Planning an SWC Course
Planning
The workload for teachers and students of Substantial Writing Component courses can differ markedly from that of non-writing-component courses. Careful planning of course elements helps to reduce fatigue and frustration for all involved, and ensures appropriate integration of writing projects with the course material. The information below can help you design an SWC course that meets your needs and those of your students. The SWC Resource Coordinator is available for individual consultations if you would like additional help planning your SWC course. A copy of the SWC student brochure (PDF, 87K) is available for download.
To be listed as an SWC by the Registrar, all College of Liberal Arts SWCs must be approved by the College Writing Committee via the online approval system.
- FAQs - If you've never taught an SWC before, here are answers to some common questions.
- An explanation of the Writing Process.
- Managing the workload - Some tips to make your SWC course less overwhelming.
- A page on Special Issues such as non-native speakers, plagiarism, etc.
- Samples - including guidelines, for minimal marking techniques, brainstorming, drafting, etc.
Course Guidelines
An ideal SWC course will use 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 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. See the Course Planning section of this site for more information. Please contact the WAC Initiative Office with any questions.