McNeill Writing Courses
ARSC 1080, College Writing and Research, is a 4-credit course which helps students develop their own voices and ideas and present them successfully to academic audiences. Students will practice a variety of composition and inquiry strategies and learn to conduct college-level research. Students develop critical thinking, reading and writing skills through large and small group discussion, reading and writing workshops, and one-on-one conferences. This course fulfills the lower division Arts and Sciences core curriculum requirement for written communication. Success in the course is measured with a final portfolio, where students collect their major pieces of writing and demonstrate mastery of essential skills.
ARSC 2000, Ways of Knowing: Constructions of Knowledge In the University and Beyond, is a 3-credit course which meets the A & S core requirement in "Ideals and Values." Ways of Knowing introduces the primary ways knowledge is constructed at the university, and asks students to explore their own beliefs about learning, education, and knowledge creation. Through reading, writing, collaborative projects and meditation, students learn different ways of thinking about expertise, knowledge, wisdom, evidence and experience, and come to a deeper understanding of their own learning styles. Our hope is that the course will give students invaluable tools for crafting their own best educational paths, at CU and in their lives as a whole.
ARSC 3100, Advanced Writing and Research: Multicultural Topics and Academic Discourse, is a 3-credit course focusing on the theory and practice of composition and rhetoric, with a content focus examining markers of social difference. The course is designed to help students develop ideas into a variety of written and spoken forms, using research, revision, discussion, and workshops to improve their work. Students read and write pieces designed for different audiences, both public and academic, and practice different rhetorical strategies designed for personal, academic and professional communications.
Key Areas of Instruction
Our courses aim to improve students' skills and knowledge in these areas:
- Analytical depth and complexity
- Reading
- Composing processes
- Conventions and vocabulary of scholarly discourse
- Discussion and listening
- Developing focus and purpose
- Presentation
- Professionalism and project management
- Recognition of error patterns
- Research and inquiry into multicultural topics
- Revision
- Synthesis
- Understanding texts as forms of civic engagement
- Writing as a tool for learning
How to Enroll
To enroll in McNeill writing courses, email the Writing Coordinator: julia.willis@colorado.edu.