Composition and Writing

The ability to write clearly and cogently is the hallmark of an educated person. Writing is the primary means of expressing a convincing point of view about complex and sophisticated ideas.

At Temple University, undergraduate students are engaged in intensive writing at various stages of their program. First-year students, for example, take the foundation writing course English 1002 (formerly C050), College Composition, or its equivalent:

Note:

Throughout this bulletin, reference to English 1002 (C050) and English 0711 (0041) also means equivalent courses. For example, English 1012 / 1022 (C051 / R050) and English 0701 (0040) are equivalent to English 1002 (C050) and English 0711 (0041), respectively. Students are not allowed to take upper-level course work until they have passed English 1002 (C050) or its equivalent.

Prior to taking English 1002 (C050), most students at the Japan campus complete English 0711 (0041), which is designed to accommodate the needs of nonnative English speakers and serves as an introduction to the study of composition. A first semester of a writing course is determined by the placement test, given prior to the first semester. After passing English 1002 (C050), students will complete at least five additional courses in which academic writing is a central part of the work.

These writing-intensive courses are indicated by the letter W or the letter X before the course number. The X indicates courses that meet both core and writing-intensive requirements. Aside from English 1002 (C050), two of the writing-intensive courses are in the Intellectual Heritage core category to follow, one is an advanced course in the student's major, and the remaining two may be chosen by the student from other fields. No writing-intensive course, however, may be taken until the student has passed English 1002 (C050) or its equivalent.

Examples:

English 1002 (formerly C050) plus five designated writing-intensive courses. Students pursuing the A.A. degree are required to complete one writing-intensive course in addition to English 1002 (C050) and the Intellectual Heritage two-course sequence. All students must take the library orientation class in conjunction with English 1002 (C050). A list of departmental writing-intensive courses follows: