Welcome to the Goucher Community of Writers. At Goucher, we see ourselves as a community of writers who value learning, self-expression, and diversity. Members of our writing community support one another even as we recognize our differences, and we hope that all members of our community will develop the creativity, innovation, and inherent joy that is the art of academic writing, by learning to engage ourselves critically as readers, thinkers, and writers.

OUR ACADEMIC WRITING PROGRAM

Our academic writing program, with its Four-Year Vertical Curriculum, builds a bridge between creative writing and academic writing, and simultaneously establishes a campus-wide interdisciplinary initiative. Our writing program draws on current research, but is designed specifically for Goucher.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE GOUCHER COMMONS WRITING REQUIRMENTS

1st Year: WRT 181 or WRT 181H in either Fall or Spring.
2nd Year: Writing Enriched Curriculum (WEC) course in any discipline. View WEC courses offered (PDF).
3rd Year: Writing in the Disciplines (WID) course in your major.
4th Year: Students may take a studio to support their capstone or thesis projects.

The College Writing Portfolio

After completing the WRT 181 and WEC GCRs, students should be able to read and analyze complex texts, synthesize information from a variety of sources, conduct research with discernment, and think critically. Additional learning outcomes include a demonstrated understanding of rhetorical situations, audience, genre, and writing processes. View a complete list of student learning outcomes (SLOs) for WRT 181 and WEC courses.

Upon completion of these two courses, students are eligible to submit their College Writing Portfolio (CWP). The portfolio includes approximately 10 pages of academic writing and a 2 page reflection. View the CWP Criteria and Submission requirements). 

WRITING PLACEMENT FOR TRANSFER STUDENTS

Transfer students come to Goucher with a variety of writing experiences; you will be placed into (or out of) your writing GCRs depending upon an evaluation of the previous writing classes you’ve taken and the writing portfolio and cover letter that you submit through the SLATE onboarding system. We evaluate all transfer students' requirements on an individual basis:

• If you’ve taken 2+ college-level academic writing and rhetoric classes (6 credits min.), you may meet the GCR for writing and if your writing sample illustrates strong writing skills. In this case your writing sample will count as your CWP and you will not need to submit a separate portfolio.
• If you’ve taken 1 college-level academic writing and rhetoric class (3 credits min.) you may have partially met the GCR for writing if your writing sample illustrates strong writing skills. In this case, you’ll be required to complete a WEC course and will need to submit a separate portfolio CWP upon completion of the WEC requirement. 

• If you haven’t taken any college-level academic writing and rhetoric classes, but your writing sample illustrates strong writing, you may place into  WRT 181 Honors.
• If you haven’t taken any college-level academic writing and rhetoric classes and your writing sample indicates that you need more practice with college-level writing, you may place into  WRT 181. 

Questions?  Contact Charlee Sterling: charlee.sterling@goucher.edu