Writing Intensive (WI)

Bradley’s Core Curriculum will feature the requirement of two Writing Intensive (WI) courses. This high-impact practice was consistently ranked the highest priority by various constituencies across campus, including both faculty and students. A Writing Intensive Subcommittee was formed to develop specifications needed to support a university-wide WI program, including course sequence, course requirement, a list of resources, and assessment considerations. The Subcommittee reviewed several programs in the development of these writing intensive guidelines, such as Loyola, University Chicago, Creighton University, and University of Minnesota. The Bradley Core Curriculum includes the following recommendations:

Tag Requirements

For a Bradley course to be designated “Writing Intensive,” it must meet the following requirements. The Core Practices Subcommittee will review course proposals and recommend approval of courses for the writing intensive tag to the Core Curriculum Committee. What constitutes “writing” is open to reasonable definition. Typically this will include formal scholarly writing, creative writing, technical reports, e-mail or other electronic commentary, web documents, and other forms the instructor deems appropriate.

Writing Quantity

• The course must include at least 20 pages of writing (approx. 5,000 words), including drafts. For courses that involve collaborative writing assignments, there must be a significant portion of the total writing attributable to individual students.
• Essay exams may count for no more than 30% of the 20-page writing minimum.

Writing Process

• At least one major assignment must employ the draft/rewrite process, wherein the instructor provides feedback on the writing to the student, who then submits a revision or second product.
• Each writing assignment and its purpose must be clearly described in the syllabus.

Writing Instruction

• The criteria for each writing assignment must be specified.
• Some class instruction must be dedicated to the writing assignment.

Writing Assessment

• The criteria for each writing assignment must be specified.
• Writing assignments will comprise at least 25% of the course grade.

Tag Recommendations

Class Size

• The course should have a maximum of 25 students per section. Exceptions must be explained and justified.

Writing Instruction

• Librarians will help students identify the resources appropriate to their field, such as literature sources and databases This element could be part of class time instruction, a specified homework assignment, or an out of class activity/assignment.