New FYWR Course!

Writing 160: Multimodal Composition

This small seminar emphasizes individualized instruction and gives students practice communicating in a variety of social situations and media, as well as opportunities to explore their own interests and ambitions as writers. Students will improve their ability to understand various modalities and compose in a variety of media. (4-credit)

New ULWR Courses!

Writing 400: Advanced Rhetoric & Research
The Working Writer

What do working writers do all day? And what might your own life entail if you become one? This course is designed for you to find out. During the first half of the semester, we look at ways contemporary, established writers do this throughout their careers, and in the second half of the semester, each student creates a project that employs a mixed method research design to serve a community of their choice. This course is intended for students in diverse disciplines who want to create work that supports significant change, and who want to practice giving interviews, conducting surveys, going to archives, and engaging in other research that goes beyond Google. (3-credit)

Writing 400: Advanced Rhetoric & Research
Writing in the Sciences

Communicating scientific information calls for a keen awareness of audience expectations. Writing in the Sciences intends to prepare students interested in science to write in a variety of professional disciplines. Students in this course will write in at least two forms of science communication, an academic article, and an independently-designed public-facing communication project, in order to build skill identifying and targeting a specific audience. (3-credit)

Writing with Digital & Social Media

Writing 200: Writing with Digital & Social Media (3-credit)

And now for something completely different! Our Writing 200 and 201 courses are among the most popular Sweetland courses with topics that include photo essay, podcasting, technical writing, and rhetorical analysis of social media platforms, infographics, blogging.

Writing 200.001 - The Art of Podcasting

Do you love listening to podcasts? Are you curious about creating audio experiences and experimenting with voice and sound?This three-credit digital media course introduces students to the genre of podcasting by working together to create a season of “Michigan Voices” with a focus on collecting stories within our local communities.

Writing 200.002 - The Rhetoric of Infographics

In this course, we will examine how a range of infographics tell visual stories from a rhetorical perspective. You will learn how to break down complex information, thoughtfully combine different modes (texts, numbers, images) with informational honesty, consider elements of good design and rhetorical persuasion, and use relevant technological tools. You will also have several opportunities to apply this knowledge to your own infographic compositions.

Writing with Digital & Social Media Mini-Courses

Writing 201 Writing with Digital & Social Media Mini-courses (1-credit)

Writing 201.001 - The Rhetoric of Conspiracy Theories

In this half-term mini-course we’ll examine the ways conspiracy theories are built online, the rhetoric used to convey them across multiple platforms from 4chan and Reddit to Instagram and TikTok, and the causes and consequences of people’s belief in them.

Writing 201.002 Writing the Selfie

In Writing the Selfie we focus on the selfie as an utterance that participates in rhetorical discourse, and thus we attempt to apply classical rhetorical categories to a visual text. Composition is inherent in any communication act, no matter how quick and automatic that act is; thus, in this course, we view the selfie as a digital platform contributing to the rhetorical ends of composition.

Writing 201.003 - The Rhetoric of Online Dating

In this course we will examine the strategies used by online daters to position themselves within the romantic marketplace – including profile text, images, match questions, and messages. And we will consider how different dating sites and apps shape would-be daters’ priorities and choices in the matchmaking experience. No actual engagement in online dating will be expected or required, so this course is suitable both for students looking to improve their active profiles and for those curious to study the phenomenon from the sidelines.

Writing 201.004 - The Rhetoric of Yik Yak

The social network Yik Yak has resumed activities in the past year, after having been discontinued. What makes this social network particularly interesting is that it relies on anonymity and an enclosed geographical area. In this mini-course we’ll examine what “yaks” say and how they say it, analyzing them from a rhetorical and cultural perspective. You will analyze several yaks that convey views of your community, as well as create your own strategic yaks. 

For International and Multilingual Students

In Writing 229 Editing & Style for International and Multilingual Students, students explore the rhetorical effectiveness of stylistic elements commonly found in American academic and professional writing. In each class, students will work individually on editing exercises and collaboratively in stylistic discussions. Students will have a chance to bring their own essays and editing questions to workshops with their classmates and the instructor. Additionally, students will identify and practice styles of writing in different contexts, such as writing in science, business, and psychology.  (1-credit)

Transitional Writing Courses

Transfer undergraduates and other upper-division undergraduates who feel they may need additional support in upper-level writing can enroll in Writing 350: Excelling in Upper-Level Writing. This course can be taken at the same time as a ULWR course. Operating in a workshop and discussion format, it provides an opportunity to identify writing strengths and issues, set personal goals, and practice writing in a collaborative environment. The course uses the writing that students produce in other classes as the basis for workshops. (1-credit)

Students who have yet to fulfill the First-Year Writing Requirement who want to improve their ability to express ideas and arguments in writing can enroll Writing 100: The Practice of Writing. This course emphasizes an intensive one-on-one approach to teaching writing, including frequent student-teacher conferences. It addresses key features of college writing including: analysis in addition to summary; revision for focus and clarity; development and generation of ideas; and style built on a solid grasp of conventions of grammar and punctuation. Students gain confidence for writing assignments typical of college classes. (3-credit)

Writing 120: College Writing for International & Multilingual Students is designed to prepare international and multilingual students for their first-year writing courses. It will guide students in typical university writing practices, including an emphasis on developing well-researched, properly cited papers. Students will develop written fluency and improve their command of grammatical, textual, rhetorical, and multimodal conventions common in a variety of academic disciplines. (3-credit)