About WAC
The Writing Across the Curriculum Initiative in the College of Liberal Arts seeks to improve the quality of Substantial Writing Component courses in the college, and to enhance the undergraduate writing experience for all Liberal Arts majors.
The Substantial Writing Component requirement helps students improve their
- ability to formulate ideas in writing
- ability to write across disciplines
- critical thinking skills
- understanding of course content
An ideal SWC course will use informal, low-stakes writing activities (e.g. freewriting, outlining, email responses to class questions) to allow students to manipulate the language, thinking processes, and concepts of the discipline so that they can more effectively complete formal, high stakes assignments (e.g., arguments, research papers, analyses, web pages).
A combination of low and high stakes writing activities that include opportunities for revision, peer review, quality instructor feedback, and conferencing will improve students' critical thinking as well as their writing.
Download a copy of the SWC brochure for students (PDF, 87K)
WAC Initiative Mission Statement
The College of Liberal Arts Writing Across the Curriculum Initiative supports writing instruction in all disciplines as a way to achieve UT-Austin's Core Purpose: transforming lives for the benefit of society.