In addition to the two English composition courses that provide a good foundation for writing, you must include among your other courses at least two that are designated as “writing-intensive.” These are courses that put an emphasis on writing and use it to help you learn the subject. One of the two must be in your major.

Being able to express yourself in writing may be the most important skill which you can have. It will be essential for career advancement after you graduate, and it will improve your learning—and hence your grades—while you are in college. One of the best ways to understand something is to write about it, because writing is really a concentrated form of thinking. You should expect to be doing some writing in nearly every course you take. But writing is so important that we want to be sure you select some courses that are designed especially to help you develop and practice your writing. Like any other skill, this one will grow stronger the more you use it.