WRI 109. Writing Seminar, Part I. (2 h)

First course of a two-semester sequence in which students explore writing as a recursive process. Students practice engaging with others’ views and texts; developing and reflecting on their own claims, evidence, and reasoning; connecting writing choices with rhetorical purposes and effects; and composing in various genres. Enrollment limited. Students who have earned credit for WRI 111 may not enroll in WRI 109. 

WRI 110. Writing Seminar, Part II. (2 h)

Second course in a two-semester sequence in which students explore writing as a recursive process. Students practice engaging with others’ views and texts; developing and reflecting on their own claims, evidence, and reasoning; connecting writing choices with rhetorical purposes and effects; and composing in various genres. Enrollment limited. Credit not allowed for both WRI 110 and WRI 111. P-WRI 109. 

WRI 111. Writing Seminar. (4 h)

Foundational course in which students explore writing as a recursive process. Students practice engaging with others’ views and texts; developing and reflecting on their own claims, evidence, and reasoning; connecting writing choices with rhetorical purposes and effects; and composing in various genres. Enrollment limited. Credit not allowed for both WRI 110 and WRI 111.

WRI 210. Exploring Academic Genres. (3 h)

Examines how academic writing compares and contrasts across majors. Students will consider the relationship between research and writing by analyzing how argumentation; evidence-gathering and reporting; and even linguistic features vary across academic disciplines and ultimately professions. Enrollment limited. P - WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 212. Literary Nonfiction: Art of the Essay. (3 h)

Explores the craft of the literary nonfiction essay. Students will read, analyze, and write personal essays, experimenting with different forms, while developing voice and prose style. Enrollment limited. P - WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 220. Writing and Power. (3 h)

Study of critical intersections between the written word and systems of, as well as resistance to, power across historical and contemporary contexts. Analysis of how questions of linguistic legitimacy and literacy have been tied to cultural perceptions, social structures, and public policies. P-WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 230. Rhetoric and Ethics. (3 h)

Exploration of the complex relationship between rhetoric, which attends closely to particular situations and audiences, and ethics, which often deals in abstractions such as the good, the just, and the fair. Course provides a framework for students to navigate these tensions and learn to operate with integrity within a fragmented public sphere. P - WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 250. Technical and Professional Communication. (3 h)

Study and practice of workplace writing across diverse professional and disciplinary contexts including business, science, medicine, and engineering. Students develop skills in crafting effective, inclusive, and accessible correspondence, proposals, reports, and presentations across multiple modes for specialized and non-specialized audiences. Emphasis on rhetorical and ethical awareness (and usability testing). P – WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 306. Special Topics in Rhetoric and Writing. (1.5-3 h)

Special topics course examining significant rhetorical or writing theories and practices focused on one area of study. May be repeated once for credit. Only offered for 1.5 or 3 hours. P - WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 307. Contemporary Theory of Rhetoric and Writing. (1.5-3 h)

Special topics course examining key historical developments and theories in the current field of rhetoric and writing studies since its 20th-century inception. May be repeated once for credit. Only offered for 1.5 or 3 hours. P - WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 308. The Rhetoric of Style. (3 h)

The study of style in language: how word choice, sentence structure, prosody and rhythm, passage construction, and audience involvement participate in the construction of meaning and the rhetorical effect of texts. Combines theoretical analysis with practical stylistic exercises, focusing on contemporary English genres with occasional historical context. P - WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 310. Interaction in Language: Introduction to Written Discourse Studies. (3 h)

Analysis of theoretical traditions in discourse studies, including Pragmatics, Analysis of Institutional Talk, Genre Analysis, and Corpus Linguistics, designed to provide students with new approaches and tools with which to question, investigate, and critique how language works in discourses that are meaningful to them. P - WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 320. Communicating Science: Principles of Effective Science Communication. (3 h)

Reading, writing, and analysis of scholarly and popular science communication. Consideration of scientists as writers and rhetoricians, namely, the varied purposes and audiences for which scientists and science writers compose. Enrollment limited. P - WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 322. Investigating Innocence, at the Intersection of Journalism, Narrative and the Law. (3 h)

Learn to write like a journalist and think like a lawyer by investigating and writing about an ongoing case of a wrongful conviction under review by the law school’s Innocence & Justice Clinic. Law students and undergraduates work together with instruction by professors in law and journalism. Also listed as JOU 322. P-Prerequisite override required.

WRI 325. Contemporary Environmental Writing. (3 h)

Study and practice of various modes of contemporary nature and environmental writing. Examines the innovations, rhetorical techniques, and representational practices of modern environmental writers with particular emphasis on efforts to grapple with climate change and ecological crises. P - WRI 110 or WRI 111 or POI. Also listed as ENV 325.

WRI 330. Digital Rhetoric and Writing. (3 h)

Rhetorical training and practice involving the exploration of digital spaces, digital media, digital rhetoric, and the shifts in language and technology. Engages in-depth analysis of language and structures within the digital world rhetorically, culturally, theoretically, and/or ideologically. Provides multiple opportunities to put digital theories into practice through the creation of various hands-on projects across multiple platforms, and also includes the reflective nature of critical making. Previous computing knowledge or technical skills are not required to take this course. P – WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 340. Practice in Rhetoric and Composition. (3 h)

Special topics course offering training and practice of special topics from rhetorical analysis and composition. Students work on developing effective composing processes and strategies, then put them into practice toward a variety of purposes. May be repeated once for credit. P - WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 341. Writing Center Pedagogy. (3 h)

Introduction to composition pedagogy and writing center theory and practices, with special emphasis on one-to-one and small group peer tutoring techniques. The course includes classroom-based work - reading, writing, and exploring instruction and consultation processes - and field experiences. Students spend a total of 20 hours observing in writing classrooms, the WFU Writing Center and/or community sites, and tutoring. Students reflect on these experiences to prepare a final researched writing project. Required for undergraduates interested in working in the Writing Center as peer tutors. P - WRI 110 or WRI 111.

WRI 342. Writing Practicum. (1-3 h)

Practical or professional experience in writing, rhetoric, and composition. Students must be supervised and mentored by a faculty advisor. May be repeated for credit. P-Prerequisite override required.

WRI 343. Independent Study. (1-3 h)

Independent study with faculty guidance. By prearrangement. May be repeated for credit. P-Prerequisite override required.

WRI 344. Magazine Writing. (3 h)

Learn and practice the skills needed to produce magazine stories for publication. Focusing on a single topic of their own choosing, students learn advanced principles of interviewing, document research, story structure, character development, and explanatory journalism as they read and analyze some of the best magazine stories written over the past thirty years. Also listed as JOU 340. P-JOU 270.

WRI 350. Writing Minor Capstone. (3 h)

Seminar course in which students read widely in writing studies, compose new and revise previous essays, and create an e-portfolio. Required of all students wishing to graduate with an interdisciplinary writing minor. P-Prerequisite override required.