Dr. Kerry Walk, Director of the Princeton Writing Program
|
A
message from Dr. Kerry Walk, Director of the Princeton Writing Program |
The Writing Seminar is the only course required of every Princeton undergraduate. Students take the Writing Seminar either Fall or Spring of their freshman year, and their successful completion of the course fulfills the University's writing requirement.
Centered first and foremost on writing, and taught by a scholar with special training in the teaching of writing, the Writing Seminar prepares students for the rigorous demands of writing at Princeton. The seminars are small, with no more than 12 students, and meet for 80-minute sessions twice a week--Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday.
Every Writing Seminar focuses on strategies and techniques of college-level inquiry and argument. Students learn to frame interesting questions, make original claims, structure complex ideas, integrate sources of various kinds, and revise for greater cogency and clarity. In addition to writing frequently and completing several major assignments, students receive intensive instruction in academic writing, submit drafts for review, and attend one-on-one conferences with their professor. They also learn to navigate the University library and receive instruction in essential library research skills. A downloadable "Outcomes Statement for the Writing Seminar" is available here.
To provide students with a worthwhile occasion for writing, each seminar is based on an intellectually stimulating topic, chosen to interest students and to animate their writing with compelling questions, debates, and problems. Among the many different Writing Seminars being offered this year are courses on important historical figures, events, and developments; urgent social issues; scientific breakthroughs; and influential artistic traditions. But, regardless of the topic, the seminar is dedicated to helping students build a solid foundation for writing at Princeton.
Writing Seminars and Freshman Seminars
Writing Seminars are different from Freshman Seminars. Writing Seminars use the topic of the course as a vehicle for practicing writing skills, and most class time is spent discussing elements of academic essays and students' own writing. By contrast, Freshman Seminars focus on a particular subject area and for this reason fulfill distribution requirements. As long as students' schedules permit, they should feel free to take a Freshman Seminar in the same term in which they're enrolled in a Writing Seminar.
A detailed description of the enrollment process can be found in How to Enroll. Here is the process in brief. After having met with their academic advisers and enrolled in their other classes, students enroll in a Writing Seminar by logging onto a special website and ranking their top eight choices. To make it easier to fit a Writing Seminar into students' schedules, most have been scheduled to meet in the morning and evening (8:30am, 11:00am, and 7:30pm). Please note that the enrollment process is not first come/first served; students' chances of getting into one of their top choices are the same, no matter when they submit their choices during the enrollment period. At the end of the enrollment period, students are notified by e-mail of the particular Writing Seminar to which they have been assigned. Most students receive one of their top three choices. There is no add/drop period for Writing Seminars.
The Writing Seminar helps students expand their repertoire of writing techniques and give them approaches to writing that they will continually build on in the coming years.
FAQs about the Writing Seminars
Q: Which courses and credits fulfill the writing requirement?
A: Only Writing Seminars offered by the Princeton Writing Program fulfill the writing requirement. Neither creative writing courses, Freshman Seminars, nor other courses, taken at Princeton or elsewhere, fulfill the requirement. Likewise, AP credit or other test credits may not be counted toward fulfillment of the writing requirement. No one is exempted from this requirement, because all writers, no matter how prepared or gifted, can benefit from additional practice and intensive instruction.
Q: Do Writing Seminars fulfill distribution requirements?
A: The Writing Seminar is one of the 31 courses AB students must complete to graduate, and one of the 36 courses BSE students must complete to graduate. The Writing Seminar fulfills the writing requirement, one of Princeton's general education requirements, but not distribution requirements. This is because Writing Seminars use the topic of the course as a vehicle for students to practice writing skills, not as the primary object of study. To keep the focus on writing, reading is limited in Writing Seminars and no attempt is made at comprehensive coverage of a subject area.
Q: How many courses should students enroll in besides the Writing Seminar?
A: Students assigned to a Fall Writing Seminar should enroll in three other courses. AB students assigned to a Spring Writing Seminar are encouraged to take the Writing Seminar alongside three other courses, while BSE students take it alongside four. When planning their program of study, students should keep in mind that the Writing Seminar is a very challenging course.
Q: Can the Writing Seminar be taken Pass/D/Fail?
A: All Writing Seminars must be taken for a letter grade. To receive credit for the course and thereby fulfill the writing requirement, students must both complete all of the assigned essays in a timely fashion and earn a passing grade in the course.
Q: Is there is an add/drop period for Writing Seminars?
A: Under ordinary circumstances, students may not drop the Writing Seminar at any time during the term. Students who believe that their circumstances are unusual enough that an exception to this policy should be made should speak with the Director of the Writing Program, as well as their residential college Dean or Director of Studies.
Q: Can students take a Freshman Seminar in the same term in which they take a Writing Seminar?
A: Yes, absolutely. Although both Writing Seminars and Freshman Seminars are small and topic-based, and allow for personal interaction with the professor, Writing Seminars focus the skills necessary for critical reading and writing, whereas Freshman Seminars focus on covering a subject area. As long as students' schedules permit, they should feel free to take a Freshman Seminar in the same term in which they're enrolled in a Writing Seminar.
Q: What happens if students miss a class?
A: Because Writing Seminar instruction proceeds by sequential writing activities, consistent attendance is essential. Students who incur more than four absences in their Writing Seminar may not complete the course.