Philosophy and Mission

The Freshman Writing Program at the University of North Texas takes shape from our central understanding of writing as an interactive process defined not only by forms, grammars, and styles, but also by the acts of discovering, exploring, and listening to the world around us. Because we believe that everyone has a stake in “writing” the world, our courses at UNT prepare students to interact with others in a variety of professional, academic, community, and social contexts. Students learn to use a wide repertoire of strategies, styles, and conventions in order to communicate most effectively with diverse audiences, and these skills are encouraged in a number of effective classroom practices, including collaboration, discussion, metacognition (self-reflection), and, of course, lots and lots of writing. By the time students have completed the courses in the Freshman Writing sequence, they will be prepared to respond appropriately to the demands of writing they encounter as they move on through different academic and professional careers.

College Writing I, the first sequence of the Freshman Writing Program, prepares students for the processes of rhetorical analysis and production that are essential to writers who can communicate proficiently in a number of academic, professional, and interpersonal contexts. Students in this first sequence of writing gain practice with a wide repertoire of valuable writing strategies—including narration, description, and cohesive devices—and are challenged to use these strategies while writing within the expectations of several established genres. Through experience, students learn to analyze audiences successfully and adapt the skills and strategies that they have learned to meet the needs of writing strategies that they have learned to new writing tasks that face them, both in the classroom and beyond.

College Writing II, the second sequence of the Freshman Writing Program, builds on the rhetorical principles of College Writing I by providing students with the opportunity to study, experience, and practice the basic rhetorical elements of argumentative writing, including thesis statements, claims, support, and counterargument. Beginning with recognition of argument as a rhetorical strategy that opens up ideas for further discussion, the College Writing II course asks students to consider a range of perspectives on important contemporary issues and encourages students to engage the world around them with accommodating and thoughtful, yet well-defined and supported written responses. Several common argumentative writing situations, such as writing to propose a solution, to evaluate, and to inform, are covered in the course.

• Freshman Writing Instructor Resources Site

     Other Links

• UNT Writing Lab                            
• Purdue Online Writing Lab                 
• Diana Hacker MLA citation style         
• University of Chicago Writing Program  
• Hypergrammar—University of Ottawa