The Arts & Sciences Writing Program

The Writing Program helps Boston University undergraduates acquire writing and communication skills and more general habits of mind essential both to their full participation in the intellectual life of the University and to their future personal, professional, and civic lives. Most candidates for the BA are required to complete First-Year Writing Seminar and Writing, Research & Inquiry. The standard way to satisfy this requirement is through the two-course sequence CAS WR 120 First-Year Writing Seminar and one of three versions of Writing, Research & Inquiry: CAS WR 151 (meeting a Hub requirement in Oral and/or Signed Communication), CAS WR 152 (meeting a Hub requirement in Digital/Multimedia Expression), or CAS WR 153 (meeting a Hub requirement in Creativity/Innovation). In these courses, students hone their abilities to craft responsible, considered, and well-structured written arguments; to produce clear and coherent prose in a range of genres and styles; to read with understanding, appreciation, and critical judgment; to search for and select sources; and to express themselves orally and converse thoughtfully about complex ideas.

The Writing Program also is committed to the success of students whose first languages are languages other than English. International students who submitted evidence of proficiency in English as part of their applications for admission are required to take a writing placement administered by the program before registering for any CAS WR course. Students receive a placement of CAS WR 111, CAS WR 112, or CAS WR 120.

In addition, the Writing Program offers several upper-level courses.

• CAS WR 212 Translingual Writing (meeting Creativity/Innovation, Teamwork/Collaboration, and Writing-Intensive Hub requirements) teaches students the theory and practice of writing with and across multiple languages.
• CAS WR 250 AI Literacy for Writing (meeting Creativity/Innovation, Ethical Reasoning, and Writing Intensive Hub requirements) provides students a foundational understanding of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) uses for writing and the opportunity to explore the ways GAI technologies can support writing, research, creativity, and ethical decisionmaking.
• CAS WR 318 Public Speaking (meeting Oral/Signed Communication, Teamwork/Collaboration, and Writing Intensive Hub requirements) teaches students how to construct narratives and arguments that resonate with specific audiences and invites them to put such theories into performative practice.
• In CAS WR 320 Community Writing (meeting Creativity/Innovation, Individual in Community, and Writing Intensive Hub requirements), students form a writing partnership with an assigned local organization as a form of community building and social action.
• In CAS WR 415 Public Writing (meeting Digital/Multimedia Expression, Oral/Signed Communication, and Writing Intensive Hub requirements), students learn to communicate their areas of growing academic expertise to a variety of public audiences.