NCC Writing Intensive Department

Writing Intensive Course Guidelines: currently approved courses which many be offered in writing intensive sections are listed in the General Education core listing. Students should note, however, that not all sections of these courses will be offered in a writing intensive format. Writing intensive courses have a prerequisite of ENGL 101.

To be granted a writing-intensive designation, a course must have the following characteristics:

• The course must have as one of its central stated outcomes the development of a student’s ability to communicate in writing within the course’s discipline
• the majority of the assessed work should be in the form of a series of written assignments (not a collection of short answer paragraphs) that produce at least 12 pages (3000 words) of finished student work.
• at least half the writing assessed should require the use and incorporation of appropriate source materials appropriately retrieved and documented.
• the writing in teh course should show evidence of critical reading and critical thinking skills in sustained discourse appropriate to the student’s academic or professional field
• the course syllabus, statements of instructional method and individual assignments should incorporate such writing development strategies as thesis development plans, office conferences, drafts and revisions to emphasize the process of writing as well as the product