The two-tier Hendrix College Writing Requirement grew out of the Faculty’s conviction that students need more systematic instruction and practice in writing than they could receive by completing a first-year composition course. Moreover, research has
shown that even competent writers must practice their skills over the years and in different contexts or else lose some of their competence.
Level 1
The Level 1, or W1, courses serve as the gateway to the College’s writing requirement. As such, these courses are designed to “increase the student’s skill in writing expository prose,” by enabling the student to understand that “effective communication
reflects coherent thinking and that both require clarity, precision, and forcefulness.”
W1 courses abide the following learning goals:
- To draw on, engage, and cite the ideas of source texts to lend clarity, insight, and rhetorical force to one's own writing
- To generate insight; to convey significant ideas in writing
- To write with organizational purpose, reflecting a coherent and meaningful order, both at the paragraph level and in the essay as a whole
- To write effective prose in keeping with standard English patterns of grammar, usage, punctuation, sentence structure, and style
- To develop an understanding of how a process of preliminary writings, drafting, and revision can improve an essay's ideas and shape as well as the writer's control over written language and prose style
Academic Policies for W1 Courses
To meet the Level 1 writing requirement a student must
- receive a C or above in ENGL 110 Introduction to Academic Writing, or ENGL 210 Advanced Academic Writing at Hendrix; or
- receive a grade of C or above in a course at Hendrix identified by the code W1 in the course schedule, or
- receive a transfer credit for a course in writing or composition from an accredited institution as determined by the Registrar.
Each student must meet this requirement during the first or second year. Students may not use credits received from an Advanced Placement exam, an International Baccalaureate exam, or transfer courses to satisfy this requirement. Moreover, successful
completion of the Level 1 writing examination does not satisfy the Literary Studies (LS) Learning Domain. International students should refer to the Catalog section entitled English Course Placement for International Students.
Completion of the Level 1 requirement is indicated on the student transcript.
Level 2
Ongoing
Writing/Writing in the Discipline
In 1989, the Faculty introduced the Writing Level II (W2) capacity to provide an expectation that students focus on modes of writing unique to an academic discipline. Each program designated or created courses that were writing intensive and featured
an ongoing process of draft, feedback, and revision which trains the student in writing appropriate to the discipline. The W2 capacity succeeded in its goal of ensuring that students experienced writing across the curriculum. In recognition that students
can be trained in writing appropriate to their discipline in ways other than a single writing intensive course, the W2 capacity was eliminated in 2024 and replaced with a requirement that programs include writing in their learning goals and regular
assessment.
Learning
Goals for Ongoing Writing/Writing in the Discipline
Each program is required to have a learning goal for their majors that promotes writing appropriate to the discipline. Courses which contribute toward this learning goal should be identified in the curriculum mapping for the program. Like all other learning
goals, there must be an assessment plan including at least one form of indirect assessment and at least one form of direct assessment. This learning goal will be part of the planned cycle for assessment along with other program learning goals.
Minimum expectations for writing within a program include:
- At least three (3) writing assignments of substantial length, as appropriate to the conventions and practices of the discipline.
- An ongoing writing process. Students are expected to turn in drafts, receive feedback, and then revise their work.
There are a variety of ways a program can meet their writing goals. These may include but are not limited to any combination of the following.
- A writing intensive course.
- Writing across several courses.
- Senior Capstone experience.
- Publications or reports from research experiences or internships.
Each program should develop goals appropriate to the conventions and practices of the discipline.