University Writing

ENGL CC/GS1010 – University Writing is a one-semester seminar designed to facilitate students’ entry into the intellectual life of the university by teaching them to become more capable and independent academic readers and writers. The course emphasizes habits of mind and skills that foster students’ capacities for critical analysis, argument, revision, collaboration, meta-cognition, and research. Students read and discuss essays from a number of fields, complete regular informal reading and writing exercises, compose several longer essays, and devise a research-based project of their own design.

For information about registering for University Writing, please refer to the College Bulletin, Engineering Bulletin, or General Studies Bulletin, and consult your advising dean.

DIRECTOR OF THE UNDERGRADUATE WRITING PROGRAMUNDERGRADUATE WRITING PROGRAM OFFICE
Nicole B. Wallack
Senior Lecturer in English and Comparative Literature
nw2108@columbia.edu		310 Philosophy Hall
uwp@columbia.edu
(212) 854-3886 

Essays Students Will Write

  1. Students analyze a single text.
  2. Students put multiple texts in conversation with one another.
  3. Students make a researched argument using 8-10 sources.
  4. Students write an op-ed for a publication with a wide audience.

To read student essays from the course, see The Morningside Review.

Courses of Instruction

University Writing focuses on developing students’ reading, writing, and thinking, drawing from readings on a designated course theme that carry a broad appeal to people with diverse interests. No University Writing class presumes that students arrive with prior knowledge in the theme of the course. We are offering the following themes this year:

Looking for the Writing Center?