1. 10 pages of formal, graded writing will be required in all W-I courses.

The required 10 pages of writing may be split up over a number of papers or may be one paper. “Formal” writing means writing submitted to the instructor in manuscript form, following the style and conventions asked for by the instructor and/or used within the discipline. (Informal writing, such as varieties of in-class writing–freewriting, brainstorming, notetaking–and varieties of out-of-class writing–keeping a journal or log–would not constitute formal writing.) “Graded” writing means writing that receives comments and a grade from the instructor. The 10-page requirement further assumes that what is submitted to the instructor is the work of an individual student as the goal of a W-I course is to provide individual feedback to a student on his or her writing. The 10-page requirement also assumes that student documents are continuous written texts. This means that other elements–diagrams, graphic images, mathematical symbols–should play a supportive role in student manuscripts. Finally, the 10-page requirement assumes that student documents are coherent wholes, not fragments or “notes.”

2. Writing should count for at least 30% of the total grade in W-I courses.

The writing portion of the grade may be based on a combination of formal and informal writing, if the instructor chooses to grade informal writing. The 10-page requirement of formal, graded writing remains in effect whether or not the instructor chooses to grade informal writing.

3. Assignment sheets and scoring guides should accompany formal writing projects in W-I courses.

“Instructors in W-I courses should give explicit instruction in how to complete the required assignment. This explicit instruction must include giving detailed written assignment sheets and a ‘scoring guide’ showing the explicit criteria, including the grading scale used to score the assignment. If possible, this information should be attached to the course syllabus” (Longwood College, “Revised W-I Course Policy”).

4. Writing in W-I courses should include multiple, sequenced assignments.

The idea behind W-I courses is to focus attention not only on the writing students produce but also on how they produce it so that students can be given assistance in the writing process. With this in mind, instructors should give their students multiple writing assignments over the course of a semester. Further, these assignments should be sequenced to reflect the instructor’s stated goals and outcomes for the course. If only one longer paper is assigned, the instructor should break the paper up into a set of sequenced tasks or drafts so that he or she can comment on each individual student's progress.

5. W-I courses should include response to/revision of at least one writing project.

A W-I course is by definition a course that requires significant and meaningful faculty-student interaction regarding the writing process. In practical terms, this means that the instructor is responsible for guiding students through one or more assignments by, for example, going over the assignment in detail, assisting students in completing the assignment, and providing feedback on a draft or multiple drafts. Feedback on drafts can be augmented through well-planned “peer-review” sessions. It is expected that courses of lesser credit value coded as W-I (e.g., a 2-credit senior thesis course) will devote as much time to instruction in the writing process as courses of greater or “normal” credit value (i.e., 3-4 credit courses). Therefore, though there may be differences in the amount of content covered in W-I courses of differing credit value, the amount of attention given to developing writing skills through instruction in the writing process should be about the same.