Writing
Faculty: Professor Stubblefield, and Associate Professors Polo and Green
Cottey believes written communication is a cornerstone of a liberal arts education and requires six hours of writing for graduation, First-Year Writing Seminar (FWS 101), and College Writing (WRI 102).
First-Year Writing Seminar (FWS)
Faculty: Faculty across the disciplines teach this foundational course.
Writing-Intensive (WI) Courses
Faculty: Faculty across the disciplines teach writing-intensive (WI) courses.
The ability to write clearly and persuasively is a valuable skill that is important for advanced study, professional advancement, and personal development. As such, Cottey strives to integrate writing into classes beyond the first-year writing program to ensure students develop and hone these skills. Therefore, students can expect to practice and learn about writing beyond their required first-year writing courses. See degree programs for details as individual programs may require WI courses.
Students can expect the following in any course marked with the WI designation:
- Writing will be an important part of the course and will constitute at least 30% of the course grade.
- Class time will be dedicated to teaching and/or talking about writing and the expectations for writing in the course.
- There will be a minimum of three (3) writing assignments of at least two (2) different genres. Length and type of assignments will vary based on professor and discipline.
- The professor will provide feedback on student writing. This feedback can happen at any stage in the writing process and may be either written comments or face-to-face discussion about the assignment.
- Students will have the opportunity to revise writing assignments. The number of revisions and the assignments with revision options is determined by individual professors.
Degrees and Minors
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Writing Minor
Courses
WRI 102: College Writing
Credits 4Continues focus of FWS 101 by assigning writing based on reading. Includes formal documentation, research methods, and critical essays on nonfiction and literary works.
WRI 200: Introduction to Writing Studies
Credits 4This intermediate course will introduce students to Writing Studies, a field dedicated to the study of writing and inclusive of multiple discourses, including composition, rhetoric, and writing pedagogies. Through immersion in and engagement with scholarship, students will come to a more nuanced understanding of writing as both an activity and a subject of study, and gain familiarity with changing principles of the field. Students will additionally have the opportunity to research and compose in a variety of academic genres.
WRI 250: Studies in Writing
Credits 4Studies in Writing courses provide students with the opportunity to explore various subjects in the field of Writing Studies. These courses introduce disciplinary knowledge and provide writing intensive experiences in various genres.
WRI 251: Creative Writing
Credits 4Introduction to writing of poetry and fiction, with emphasis on contemporary practice of both. Students will become familiar with contemporary short fiction writers and poets in English, working to develop personal aesthetic of craft of creative writing.
WRI 252: Introduction to Genre
Credits 4This course introduces students to genre theory, research, and pedagogies situated within the field of Writing Studies, specifically Composition/Rhetoric. Coursework will include, but is not limited to, research projects, textual analysis, genre critique, and presentations.
WRI 253: Professional Writing
Credits 4Introduction to writing about technical subjects within a professional setting. Students create job documents and write reports, instructions, emails, and memos; develop audience awareness; receive instruction on document layout and design; and collaborate in a group project to produce a written report of and presentation on the group’s primary research.
WRI 254: Introduction to Primary Research
Credits 4This course introduces students to the practice of primary research, focusing on qualitative research methods with some introduction to quantitative research methods. Students will learn about data collection methods, data collection tools, research ethics and IRB protocol, and how to write up and present the findings of original research. The course culminates in students proposing and conducting their own small primary research project.
WRI 255: Introduction to Rhetorical Studies
Credits 4This course introduces students to the study of rhetoric by exploring its role in theoretical, pedagogical, and practical arenas. Students will attend to both historical and contemporary rhetorical situations. Coursework will include critical reading, rhetorical analysis, researched projects, and composition in multiple genres.
WRI 256: Writing Center Theory and Pedagogy
Credits 4This course introduces students to the theory and practice of Writing Center Studies. Students will learn about the history and emergence of writing centers in the United States, study seminal texts surrounding writing centers, learn the practices of working with writers in writing centers, observe tutoring sessions, and learn the specifics of the Cottey College Writing Center. Coursework will include critical reading and reflection, observations of recorded and live sessions, researched projects, implementation of tutoring strategies through participation in writing center sessions, and composition in multiple genres.
WRI 257: Rhetoric and Disney
Credits 4This course examines Disney animated films through the lens of rhetoric. Students will enhance and practice textual and genre analysis skills by applying rhetorical theories to these artifacts of popular culture.
WRI 258: Public Writing
Credits 4Ideal for students in any major, this course helps students develop skills in communicating to non-academic audiences. Students will examine, analyze, and practice producing writing within a variety of public-facing genres, including those that promote social change.
WRI 350: Topics in Writing
Credits 4These courses provide a deeper exploration of special topics within the field of Writing Studies, reinforces disciplinary knowledge, and provides writing-intensive experiences in various genres.
WRI 351: Discourse Analysis
Credits 4This course introduces students to the qualitative research method of discourse analysis, which allows us to determine how we attempt to do things with language. With discourse analysis, writing researchers can gain a more sophisticated understanding of the latent motives and constraints influencing a rhetorical situation.
WRI 352: Rhetorical Style
Credits 4This course discusses stylistic rhetorical moves and how they may be used to enhance the persuasiveness of nonfiction texts. Students will become acquainted with stylistic moves at the word, sentence, and passage level and will see how rhetoric truly is the ART of persuasion.
WRI 353: Rhetorics of Public Memory
Credits 4This course explores the rhetorical work of museums, monuments, memorials, and archives by examining them as sites of public memory. Student in the course will read public memory and rhetorical scholarship, actively analyze sites, and create their own digital exhibits. Fulfills writing-intensive requirement.
WRI 354: Archives and Composition
Credits 4This course explores the representation of the field of rhetoric and composition within and by archives. With a special focus on underrepresented voices, sites, and forms of writing, this course teaches students to use archival research to complicate and enrich understandings of past writing and rhetorical practices.
WRI 355: Style and Editing
Credits 4Students will be introduced to the principles, methods, and styles of technical editing and will apply that knowledge by practicing editing techniques with real editing tasks and clients. Designed for students who want to learn more about writing and editing, become better writers, and/or assist others in becoming better writers. Fulfills writing-intensive requirement.
WRI 356: Digital & Multimodal Composition
Credits 4This course introduces fundamental concepts of digital and multimodal writing for audiences across a variety of platforms and genres. Theories of multimodal, visual, and digital rhetorics will be explored. Students in this course will develop the vocabulary and practical skills to create, collaborate on, and deliver digital documents in a variety of media to real audiences and users. Fulfills writing-intensive requirement.
WRI 357: Fiction Writing
Credits 4The course offers advanced study of writing literary fiction, both the short story and the novel. Readings support the art and craft of contemporary fiction writing. Workshops for student writing will be conducted. Fulfills writing-intensive requirement.
WRI 358: Advanced Composition
Credits 4As an advanced composition course, this class moves beyond the writing of first-year composition to explore historical and theoretical perspectives of composition theory while asking writers to examine their own writing processes. This course also introduces students to a variety of genres and presents rhetorical principles relevant to the writing process. Fulfills writing-intensive requirement.
WRI 360: Teaching Writing
Credits 4An advanced course focused on writing pedagogies. Students will explore theories, research, and conversations informing the teaching of writing in higher education, and will prepare materials designed for high-school writing instruction. Fulfills writing-intensive requirement.
WRI 361: Women's Rhetorical Education
Credits 4This course investigates the history of women’s rhetorical education (reading, writing, and speaking) in the United States. The course includes travel to relevant sites, such as women’s colleges, museums, and archives. Fulfills a writing-intensive requirement.
WRI 362: Comparative Rhetoric
Credits 4This course expands the western rhetorical tradition, taking a “comparative” approach that synthesizes western theory with rhetorics traditionally underexplored in American rhetorical education, such as Native American Indian rhetoric, African/Global Black rhetorics, and Ancient Near East rhetoric. Students will see how rhetoric therefore functions as a universal means of expression.
WRI 400: Writing Minor Portfolio
Credits 1Culmination of the student’s work in the Writing Minor. Under the direction of an English faculty member, students will compile a selection of written materials to demonstrate understanding of the Writing Studies field; successful composition in multiple genres; ability to make effective rhetorical choices; and pursuit of Cottey learning outcomes. Pass/Fail