WRTG 105 Writing Seminar

Welcome to the Web space for WRTG 105, SUNY Geneseo's core writing seminar. This space is designed to help people teaching, or interested in teaching, WRTG 105 find information that will help them do so. Although WRTG 105 instructors are the main audience for this space, students, community members, and anyone else interested in the course are also welcome to explore and learn from it.

Broadly speaking, WRTG 105 introduces first-year students to college-level persuasive writing and analytical reading. It does this in small seminar sections. Each section is organized around some subject that students read, discuss, and write about. Topics can be chosen at the discretion of the instructor, subject to approval by the WRTG 105 coordinators for new topics. See the bottom of the syllabus ideas section for some examples of topics, and the WRTG 105 guidelines for general guidelines that apply to all sections. In addition to the guidelines, all sections of WRTG 105 have the following general learning outcomes:

Students will…

  • Research a topic, develop an argument, and organize supporting details;
  • Demonstrate coherent college-level communication (written and oral) that informs, persuades, or otherwise engages with an audience;
  • Evaluate communication for substance, bias, and intended effect;
  • Demonstrate an awareness of authorial positionality and individual linguistic variations along with those of peers in an academic context;
  • Demonstrate an understanding of three modes of writing that are conditioned by different purposes, audiences, genres, conventions, the writer's identity, and context. Every student will practice writing
    • Addressed to the self (reflection)
    • Addressed to others (analytical/persuasive)
    • Addressed to the dynamic text (revision)
  • Locate information effectively using tools appropriate to their need and discipline;
  • Evaluate information with an awareness of authority, validity, and bias; and
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the ethical dimensions of information use, creation, and dissemination.

News!

  • Fall 2024 Workshop. The fall 2024 instructors' workshop was mainly an opportunity to meet Claire Jackson, Geneseo's new director of writing. There was also a brief report on the findings from the spring 2024 assessment. See the workshop summary for more details.
  • Sixth Edition of They Say, I Say. The sixth edition of They Say, I Say is now available.
  • Spring 2024 Workshop. The spring 2024 instructors' workshop concentrated on INTD 105 (as the course was known at the time) assessment for the spring semester. You can read a summary of the conversation and/or watch the recorded workshop.

WRTG 105 Coordinator(s)

Doug Baldwin, Department of Mathematics (baldwin@geneseo.edu)

Gillian Paku, Department of English (paku@geneseo.edu)

Director of Writing

Claire Jackson, Department of English (cjackson@geneseo.edu)