Undergraduate Writing Courses
WRT 101: Introductory Writing Workshop: Introductory Writing Workshop An introduction to the foundations of writing, offering
students a variety of rhetorical strategies and helping them develop creative and
critical thinking, fluency, and correctness. Coursework creates ample opportunities
for significant practice in reading, writing, and critical analysis. Emphasis on writing
as a revision-based process. WRT 101 prepares students for WRT 102 and postsecondary
academic writing. Prerequisite: a grade of C or better in WAE 194 or Writing Placement
score of 3. ABC/U grading.
DEC: A1
SBC: Partially fulfills WRT
WRT 102: Intermediate Writing Workshop: A study of strategies for extended academic writing assignments including critical
analysis, argument or point of view, and multi-source, college-level research essays.
Students continue to develop rhetorical awareness, analytical proficiency, and academic
research skills. At the end of the course students create a multimodal ePortfolio
of final revised essays to be evaluated by their instructor and at least one outside
reader. Prerequisite: WRT 101; 3 or higher on AP English Language/ Composition exam
or AP English Literature/ Composition exam; 580 or higher on the Evidence-Based Reading
and Writing SAT or 1050 or higher on the combined Critical Reading and Writing SAT
(last administered Jan 2016); 23 or higher on the English Language Arts ACT or 24
or higher on the combined English and Writing ACT (last administered June 2015); Writing
Placement score of 4; C or higher in an approved transfer course equivalent to WRT
101. ABC/U grading.
DEC: A2
SBC: WRT
WRT 200:Grammar and Style for Writers: Students will study aspects of grammar that are most relevant to punctuation and
to clear writing, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, phrases,
clauses, gerunds, participles, infinitives, and complete sentences. Students will
also study prose style as a way of achieving rhetorical effectiveness through arranging
and rearranging sentence elements. Students, through frequent writing, will learn
to apply principles of clarity, concision, and coherence. Sentence imitation, sentence
combining, and sentence invention techniques will be used to help students become
more flexible in their syntactic fluidity. Several tests and three short papers.
WRT 201:Principles of Professional Writing: An introduction to the principles and practices of professional writing, this course
is designed to teach students about foundational skills and approaches needed for
a variety of professional writing situations. Students learn and apply core concepts,
analytical skills, and strategies of effective workplace writing through genres common
to a range of fields, such as business, industry, education, the arts, publishing,
nonprofit organizations, law, international affairs, and public service and health-related
professions. Through engagement with writing studies theory and research, and exposure
to different types of professional writing, students will develop an understanding
of relevant rhetorical, social, cultural, and ethical considerations.
Prerequisite: WRT 102 or equivalent. 3 credits
WRT 301:Writing in the Disciplines (Special Topics): Writing in specified academic disciplines is taught through the analysis of texts in appropriate fields to discover discourse conventions. Students produce a variety of written projects typical of the genres in the field. Different sections emphasize different disciplines. Typical topics will be Technical Writing, Business Writing, Legal Writing, and Writing for the Health Professions. May be repeated for credit as the topic changes. Prerequisite: WRT 102 or equivalent. 3 credits.
WRT 302:Critical Writing Seminar (Special Topics): A writing-intensive seminar with rotating historical, political, social, literary, and artistic topics developed by individual professors each semester. Previous courses include Fiction Writing; Rhetorics of the Hero; Writing for the New Media; Women Writing; Writing About Film; Environmental Writing; Faith, Literature, and Writing. Frequent substantial writing projects are central to every version of the course. May be repeated for credit as the topic changes. Prerequisite: WRT 102 or equivalent. 3 credits. DEC: G SBC: HFA+
WRT 303:The Personal Essay: In this course students will examine the essay form by writing short and long essays as well as reading and responding to the work of published writers. The genre will be broadly defined, while at the same time students will identify shared characteristics (especially in contrast to the conventions of the academic essay). Students will read a range of essay styles and topics, and analyze themes, narrative strategies, and craft. Students in this course will also be able to prepare and receive feedback on a personal statement for graduate or professional school applications. Prerequisite: WRT 102 or equivalent. 3 credits.
WRT 304:Writing for Your Profession: In this course students learn about types of documents, rhetorical principles, and composing practices necessary for writing effectively in and about professional contexts. Coursework emphasizes each student's career interests, but lessons also address a variety of general professional issues, including audience awareness, research methods, ethics, collaboration, and verbal and visual communication. Students complete the course with practical knowledge and experience in composing business letters, proposals, and various kinds of professional reports. A creative, self-reflexive assignment also contextualizes each individual's professional aspirations within a bigger picture of his/her life and culture. Prerequisite: WRT 102 or equivalent. 3 credits.
WRT 305:Writing for the Health Professions: Enables students interested in a health care career to strengthen their critical writing skills. While learning to gather information and to apply ethical principles in a logical, persuasive fashion, students will explore and write about various types of evidence concerning the health care needs of different populations: a field research project on a health issue affecting a local target population of their choice, a critique of government documents that contain data on that issue and population, and a review of scholarly research on the same issue as it affects the larger national population represented by that local one. Writing assignments will include drafts and final versions of a research proposal, field research results, numerical analysis, literature review and a final project incorporating all of the previous work conducted about that issue and population. Students will also write a reflective paper which can serve as the basis for a personal statement for medical or other health-related graduate school applications. This course will fulfill the second half of the Writing Pre-Med/Pre-Health prereq. Prerequisite: WRT 102 or equivalent. SBC: ESI. 3 credits
WRT 306: Tutor Training: This course is designed to introduce new tutors to the discipline of writing pedagogy and help tutors contextualize their own experiences in scholarship associated with the field. This course is designed to help new tutors develop their own methodology for tutoring, grounded in influential scholarship in Writing Center pedagogy. Prerequisite: WRT 102 or equivalent. 3 credits. SBC: EXP+
WRT 375:Technical Communication: An exploration of technical communication, a field of inquiry and an approach to conveying complex information in professional contexts. Many industries and organizations require that their workers spend a significant amount of time communicating goals, project ideas, and technical knowledge to many different audiences. This course gives students the confidence and tools needed to communicate effectively and responsibly to colleagues and potential employers in a professional and valued manner. Prerequisite: WRT 102. 3 credits. SBC: SPK
WRT 380: Advanced Research Writing: Theories, Methods, Practices: Good research skills are critical to academic success. Most disciplines require writing based upon research, as arguments and explanations make little impact on audiences without effective supporting evidence, drawn from relevant scholarship on the subject. This involves knowing how to use appropriate databases, source materials, and composing processes, as well as negotiating the values, genres, and languages of the scholarly communities in which one is researching. In this course, students will learn fundamentals of research methods, practice these methods in a series of integrated research and writing assignments, and engage in critical reflection about research and writing. Students will focus on an area of disciplinary interest to them, and practice these essential research and writing skills through a series of projects: library assignments, research log, research proposal, annotated bibliography, literature review, abstract, research paper and reflection paper. Prerequisite: WRT 102 or equivalent. SBC: ESI. 3 credits
WRT 381:Advanced Analytic and Argumentative Writing: Argumentative writing involves making a claim and supporting it with specific, related points and appropriate evidence--in other words, it is thesis-driven writing. Whenever we don't quite like someone else's idea and we want him or her to come closer to ours, argumentative writing is the most efficient method for such persuasion, in whatever profession you're considering. This class, therefore, will focus on learning how to effectively utilize argumentative and counter-argumentative writing strategies. Students will explore an area of disciplinary interest to them through several stages--proposal, preliminary draft, multiple versions, literature review--culminating in a 20-30 page piece of writing in which they make a claim about a particular subject in that area of interest and support it with scholarly research and extensive elaboration. This course will fulfill the second half of the Writing Pre-Med/Pre-Health prerequisite. This course is offered as both EGL 381 and WRT 381. Prerequisite: WRT 102 or equivalent. SBC:ESI.3 credits
WRT 382: Grant Writing: Introduces students to the fundamentals of seeking and writing scholarly grants to fund research-based projects, from the earliest stages of planning to the completion of the grant application. In consultation with the instructor, each student works for the entire semester on applying for a real grant that is external to Stony Brook University. Key subjects to be taught include understanding funders and funding opportunities, researching and locating one's position in the disciplinary field of the grant, articulating relevant problems in that field, specifying appropriate and evidence-based solutions, addressing specific audiences, and utilizing rhetorical appeals. In addition to frequent low-stakes writing tasks, the course requires three high-stakes written projects: a literature review, a research proposal, and a grant application along with an abstract. Prerequisite: WRT 102 or equivalent; U3 or U4 standing. SBC: ESI. 3 credits
WRT 392: Theories and Methods of Mentoring Writers: Closely examines the difficulties implicit in mentoring writers, with special consideration for the roles of cultural expectations and social dynamics on both the teaching of writing and writers themselves. In small groups and one-to-one interactions, students explore theories and practices upon which composition instruction and writing center work depend. Building on the understanding that writing is a recursive process (a cycle of planning, drafting, revising, and editing), students also learn to analyze and problem-solve issues that become barriers for effective writing and communication. Prerequisites: WRT 102 or 103; permission of instructor. 3 credits.
WRT 444: Experiential Learning: This course is designed for students who engage in a substantial, structured experiential learning activity in conjunction with another class. Experiential learning occurs when knowledge acquired through formal learning and past experience are applied to a "real-world" setting or problem to create new knowledge through a process of reflection, critical analysis, feedback and synthesis. Beyond-the-classroom experiences that support experiential learning may include: service learning, mentored research, field work, or an internship. Prerequisite: WRT 102 or equivalent; permission of the instructor and approval of the EXP+ contract SBC: EXP+ S/U grading. 0 credits.
WRT 458:Speak Effectively Before an Audience: A zero credit course that may be taken in conjunction with any WRT course, with permission of the instructor. The course satisfies Stony Brook Curriculum's SPK requirement. Prerequisite: taken in conjunction with a WRT 102 section; permission of the instructor. SBC: SPK
WRT 459:Write Effectively in English: A zero credit course that may be taken in conjunction with any 300- or 400-level course in any department, with permission of a WRT instructor and of that department's undergraduate program director. The course provides opportunity to practice the skills and techniques of effective academic writing and satisfies the learning outcomes of the Stony Brook Curriculum's WRTD learning objective. Prerequisite: WRT 102; permission of the instructor. SBC: WRTD S/U GRADING
WRT 487:Independent Project: Qualified upper-division students may carry out advanced independent work under the supervision of an instructor in the program. May be repeated. Prerequisite:Permission of instructor and program director. 0-6 credits
WRT 488: Internship: Participation in local, state, and national public and private agencies and organizations.
May be repeated to a limit of 12 credits. Prerequisites: g.p.a. of 2.50 or higher;
permission of instructor and program director. 0-6 credits, S/U grading.
SBC: EXP+
All 300 level courses will fulfill the second half of the Writing Pre-Med/Pre-Health prerequisite.