for producing accessible, usable, reader-centered deliverable documents that are clear, concise, and ethical.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II
Prerequisite: WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better or WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or Exam for Waiver - WR 121 with a score of 1
Equivalent to: WR 227HZ
Available via Ecampus
WR 230, *ESSENTIALS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR, 3 Credits
Introduces students to the structure of sentences with a focus on beginning grammar. Students in WR 230 will learn the differences between clauses and phrases, how to recognize subjects and predicates in a variety of sentence types, how to avoid the most common grammatical errors in student writing, and how to use punctuation correctly--and with intention. Students will complete readings, watch videos, participate in discussions, and demonstrate understanding through weekly quizzes. They will also challenge themselves with numerous writing activities, and complete writing analysis projects. (Bacc Core Course)
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II
Available via Ecampus
WR 240, *INTRODUCTION TO NONFICTION WRITING, 3 Credits
Discussion workshop. Student work examined in context of contemporary published work.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II; LACF – Liberal Arts Fine Arts Core
Prerequisite: WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better
This course is repeatable for 9 credits.
Available via Ecampus
WR 241, *INTRODUCTION TO POETRY WRITING, 3 Credits
Discussion workshop. Rudiments of mechanics and some background in development of modern poetry.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II; LACF – Liberal Arts Fine Arts Core
Prerequisite: WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better or Exam for Waiver - WR 121 with a score of 1
Available via Ecampus
WR 250, *PODCAST STORYTELLING, 3 Credits
Focuses on the skills needed to write, record, and produce informative and engaging podcasts. Students develop themes, write scripts, conduct interviews, and learn to make thoughtful editing decisions in the production of audio podcasts.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II
Prerequisite: WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better
WR 299, SPECIAL TOPICS, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 301, *PUBLISHING AND EDITING, 3 Credits
Invites students to learn about editing and copyediting techniques, broader editorial decisions, and current publishing platforms. Students will learn about scholarly publishing in the U.S. and about how social media and public relations fit into this world. Participants will also explore editing within a rhetorical dimension, considering purpose and audience, as well as conventions of grammar, mechanics, and usage. Students will review a scholarly article reporting on research in editing and/or publishing; as well as develop a publication-ready work of their own. As part of a final project, the class will work toward a collaborative publication.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II
Prerequisite: WR 121 with D- or better or WR 121H with D- or better or WR 121Z with D- or better or WR 121HZ with D- or better
Available via Ecampus
WR 303, *WRITING FOR THE WEB, 3 Credits
Concerns the production of instructive, informative, and rhetorically savvy writing for Web-based locations and applications. Helps people find information, get things done, convey their opinions, build communities, and collaborate on complex projects.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II
Prerequisite: WR 121 with D- or better or WR 121H with D- or better or WR 121Z with D- or better or WR 121HZ with D- or better
Available via Ecampus
WR 310, WRITING THE YOUNG ADULT NOVEL, 3 Credits
Explores the literary Young Adult (YA) novel by analyzing the plot, character, language, setting, and voice of established authors. Incorporates YA-specific craft elements to produce novelistic and literary writing. Develops and adapts an established structure and outline for a YA novel. Embarks on YA novel writing journey with rigorous revisions from peer review and instructor feedback.
Prerequisite: WR 224 with C- or better or WR 224H with C- or better
This course is repeatable for 6 credits.
Available via Ecampus
WR 311, WRITING SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY, 4 Credits
Analyzes contemporary, literary, science-fiction and fantasy short stories and novels to identify and integrate writing techniques. Examines the ways in which these genres comment on our current social constructs and imagine new ones. Practices genre-specific conventions, such as rules of technology or magic. Applies concepts learned to write fiction scenes and stories.
Recommended: WR 224; analytical, critical thinking, and writing skills
WR 320, NARRATIVE MEDICINE: BODIES, BEHAVIORS, AND BELIEFS, 4 Credits
Focuses on contemporary poetry and nonfiction by writers who are medical professionals, patients, and caregivers. Studies the authors’ different perspectives to consider the griefs and joys, concerns and comforts they have in common. Explores the body’s struggles and failures, recoveries and triumphs. Encourages a heightened sense of empathy and develops a practice of thoughtful self-examination through in-depth class discussions and weekly writing prompts.
WR 323, *ADVANCED WRITING & ARGUMENTATION, 3 Credits
Explores advanced argumentation and writes research-based essays to persuade specific audiences. Analyzes texts to evaluate rhetorical purpose and genre conventions. Develops advanced information literacy skills, evaluating and incorporating appropriate research sources. Applies stylistic awareness in writing through close attention to audience and rhetorical context. Crafts advanced strategies for writing processes, collaborating with peers and/or instructor to develop drafts, revise, and reflect to improve transfer to future writing contexts.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II
Prerequisite: WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better or WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or Exam for Waiver - WR 121 with a score of 1
Equivalent to: WR 323H
Available via Ecampus
WR 323H, *ADVANCED WRITING & ARGUMENTATION, 3 Credits
Explores advanced argumentation and writes research-based essays to persuade specific audiences. Analyzes texts to evaluate rhetorical purpose and genre conventions. Develops advanced information literacy skills, evaluating and incorporating appropriate research sources. Applies stylistic awareness in writing through close attention to audience and rhetorical context. Crafts advanced strategies for writing processes, collaborating with peers and/or instructor to develop drafts, revise, and reflect to improve transfer to future writing contexts.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II; HNRS – Honors Course Designator
Prerequisite: WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better or WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or Exam for Waiver - WR 121 with a score of 1
Equivalent to: WR 323
WR 324, SHORT STORY WRITING, 4 Credits
Study and writing of the short story. (FA)
Attributes: LACF – Liberal Arts Fine Arts Core
Prerequisite: WR 224 with D- or better or WR 224H with D- or better
This course is repeatable for 8 credits.
Available via Ecampus
WR 327, *TECHNICAL WRITING, 3 Credits
Continued practice in writing with an emphasis on the rhetorical and critical thinking demands of writers in scientific and technological fields. NO LONGER TAUGHT. REPLACED WITH COMMON COURSE NUMBER WR 227Z.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II
Prerequisite: WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or Exam for Waiver - WR 121 with a score of 1
Equivalent to: WR 327H
Available via Ecampus
WR 330, *UNDERSTANDING GRAMMAR, 3 Credits
Advanced study of traditional grammatical forms and conventional grammatical terms with emphasis on the assumptions underlying the structure of traditional grammar.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II
Prerequisite: WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better or Exam for Waiver - WR 121 with a score of 1
Available via Ecampus
WR 340, CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING, 4 Credits
Intermediate study and writing of creative nonfiction.
Attributes: LACF – Liberal Arts Fine Arts Core
Prerequisite: WR 240 with D- or better
This course is repeatable for 8 credits.
Available via Ecampus
WR 341, POETRY WRITING, 4 Credits
Study and writing of verse. (FA)
Attributes: LACF – Liberal Arts Fine Arts Core
Prerequisite: WR 241 with D- or better
This course is repeatable for 8 credits.
WR 353, WRITING ABOUT PLACES, 3 Credits
Utilizing personal experience, reading, and research, students, study, discuss, and practice the conventions of writing about place far and near, global and local, for various audiences and in a range of formats.
Prerequisite: WR 121 with D- or better or WR 121H with D- or better or WR 121Z with D- or better or WR 121HZ with D- or better
WR 362, *SCIENCE WRITING, 3 Credits
Students learn and practice the conventions for writing scientific material for a variety of audiences. Involves writing and research assignments, multimedia presentations, lecture, and in-class and online activities.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II
Prerequisite: WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better
Equivalent to: WR 362H
Available via Ecampus
WR 362H, *SCIENCE WRITING, 3 Credits
Students learn and practice the conventions for writing scientific material for a variety of audiences. Involves writing and research assignments, multimedia presentations, lecture, and in-class and online activities.
Attributes: CSW2 – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing II; HNRS – Honors Course Designator
Prerequisite: WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better
Equivalent to: WR 362
WR 383, FOOD WRITING, 4 Credits
Focuses on the skills needed to write, edit, and publish engaging stories about food, from recipes to food magazine features. Develops story ideas, practices reporting on those ideas using journalistic techniques, and learns fundamental skills about the publishing process.
Prerequisite: WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better
Available via Ecampus
WR 390, HABITS OF CREATIVE PRACTICE, 2 Credits
Explores embodied practices of creative work, defined as the habits, tools, and procedures used by writers, artists, scholars, engineers, programmers, or other practitioners to shape the physical, emotional, and intellectual experience of sitting down to work on a project. Examines creative practice techniques from established practitioners in multiple genres and disciplines. Inventories material, psychological, and social conditions that influence the generation of creative work. Offers collaborative framework for student-designed experimentation with various elements of and approaches to creative practice to create individualized portfolios of adaptable habits, rituals, and strategies.
This course is repeatable for 6 credits.
Recommended: Collaboration, writing, and self-reflection skills
WR 399, SPECIAL TOPICS, 1-16 Credits
Equivalent to: WR 399H
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 399H, SPECIAL TOPICS, 1-16 Credits
Attributes: HNRS – Honors Course Designator
Equivalent to: WR 399
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 401, RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 402, INDEPENDENT STUDY, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 403, THESIS, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 404, WRITING AND CONFERENCE, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 405, READING AND CONFERENCE, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 406, PROJECTS, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
Available via Ecampus
WR 407, SEMINAR, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 408, WORKSHOP, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 411, ^THE TEACHING OF WRITING, 4 Credits
Pedagogy and theory in composition; prepares teachers (secondary through college) in writing process, assignment design, evaluation, and grammar. Also focuses on students' own writing.
Attributes: CSWC – Core Ed - Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC); CWIC – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC)
WR 414, ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING, 4 Credits
Writing news releases, annual reports, brochures, newsletters, and other PR materials. Writing advertising copy.
Prerequisite: WR 121 with B or better or WR 121H with B or better or WR 121Z with B or better or WR 121HZ with B or better
Available via Ecampus
WR 420, STUDIES IN WRITING, 4 Credits
Selected topics in rhetoric and composition.
This course is repeatable for 8 credits.
Available via Ecampus
WR 424, ADVANCED FICTION WRITING, 4 Credits
Workshop. (FA)
Attributes: LACF – Liberal Arts Fine Arts Core
Prerequisite: WR 324 with D- or better
This course is repeatable for 8 credits.
WR 435, SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL, & PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION CAPSTONE, 1 Credit
Complete a portfolio comprised of material generated throughout previous courses in the Certificate in Scientific, Technical, and Professional Communication.
Recommended: Completion of 18 credits towards the Scientific, Technical, and Professional Communication Certificate
WR 440, ADVANCED CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING, 4-8 Credits
An advanced course in creative nonfiction writing, centered around workshops of polished material.
Prerequisite: WR 340 with D- or better
This course is repeatable for 8 credits.
WR 441, ADVANCED POETRY WRITING, 4 Credits
Advanced poetry workshop.
Attributes: LACF – Liberal Arts Fine Arts Core
Prerequisite: WR 341 with D- or better
This course is repeatable for 8 credits.
WR 448, MAGAZINE ARTICLE WRITING, 4 Credits
Writing the magazine article. Analyzing markets and writing query and cover letters, marketing manuscripts to magazines. Interviewing and researching.
WR 449, CRITICAL REVIEWING, 4 Credits
Writing critical reviews of books, television programs, movies, plays, and restaurants for newspapers and magazines. The role of criticism in popular culture.
WR 460, ^WRITING OF THE SEA, 4 Credits
Introduces the traditions and modalities of writing used in marine studies disciplines, including technical, creative, analytical, and journalistic writing. Uses rhetorical structure and strategies to express personal beliefs about, responses to, and ethical commitments toward the world’s oceans.
Attributes: CSWC – Core Ed - Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC); CWIC – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC)
Equivalent to: WR 460X
WR 462, ^ENVIRONMENTAL WRITING, 4 Credits
Writing about environmental topics from multiple perspectives. Includes science journalism, research and writing on current scientific issues and controversies, and theories of rhetoric and environmentalism.
Attributes: CSWC – Core Ed - Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC); CWIC – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC)
Prerequisite: WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better
This course is repeatable for 12 credits.
Available via Ecampus
WR 466, ^ADVANCED TECHNICAL WRITING, 4 Credits
Introduces the texts, contexts, and concepts important to the practice of professional communication in organizational contexts, addressing practical writing skills, rhetoric, and ethics. Course readings concern what professional technical writers do and what theories govern their actions, bridging the gap between real-world problems and academic research. Emphasizes solving real-world writing and communication problems with empirical research, usability testing, and information design.
Attributes: CSWC – Core Ed - Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC); CWIC – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC)
Prerequisite: WR 121 with D- or better or WR 121H with D- or better
WR 475, RHETORICS OF RACE, 4 Credits
By exploring the interrelated concepts of race, racialization, and racism, Rhetorics of Race problematizes race as a taken-for-granted phenomenon. Through reading, writing, and discussion, class participants study racial formations as historically specific and analyze contemporary forms of racism in the US. Readings and discussion pay close attention to how rhetoric and discourse have the power to reproduce and challenge white supremacy and race-based oppressions. Emphasizing the intersectionality of oppression—that racism necessarily takes place at intersections with other forms of subordination including sexism, homophobia, ablelism, etc.—Rhetorics of Race draws from Queer Black Feminism, Chican@ Feminism, and Critical Race Theory.
WR 495, ^INTRODUCTION TO LITERACY STUDIES, 4 Credits
Literacy studies in multidisciplinary contexts. Examines historical, theoretical, and practical relationships among reading, writing, language, culture, and schooling.
Attributes: CSWC – Core Ed - Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC); CWIC – Bacc Core, Skills, Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC)
WR 497, DIGITAL LITERACY AND CULTURE, 4 Credits
From pencils to pixels, telegraphs to texts, and semaphores to social networking, Digital Literacy and Culture focuses on the relationships between human expression and the technologies that provide context, meaning, and shape to those expressions.
Prerequisite: WR 121 with C- or better or WR 121H with C- or better or WR 121Z with C- or better or WR 121HZ with C- or better
WR 499, SPECIAL TOPICS, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 500, MFA RESIDENCY, 1-20 Credits
Low-Residency Masters of Fine Arts Residency. Required course for graduate students in the Low-Residency Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.
This course is repeatable for 48 credits.
WR 501, RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 502, INDEPENDENT STUDY, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 503, THESIS, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 999 credits.
WR 504, WRITING AND CONFERENCE, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 505, READING AND CONFERENCE, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 506, PROJECTS, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 507, SEMINAR, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 508, WORKSHOP, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 509, PRACTICUM, 1-16 Credits
Required practicum for graduate students teaching introduction to poetry writing.
This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
WR 511, THE TEACHING OF WRITING, 4 Credits
Pedagogy and theory in composition; prepares teachers (secondary through college) in writing process, assignment design, evaluation, and grammar. Also focuses on student's own writing.
WR 512, CURRENT COMPOSITION THEORY, 4 Credits
Current rhetoric and composition theory and its applications for teachers and writers.
WR 513, LOW-RESIDENCY MFA MENTORSHIP, 5-12 Credits
Low-Residency Masters of Fine Arts Mentorship. Required course for graduate students in the Low-Residency Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.
This course is repeatable for 36 credits.
WR 515, M.A. THESIS WRITING, 1 Credit
Explores, evaluates, and integrates MA thesis genre conventions, strategies for drafting and revising prose, and productive and healthy writing habits specifically for graduate students in writing, literature, and film. Produces a draft of one thesis chapter.
This course is repeatable for 5 credits.
WR 517, TEACHING PRACTICUM: ENGLISH COMPOSITION, 2 Credits
Required practicum for graduate students teaching English Composition.
WR 519, TEACHING PRACTICUM: WR 222, 1 Credit
This practicum prepares graduate teaching assistants to teach Writing 222 (Argumentation). It includes both theoretical and practical components, providing an overview of the curriculum and addressing course development, lesson planning, and pedagogical best practices. The practicum is required for SWLF graduate students with a focus in rhetoric and composition.
WR 520, STUDIES IN WRITING, 4 Credits
Selected topics in rhetoric and composition.
This course is repeatable for 8 credits.
Available via Ecampus
WR 521, TEACHING PRACTICUM: FICTION WRITING, 1 Credit
Required practicum for graduate students teaching introduction to fiction writing.
This course is repeatable for 3 credits.
WR 522, TEACHING PRACTICUM: POETRY WRITING, 1 Credit
Required practicum for graduate students teaching introduction to poetry writing.
This course is repeatable for 3 credits.
WR 523, TEACHING PRACTICUM: NONFICTION WRITING, 1 Credit
Required practicum for graduate students teaching introduction to nonfiction writing.
This course is repeatable for 3 credits.
WR 524, ADVANCED FICTION WRITING, 4 Credits
Advanced fiction workshop with an emphasis on developing longer pieces.
This course is repeatable for 24 credits.
WR 526, READING FOR WRITERS, 3 Credits
Illustrates the generative potential that revision holds for writers. Cultivates strategies for naming or creating writing opportunities and chances for discovery, practices revising a significant work of original writing.
WR 529, COMPASSIONATE CRITIQUE, 3 Credits
Conducts a close study of the unique, complicated dynamics at work in peer critique, with an emphasis on strategies for response that might challenge familiar modes of criticism and traditional workshop dynamics. Implements the basics of workshop; students practice reading and critiquing peers’ work across different genres.
WR 530, INTRODUCTION TO WRITING POETRY, 3 Credits
Practices the sharing of original work and critiquing the poetry of others. Creates an opportunity to experiment with writing in different poetics styles and forms.
WR 531, INTRODUCTION TO WRITING FICTION, 3 Credits
Introduces the craft of writing fiction through discussion of fundamental storytelling techniques such as plot design, character arcs, narrative structure and issues relating to pacing, tone and style. Discusses student work and devises specific strategies for brainstorming, troubleshooting and revising.
WR 532, INTRODUCTION TO WRITING CREATIVE NONFICTION, 3 Credits
Practices the sharing of original work and critique the work of others. Explore the freedoms and limitations inherent in this genre through supplemental readings and through in-class generative writing prompts.
WR 533, ADVANCED POETRY WRITING WORKSHOP, 3 Credits
Practices ethically engaged workshop skills and enacts a regular writing and revision process to strengthen/revise a substantial body of original work. Participate in group writing exercises.
Prerequisite: WR 526 with B or better and WR 529 [B] and WR 530 [B]
This course is repeatable for 6 credits.
WR 534, ADVANCED FICTION WRITING WORKSHOP, 3 Credits
Addresses advanced issues of craft, including sophisticated storytelling techniques, achieving consistency (tone, balance, rhythm), and other key elements of successful sustained narratives (character arcs, plot design, structural dynamics).
Prerequisite: WR 526 with B or better and WR 529 [B] and WR 531 [B]
This course is repeatable for 6 credits.
WR 535, ADVANCED CREATIVE NONFICTION, 3 Credits
Focuses on advanced issues of craft, emphasizing how life events or circumstances can be used to ground inquiry and reflect on larger social, political, and cultural domains. Includes synthesizing research artfully, achieving consistency (tone, balance, proportion), experimenting with innovative techniques, becoming more rhetorically aware, and revising intentionally.
Prerequisite: WR 526 with B or better and WR 529 [B] and WR 532 [B]
This course is repeatable for 6 credits.
WR 536, REVISION, 2 Credits
Focuses on the generative potential of revision. Discusses and analyzes texts by well-known writers on the value of revision and revision strategies. Identifies opportunities for expansion and/or compression in original work. Cultivates editorial strategies that students deploy in peer-evaluations and in the revision of a substantial body of original creatives work.
Prerequisite: WR 526 with B or better and WR 529 [B] and (WR 533 [B] or WR 534 [B] or WR 535 [B])
WR 537, WRITING FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, 3 Credits
Build graduate-level writing and rhetorical skills and identify and utilize the conventions of researched-based writing in their field with the end goal of being more confident and effective writers of academic argument. Analyze writing in their own fields, develop papers through all stages of the writing process, and work to expand graduate-level academic vocabulary and scientific and technical writing conventions.
This course is repeatable for 15 credits.
WR 538, CREATIVE WRITING PEDAGOGY, 2 Credits
Supports participants in developing their own philosophy and approach to creative writing pedagogy. Explores points of confluence between workshop, pedagogical best practices, arts education, and social justice through practicum (designing and implementing unique Teaching Portfolios and Teaching Philosophies), as well as discussion and reflection on essays about MFA programs and teaching by field leaders. Synthesizes practicum outcomes through peer-participation and peer review.
WR 539, CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP IN SPANISH: TALLER DE CREACIÓN LITERARIA EN ESPAÑOL, 3 Credits
English: Critiques texts in Spanish, English and Spanglish from across the Spanish-speaking literary world, including U.S. Latinx authors. Spanish: Estudian textos en Español, Inglés, y Espanglish del mundo hispanohablante, incluyendo autores Latinx de EE.UU. Escriben y comparten obras originales en respuesta a instrucciones y comentan en las obras de sus compañeros.
WR 540, ADVANCED NONFICTION WRITING, 4 Credits
Advanced creative nonfiction workshop with an emphasis on developing longer pieces.
This course is repeatable for 24 credits.
WR 541, ADVANCED POETRY WRITING, 4 Credits
Advanced poetry workshop.
This course is repeatable for 24 credits.
WR 542, PUBLISHING, 2 Credits
Prepares students to participate in the literary marketplace. Topics include how to find the right “fit” for your work, writing the query letter, working with editors, when to get an agent, negotiating a contract, self-publishing and independent publishing.
WR 550, POETRY FOUNDATIONS 1: PROSODY, 3 Credits
Analyzes poetic elements, organized around the history and evolution of poetic forms, including syllable, stanza, and line; of stress, meter, rhyme, and a variety of countings, as well as contemporary explorations of fragmentation, interruption, chance and silence. Demonstrates a range of structural elements, experimental and classic. Integrates craft theory and its application in original student work.
Prerequisite: WR 526 (may be taken concurrently) with B or better and WR 529 (may be taken concurrently) [B]
WR 551, POETRY FOUNDATIONS 2: TRANSNATIONAL TRANSLATIONS, 3 Credits
Introduces a range of writers whose poetry travels across the borders of nation, language, and form, providing a transnational lens on poetic craft. Includes critical essays on the art of translation. Integrates craft theory and analysis and emphasizes how students may apply these techniques in their own writing.
WR 552, POETRY FOUNDATIONS 3: POETICS, 3 Credits
Explores the long tradition of the articulation of the meaning and purpose of poetry, from Aristotle to ‘undocumented poetics.’ Introduces essays and poems that give shape to aesthetic judgments and encourages students to respond in their own writing to the history of poetic ideas. Craft analysis integrates craft theory and emphasizes how students may apply these techniques in their own writing.
WR 553, POETRY FOUNDATIONS 4: EXPERIMENTAL FORMS, 3 Credits
Introduces a range of experimental poetry by writers from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Examines and interrogates the role of “identity,” “narrative,” and “the lyric I” in poetic traditions. Integrates craft theory and emphasizes how students may apply these techniques in their own writing.
WR 554, FICTION FOUNDATIONS 1: NARRATIVE CONVENTIONS, 3 Credits
Analyzes the formal elements of the craft—narrative structure, character development, point of view consistency, style, detail, imagery, and theme. Identifies specific technical strategies for achieving the writer’s intentions for the work. Considers what general principles might govern story form but also the wide latitude a writer has in addressing them.
Prerequisite: WR 526 (may be taken concurrently) with B or better and WR 529 (may be taken concurrently) [B]
WR 555, FICTION FOUNDATIONS 2: SHORT FICTION, 3 Credits
Tracks the development of short stories from the mid-nineteenth century to present, in English and in translation. Genres may include psychological realism, modernism, and postmodernism. Stories are contextualized historically and in terms of aesthetic tradition. Craft analysis integrates craft theory and emphasizes how students may apply these techniques in their own writing.
WR 556, FICTION FOUNDATIONS 3: NARRATIVE DESIGN, 3 Credits
Examines the design and construction of long fiction narratives with an eye toward the relationship between form and content. Craft analysis integrates craft theory and emphasizes how students may apply these techniques in their own writing.
WR 557, FICTION FOUNDATIONS 4: EXPERIMENTAL FORMS, 3 Credits
Explores experimental approaches to fictional prose, emphasizing writers who work against the conventions of narrative realism. Craft analysis integrates craft theory and emphasizes how students may apply these techniques in their own writing. Readings from various traditions, American and international, showcase discontinuous narratives, metafictional techniques, and non-narrative forms, and serve as models for students’ own writing.
WR 558, CREATIVE NONFICTION FOUNDATIONS: NARRATIVE, 3 Credits
Analyzes the formal elements that creative nonfiction borrows from fiction, including narrative, persona/voice, and characterization. Analyzes the ways nonfiction differs, including the use of double perspective and its effect on narrative structure, the ethics of characterization, and the effective management of narrative distance.
Prerequisite: WR 526 (may be taken concurrently) with B or better and WR 529 (may be taken concurrently) [B]
WR 559, CREATIVE NONFICTION FOUNDATIONS: DOCUMENTARY, 3 Credits
Connects documentary poetics and creative nonfiction through an analysis of style. Readings will demonstrate the use of research strategies, including oral histories, interviews, immersion, and the gathering of information from various types of sources. Uses research to ground and expand the work and experiments with various writing techniques.
WR 560, CREATIVE NONFICTION FOUNDATIONS: LYRIC, 3 Credits
Explores the formal elements that creative nonfiction borrows from poetry: imagery, figurative language, juxtaposition, collage, fragmentation, associative movement, and other nonlinear through-lines. Draws from a diverse array of both writers and styles. Explores how lyrical elements work together in an organic whole through experimentation in original student work.
WR 561, CREATIVE NONFICTION FOUNDATIONS: EXPERIMENTAL FORMS, 3 Credits
Emphasizes innovative nonfiction through investigations of non-traditional approaches such as, the segmented essay, the uses of fabrication and falsification, hypertext and digital experiments, formal innovations, and more. Practice using such boundary-pushing techniques to expand the possibilities of their own nonfiction.
WR 562, ENVIRONMENTAL WRITING, 4 Credits
Writing about environmental topics from multiple perspectives. Includes science journalism, research and writing on current scientific issues and controversies, and theories of rhetoric and environmentalism.
This course is repeatable for 8 credits.
Recommended: WR 121Z
WR 570, CRITICAL STUDIES: READING DIFFERENCE, POWER, AND PRIVILEGE, 2 Credits
Examines texts by writers from diverse communities on topics such as intersectionality, antiracism, and privilege. Discusses how difference, power, and privilege function as content and form in literary texts while writing and sharing original work.
WR 571, CRITICAL STUDIES: WRITING DIFFERENCE, POWER, AND PRIVILEGE, 2 Credits
Analyzes and discusses what writing difference means for literary craft. Assesses moral and ethical dimensions of literary technique and creates original work.
Prerequisite: WR 526 with B or better and WR 529 [B] and WR 570 [B]
WR 572, CRITICAL STUDIES: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, 2 Credits
Explores blending writing practices with promoting the literary arts through community engagement and/or public facing events in traditional and non-traditional settings.
Prerequisite: WR 526 with B or better and WR 529 [B] and WR 570 [B] and WR 571 [B]
WR 573, THESIS & DISSERTATION WRITING, 3 Credits
Supports students who are in the writing stages of their thesis or dissertation. Teaches rhetorical analysis of model texts, techniques for drafting and revising texts, strategies for overcoming writing blocks, and methods of self-care for managing stress.
This course is repeatable for 30 credits.
WR 574, CRITICAL STUDIES: CRITICAL INTRODUCTION, 3 Credits
Prepares students for the writing of the thesis, specifically the Critical Introduction. Explores protocols, terminology and discourse patterns necessary to complete the thesis. Connects program of study to students’ original writing and reflects on chosen forms and future goals.
Prerequisite: WR 526 with B or better and WR 529 [B] and WR 570 [B] and WR 571 [B] and WR 572 [B]
WR 575, RHETORICS OF RACE, 4 Credits
By exploring the interrelated concepts of race, racialization, and racism, Rhetorics of Race problematizes race as a taken-for-granted phenomenon. Through reading, writing, and discussion, class participants study racial formations as historically specific and analyze contemporary forms of racism in the US. Readings and discussion pay close attention to how rhetoric and discourse have the power to reproduce and challenge white supremacy and race-based oppressions. Emphasizing the intersectionality of oppression—that racism necessarily takes place at intersections with other forms of subordination including sexism, homophobia, ablelism, etc.—Rhetorics of Race draws from Queer Black Feminism, Chican@ Feminism, and Critical Race Theory.
WR 585, CONTEMPORARY RHETORIC THEORY, 4 Credits
Familiarizes students with a range of theories that have significantly contributed to or influenced the field of modern and contemporary rhetorical research. Examines scholars, concepts, and methodologies that are central to contemporary rhetorical theory, while touching on key critical theorists who, although may be considered outside the field of rhetoric studies, impact the ways in which language, persuasion, and communication are currently understood. From this work, students develop their own perspectives and generate evidence-based arguments concerning those same issues.
Recommended: WR 121Z
WR 593, THE RHETORICAL TRADITION AND THE TEACHING OF WRITING, 4 Credits
Major past and contemporary theories of written communication, their historical context, and their impact on writing and the teaching of writing.
WR 595, INTRODUCTION TO LITERACY STUDIES, 4 Credits
Literacy studies in multidisciplinary contexts. Examines historical, theoretical, and practical relationships among reading, writing, language, culture, and schooling.
WR 599, SPECIAL TOPICS, 1-16 Credits
This course is repeatable for 30 credits.