A W course proposal includes four required documents: a schedule of writing assignments, two complete assignment handouts, an explanation of the scheduled revision, and an outline of projected in-class writing instruction. Because there are many ways to present this material and because writing-intensive courses look quite different across disciplines, browsing a sample or two can help you see what a successful proposal looks like in practice.
The proposals below come from courses in Classics, English, and History. They vary considerably in format, discipline, and approach: Ellen Lee's Think Like a Roman integrates cognitive psychology with classical studies and includes a detailed week-by-week sequence; Marylou Gramm's Asian American Literature builds a writing sequence around weekly blogs that students revise into formal essays; and Carrie Weaver's Warfare in the Ancient Mediterranean approaches writing from a historical methods perspective. Reading across these examples, you will find different ways of sequencing assignments, structuring revision, and using class time to support writing, all within the same W course requirements.
If you have questions about your own proposal, the Writing Institute is happy to review a draft before you submit. See Proposing a New Writing-Intensive Course for more information.
- Think Like a Roman by Ellen Lee
- Asian American Literature by Marylou Gramm
- Warfare in the Ancient Mediterranean by Carrie Weaver