The core writing requirement courses offered by the IU School of Liberal Arts in Indianapolis’s Writing Program provide the foundation for communicating in college and beyond. These courses support the University’s mission and its Profiles of Learning for Undergraduate Success in unique and exciting ways.
ENG-W 131 Reading, Writing, And Inquiry (3 cr.)
ENG-W 131 teaches skills of critical reading, thinking, and writing to help students meaningfully engage artifacts, events, and issues in our world. The course builds students' abilities to read written and cultural texts critically; to analyze those texts in ways that engage both students' own experiences and the perspectives of others; and to write about those texts for a range of audiences and purposes as a means of participating in broader conversations. Assignments emphasize the analysis and synthesis of sources in making and developing claims.
ENG-W 140 Reading, Writing, and Inquiry-Honors
For advanced first-year writers, W140, like W131, teaches skills of critical reading, thinking, and writing to help students meaningfully engage artifacts, events, and issues in our world. The course builds students' abilities to read written and cultural texts critically; to analyze those texts in ways that engage both students' own experiences and the perspectives of others; and to write about those texts for a range of audiences and purposes as a means of participating in broader conversations. Assignments emphasize the analysis and synthesis of sources in making and developing claims.
ENG-W 230 Science Writing (3 cr.)
P: ENG-W 131 or ENG-W 140 (with a grade of C or higher). This course examines how writing about science and from a scientific viewpoint promotes confidence in one's knowledge and understanding of science itself. With an emphasis on finding and assessing information, the writing in the course offers the opportunity to explore and to engage critically in current conversations on significant topics in the sciences. Students investigate the forms of writing that scientists use to communicate with each other and with the public.
ENG-W 231 Professional Writing Skills (3 cr.)
P: ENG-W 131 or ENG-W 140 (with a grade of C or higher). Professional Writing Skills teaches professional writing competencies and research skills in a collaborative setting. Students learn how people typically read and use workplace documents by analyzing the purposes, structure, requirements, and language of professional writing and by producing documents that fulfill a specific purpose for the intended audience. W231 strengthens students' ability to use information technology for both professional and academic research. The required, signature assignment for W231 is a researched recommendation report, produced collaboratively for a local business or not-for-profit organization. Students in this class may earn the RISE Experiential Learning credit.To develop research and writing skills requisite for most academic and professional activities. Emphasis on methods of research, organization, and writing techniques useful in preparing reviews, critical bibliographies, research and technical reports, proposals and papers.
ENG-W 270 Argumentative Writing (3 cr.)
P: ENG-W 131 or ENG-W 140 (with a grade of C or higher). W270 offers instruction and practice in writing argumentative essays about complicated and controversial issues. The course focuses on strategies for identifying issues, assessing claims, locating evidence, deciding on a position, and writing papers with clear assertions and convincing arguments.
Credit for Courses
Requirements for writing classes are established by schools and degree programs at IU, not by the Writing Program. You should complete your writing requirement(s) within your first two years (60 credit hours) at IU.
For Transfer students: You should take care of writing course requirements as soon as you transfer. Contact your academic advisor for more information.
In no case should students wait until their senior year or until applying for graduation to determine whether they have fulfilled their writing requirement.
Placement into Writing Program Courses
Please complete the Guided Self-Placement survey below for placement information. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Andy Buchenot at buchenot@iu.edu or (317) 278-0391.
Note that you must have your campus username and password activated before you can complete the Guided Self-Placement survey. If you need help with your account, contact: ithelp@iu.edu or (317) 274-4357.
If you are an international student, this might not be the right placement procedure for you. Read about your options.
For Non-International Non-Native Speaking Students
The following guidelines will help you determine whether you should take the EAP Placement Test or complete the Guided Self-Placement Process to place yourself in one of the Writing Program Courses:
If you have taken one of the above tests but received a lower score, you should take the EAP Placement Test.
If you received the indicated score but have concerns about your English language proficiency, you are welcome to take the EAP Placement Test.
If you have not taken any of the above tests, the following are some examples to help you identify yourself:
Example 1: You graduated from a U.S. high school and attended U.S. schools for a number of years. You acquired fluency in spoken and written English and consider that you have native speaker proficiency. You should probably complete the Guided Self-Placement Process and see if that confirms your sense that you should take Writing Program Classes instead of EAP classes.
Example 2: You graduated from a U.S. high school after attending for a limited period of time, perhaps a few months or only a year or two. You speak a language other than English on a regular basis in your family and community. You do not consider yourself as proficient as a native speaker in spoken and written English. You should take the EAP Placement Test. If you score high enough on that test, it will give you the option of doing the Guided Self-Placement and enrolling in either Writing Program or EAP courses.
Example 3: You are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident; however, English is not your native or one of your fluent languages. You have not attended U.S. schools long enough to attain native-speaker proficiency in spoken and written English. You should take the EAP Placement Test. If you score high enough on that test, it will give you the option of doing the Guided Self-Placement and enrolling in either Writing Program or EAP courses.
For more information, contact:
For more information, contact:
Andy Buchenot Director of Writing CA 501U 317-278-0391 buchenot@iu.edu
Jennifer Mahoney
Associate Director of Writing
317-278-2984 jpmahone@iu.edu
Mel Wininger
W230, W231, W270 and Honors Writing Coordinator
CA 423
317-278-8581 mrwining@iu.edu
Location and Hours
Cavanaugh Hall 423
425 University Boulevard
Indianapolis IN 46202-5140
tel.: 317-274-3824
fax: 317-274-2347
The office will be open, but there is no receptionist. You are welcome to drop by if you’re in the building but to be sure of talking to someone, make an appointment with one of the faculty members listed above.
