A Continuum of Writing Development

Good writers are not born with an inherent skill; they develop and grow over time. The Denison Writing Program nurtures developing student writers across the whole of their undergraduate education, providing them with instruction and opportunities at critical times throughout their education.

First-Year Writing Workshops

Though first year students typically report strong high school writing experiences, they rarely anticipate the nature of the change to college-level composition. Required of all students during their first year, the Writing Workshop introduces students to the rigors of college-level writing and provides practice in formulating and presenting a significant argument in a cogent essay; in finding, evaluating, and incorporating research into their writing; and in assessing their own work and that of their peers.

Writing-Intensive Seminars

Students continue their experience with the Writing Program through Writing Intensive Seminars (two are required minimally). These seminars build on the foundational skills of the first-year workshop, incorporating instruction in writing within a discipline. These courses are critical laboratories where students will develop their inner voice, hone their sense of style, practice writing to different audiences, refine their grasp of rhetorical structures, and otherwise implement the theory learned in the workshops.

Writing in the Major

Students will encounter many formal and informal writing experiences in their majors, especially in the second half of their undergraduate tenure. In addition to a place for acquiring the nuances of discipline-specific composition, these major courses are critical for allowing students to grow into the adult, professional writer they will carry with them in their post-graduate careers. Students often find this is the place where it “comes together” to form a complete, confident writer.