Placement in the First-Year Writing Seminars (WRIT 100)

Students place themselves in sections of Writing Seminar for First-Years (WRIT 100). Each has a distinct topic; one or two sections will be appropriate for ESOL students. Sufficient spaces in WRIT 100 sections are always offered each fall and winter to guarantee each first-year student who needs one a place; however, scheduling conflicts do arise from time to time. Students and advisers should not postpone WRIT 100 for the sophomore year. Students other than first-years get last choice in the winter.  You can review the descriptions for all the WRIT 100 courses in in Self-Service.

Guidance for ESOL students:  All WRIT-100 professors will be able to provide the support that international student writers need. But if you need extra help in the English language (or think you might), or need a professor who has training working with students for whom English is not a first language, look for sections taught by Profs. Kao, Smout, or Ruiz. Each term, one or two sections will be appropriate for ESOL students. Visit also our page with Resources for International Student Writers

Guidance for one-year visitors: One-year visitors hoping to take WRIT 100 must wait until first-year students here for the full four years have been accommodated. One-year visitors are encouraged to contact the professor teaching a winter term WRIT 100 with open spaces directly, or to enroll in English 201 if it is offered.

Guidance for sophomores and transfer students who have not taken college writing: You are unlikely to be exempted from the requirement without a college writing course. When you register for a section of the Writing Seminar for First-Years (WRIT 100), you will be placed on the waitlist because you are not a first-year student. Please see the chair of the English Department immediately in order to gain admission to a First-Year Writing Seminar section. You may have to wait until winter term.

Purpose of the Foundation Requirement FDR (FW):

Students will receive extensive practice in critical reading and writing; will be introduced to conventions governing appropriateness and persuasiveness in writing; learn the conventions of standard English; learn to choose words more precisely, to write clearer sentences and more effective paragraphs, to argue a workable thesis, to use an effective voice, and to integrate the work of others into their own work properly; and, overall, learn to increase precision, fluency, and confidence with written language.