College of Liberal Arts

First-Year Writing Office
150 Wesbrook Hall
E-mail: fyw@umn.edu
Phone: (612) 624-6633

Heather Mendygral
Program Assistant
E-mail: mheath@umn.edu
Phone: 612-624-6633

Tom Reynolds
Director
E-mail: reyno004@umn.edu
Phone: 612-626-0065

Tim Gustafson
Associate Director
E-mail: tgus@umn.edu
Phone: 612-625-0731

WRIT 1401

Writing and Academic Inquiry

WRIT 1401 fulfills the first-year writing requirement. It challenges students to think strategically about developing and communicating ideas within different contexts. Students examine increasingly challenging texts as they apply their writing processes, with feedback from the instructor and peers, in order to craft thesis-driven academic analyses and arguments. Students master the concepts of audience, purpose, and context to demonstrate effective communication both for and beyond an academic audience. Classroom activities include discussion of readings, peer review, and informal writing assignments. Students craft focused thesis statements that articulate a clearly reasoned position and use credible evidence to support a sustained argument. Through guided practice, students refine their control over focus, organization, style, diction, and grammar, and use the revision process to achieve their writing goals. Students use University libraries to locate, evaluate, and apply scholarly sources. Some sections may focus on writing with and for new media. Some sections may include a service-learning component.