SF State’s WRAC program offers professional development opportunities and services, to support the adoption, expansion and dissemination of effective writing and reading pedagogy. Applicable resources have also been developed to assist faculty in meeting student learning outcomes through course design.
Writing and Reading-Intensive courses are those where writing and reading is taught rather than simply assigned. The Committee on Written English Proficiency (CWEP) recently developed recommended criteria for writing and reading-intensive courses.
Committee on Written English Proficiency (CWEP) Criteria
Criteria for Writing-Intensive Courses
Students in a Writing and reading-intensive (WI) course learn about and develop rhetorical awareness, the ability to analyze and respond to the purpose, genre, audience, and context of the situation in which they are writing and reading.
A Writing and reading-intensive (WI) course has multiple low stakes and formal writing and reading assignments which are sequenced, scaffolded and distributed throughout the semester.
Students in a Writing and reading-intensive (WI) course have regular opportunities to engage with their peers and instructor in meaningful interactions about their writing and reading and to reflect on their growth as critical readers and writers.
Students in a Writing and reading-intensive (WI) course have the opportunity to engage in the writing and reading process through pre-writing and reading (brainstorming, generating ideas), drafting, revising based on feedback from peers and the instructor, editing and publishing or submission.
Writing and reading-intensive (WI) courses must have a maximum enrollment of 18 students and, consistent with research on class size that ensures writing and reading can be effectively taught, an ideal cap of 15 students.
Graduate Writing and Reading Assessment Requirement (GWAR)
The Graduate Writing and Reading Assessment Requirement (GWAR) is an upper division writing and reading-intensive course within a student’s chosen major that will allow them to build upon what they have learned in their first-year composition (FYC) and second-year composition (2YC) to learn the types of writing and reading used in their chosen discipline.
Here are the Academic Senate Policy #S09-014 for GWAR course criteria revised.
SF State and suggests student learning outcomes to help guide faculty who are developing a GWAR syllabus and curriculum. These student learning outcomes (SLOs) are meant to be contextualized within an academic field and can be adapted and tailored to the rhetorical aspects of specific kinds of writing and reading within each discipline and more.
Click here to see the recommended GWAR learning outcomes report.
Department Revise/New GWAR Course
For departments and programs seeking to substantially revise their existing GWAR course or create a new GWAR course. For the process of submitting a proposal help please contact the WRAC team if you would like an individual consultation with WRAC/WID staff as you begin to develop or revise a GWAR course. Please remember that all GWAR courses must meet the Academic Senate Policy #S09-014 for GWAR course criteria.
Submit a Proposal
Follow the steps “How to Propose a New Course Process” found under Undergraduate Education and Academic Planning web page.
Please keep in mind that SF State’s security system will kick users out after about 20 minutes if your work is not saved. You may decide to develop your proposal outside the system and past it into the form later.
Proposal Review by WRAC Director and CWEP
When the course has been submitted and routed to the WRAC Director, the course must be reviewed by the Committee on Written English Proficiency (CWEP). CWEP meets the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month from 10:10 to noon and, if time permits, the committee will review the proposal at its next meeting.
If revisions are requested, the Chair of CWEP will send an email to the faculty member detailing the suggested changes. The Chair or another member of CWEP is always willing to meet with and guide the faculty member proposing the course.
Take a Writing and Reading-Intensive Course
Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Writing and Reading PIE
WRAC program offers faculty professional development opportunities and services to support the adoption, expansion and dissemination of effective writing and reading pedagogy.
The Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Writing and Reading Pedagogies for Inclusive Excellence (PIE) Institute is a fully asynchronous, completely self-paced online course about teaching writing and reading based on pedagogies for inclusive excellence. This institute is designed especially for faculty who teach writing and reading across the curriculum and in their disciplines and provides a range of equitable, inclusive and anti-racist online teaching resources and strategies.