WBIS & Writing Intensive Courses
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
 

 

Students seeking a degree from UW Oshkosh must complete 6 credits of composition with an average grade of C or better. For most students, this will include WBIS (taken in the first year of studies) and Advanced Composition (taken in the third or fourth year). In order to maintain the continuity of writing instruction in our program, students' second year experience in general education literature courses will also be writing-intensive.

Transfer students should contact the admissions office with questions about course placement.

WBIS
 WRITING BASED INQUIRY SEMINAR

WRITING INTENSIVE 200 LEVEL LITERATURE COURSES

ADVANCED COMPOSITION

Link to WBIS website
 

Beginning in the Fall of 2001, every UW Oshkosh student is required to complete a Writing-Based Inquiry Seminar (WBIS) as part of the general education requirements. Each WBIS will be centered on a theme chosen by the instructor, and these themes may vary across different sections of the same course. Themes are announced prior to registration, so that students may register for a course that closely fits their interests. These seminars will be writing-intensive and will be designed to help students develop their analytical writing abilities. The seminars will also utilize student-centered, interactive teaching strategies.

Catalogue Description: In this course, students will develop their writing, critical reading, and critical thinking skills by exploring a single topic in depth.  Students are expected to participate actively in their own learning through class discussions and group activities.  The theme will vary, depending on the instructor.  Students should check with their advisor or the WBIS website to determine the theme for each section.  Successful completion of this course will fulfill the Writing-Based Inquiry Seminar requirement. Students who have earned credit for English 101 may not take English 188. Students cannot earn credit for both English 101 and WBIS 188.

Students in each WBIS section, regardless of theme, will compose a minimum of 5000 words per semester (approximately 20 typed, double-spaced pages).

Link to Writing Intensive Literature course offerings website
 

Students in each section of 200 level literature, regardless of course title, will compose a minimum of 4000 words per semester in a variety of formal and informal assignments; at least half of this word requirement (2000 words) will receive feedback from the instructor.

Link to Advanced Composition course offerings website
 

Advanced Composition will help students become effective, persuasive, and ethical writers. Not only will they study the forms of discourse that are used by writers to describe knowledge and theories in various disciplines (including expressive, informational, scientific, literary, and persuasive forms of written prose), they will be aware of the consequences of using those forms for an audience (the ethics of discourse). Process and revision are essential components of every section; students will incorporate feedback from their instructors and peers in order to produce final papers from earlier drafts. Essays should achieve a level of sophistication, creativity, and audience awareness well beyond that of first-year writers enrolled in WBIS.

Amount of Writing in Advanced Composition

Students in each section of Advanced Composition, regardless of course number, will compose a minimum of 6,000 words per semester and submit at least 4,500 words to instructors for feedback (graded or ungraded).

This total word count must include at least one polished, research-based argument of at least 1,800 words about a significant topic or issue in the course subject area; this argument should be the culmination of a series of inter-related assignments and multiple drafts.

The remaining 4,200 words (or less) should include written work in multiple genres/formats, the majority of which synthesizes and/or responds to a variety of print, electronic, visual, oral, and/or experiential sources. 

         
    The Writing Program also offers the following courses    
         

ENGLISH  100: Foundations of College English
 Link to ENG 100 course outcomes

Catalogue Description: A course designed to develop competencies in the fundamentals of English grammar, usage, sentence structure, and paragraph writing. Through individualized instruction and tutoring, students placed in English 100 are prepared, upon satisfactory completion, to enter English 101. Units (crs.) earned in English 100 do not apply toward the 42 unit (cr.) general education requirement or toward the minimum 120 units (crs.) required for graduation. Pass/Fail course.

  

ENGLISH  121: English for the Non-Native Speaker


Catalogue Description: A course for students for whom English is a second language designed to develop advanced communication skills in reading and writing, with emphasis on grammar. Units (crs.) will be granted toward graduation only if the student takes the course as part of his or her first thirty units (crs.) and earns a grade of B or better.

ENGLISH  101: College English I


Catalogue Description: A Writing-Based Inquiry Course designed primarily to develop the understanding and skills needed to read and write effectively at the college level. Some attention is given to responsible handling of research materials. Successful completion of English 101 fulfills the first level of the General Education composition requirement. Successful completion will fulfill the writing-based inquiry seminar requirement. Students who have earned credit for WBIS 188 may not take English 101. Students cannot earn credit for both English 101 and WBIS.

 

ENGLISH  110: Honors Composition

Catalogue Description: A Writing-Based Inquiry Seminar for eligible students, designed to enhance writing ability, focus on critical and interpretive reading and introduce basic university research procedures. Prerequisite: Score of 29 or higher on the English ACT exam, placement through the Wisconsin English Placement Test (WEPT) if seats are available or enrolled in good standing with the UW Oshkosh Honors program  with prior or concurrent enrollment in INTRDSCP 175. Substitutes for English 101.

English Prerequisites: UWEPT score for of 525 or greater or admitted to the UW Oshkosh Honors program with prior or concurrent enrollment in INTRDSCP 175.