In a Web column, freshman Joshua Hock argues that the University Writing Program is not necessary for all incoming freshman.
For those who have not developed writing skills comparable to that of their peers, the UW classes should remain available and possibly even mandatory, but the University must give students an opportunity to demonstrate that they are prepared to write in a manner expected by professors.
Read the full column here.
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I think my writing actually got worse in UW; it stifles creativity
They used to either allow you to take UW20 or English 10 and 11…if you can place out of English 10 and 11 by AP test, then you should also be able to get out of UW20. (This situation happened to me.)
I haven’t taken UW yet, as I have yet to attend GW (2013). Although I consider myself a decent writer, I am glad that University Writing exists. I want to see/learn the level of writing GW expects from me. Without this class, it may take a few classes with lower grades to learn that I am not up to par with the writing standards.
Furthermore, it seems GW offers lots of UW classes in many different categories to appeal to many different interests. And seeing as writing is an important part of so many classes, it seems that one class is not a big of a deal.
As a professor, I can assure you that few students are prepared to write, and, more importanlty, to think critically. There are a few and yes, they should not have to be lumped in with those that struggle. Time was when entering frosh had to test into or out of basic writing classes. We don’t do that anymore. Instead, we use ACT/SAT scores which have little to do with writing (other than the grammar)and even less to do with crtical thinking in real settings. My experiences also inform me that having and AP on one’s transcript does not mean much. In fact, Boston University gave all frosh a writing ‘test’ for placement. Several with perfect SAT scores qualified for the remedial writing classes. And, when the postee above me says he ‘considers himself a decent writer’ I’d ask him to qualify that. What does decent mean? I have read perfect grammatical papers that make no sense – so if grammar is the measure, then think again. Similarly, I read papers w/ excellent thought w/ no grammatical sense at all. It’s a marriage of both. Few are so happily married.