You are here: American University Provost Undergraduate Education AU Core Writing & Information Literacy

Back to top

Written Communication and Information Literacy

The AU Core fosters the development of students' written communication and information literacy skills through a two-part requirement. In Written Communication and Information Literacy I (W1), you will have opportunities to pursue topics they are curious about, engage authentically with writing and research, develop rhetorical awareness and flexibility, and gain knowledge and skills that can transfer to their other courses. In Written Communication and Information Literacy II (W2) you will learn the conventions of your discipline, navigate its information landscape, and create and communicate new knowledge.

Written Communication and Information Literacy I (W1)

Part of the Foundation requirement, this course sequence focuses on learning how to make effective writing choices, including formulating original theses and well-supported, effectively organized arguments. The W1 requirement is satisfied in one of the following ways:

  • Completing with a grade of a "C" or better the 6 credit Written Communication and Information Literacy I sequence of classes: WRTG-100 and 101, or WRTG-102 and 103.
  • Receiving advanced credit for specific exams (published annually by the Office of Admissions), and also earning a grade of C or better in the 3 credit WRTG-106. See the Admissions Exam Credit page for more information.
  • Students with with transfer credit may also satisfy the W1 requirement by presenting 6 credit hours of articulated composition credit from another institution or presenting 3 credit hours of coursework articulated as composition credit from another AG rated institution and completing WRTG-101 or WRTG-103 with a grade of C or better.

Click here to view a list of AU Core courses.

W1 Learning Outcomes

Level One: Writing 100, Students will...

  1. Identify and evaluate other creators' projects and argumentative moves in response to the needs of rhetorical contexts.
  2. Identify the value of researching, inventing, drafting, and revising and reflect on the efficacy of those processes for their own writing.
  3. Study the importance of critical questions to academic inquiry, knowledge creation, and testing the soundness of beliefs.

Level Two: Writing 101/106, Students will...

  1. Develop and evaluate research and writing processes and modes that can be adapted to a variety of rhetorical contexts.
  2. Experiment with and refine matacognitive strategies that can be applied to researching, inventing, drafting, and revising for a variety of projects.
  3. Formulate, evaluate, and employ critical questions as part of their processes for academic inquiry, knowledge creation, and testing the soundness of their beliefs.

Level One: Writing 100, Students will...

  1. Revise their existing research strategies to discover appropriate information for general or academic audiences.
  2. Acknowledge the factors that govern authority are complex and dependent on rhetorical context.
  3. Practice rhetorically appropriate strategies for integrating information.
  4. Take responsibility for crediting others not only to avoid plagiarism, but also to participate in the exchange of ideas.

Level Two: Writing 101/106, Students will...

  1. Practice dynamic and adaptable research processes that respond to mode, genre, or discipline.
  2. Choose information that will be persuasive in specific rhetorical contexts.
  3. Enact increasingly sophisticated strategies for integrating existing information and creating new knowledge across disciplines and genres.
  4. Enact academic integrity principles and citation conventions as a way to establish credibility and effectively communicate within disciplines and genres.

Level One: Writing 100, Students will...

  1. Develop and practice rhetorical reading strategies across modes and genres.
  2. Recognize that writing responds to conversations in and across fields of knowledge, modes, and genres.
  3. Recognize persuasive moves within or across disciplines, genres, and modes.
  4. Distinguish between ambitious and unambitious theses, and practice developing appropriate theses in later projects.
  5. Accurately and effectively summarize, paraphrase, and quote, accounting for the creators' intentions. Practice synthesizing multiple points of view.

Level Two: 101/106, Students will...

  1. Use rhetorical reading strategies in their writing practices.
  2. Participate in conversations that move within or across fields of knowledge, modes, and genres.
  3. Employ persuasive moves within or across particular disciplines, genres, and modes.
  4. Develop an ambitious, thought-provoking, arguable thesis in their writing projects.
  5. Preserve creators' positions within conversations while also synthesizing multiple points of view, including their own.

Level One: Writing 100, Students will...

  1. Explain the rhetorical importance of organizational strategies when constructing an argument. Identify and practice strategies for successful transitions within paragraphs and between paragraphs.
  2. Identify and practice strategies to develop concision, freshness, and sentence variety through specific choices in syntax and diction.
  3. Describe how mechanical choices are rhetorical.
  4. Articulate the rationale behind format and citation as a response to rhetorical context and follow appropriate citation conventions.

Level Two: Writing 101/106, Students will...

  1. Practice project-driven organizational strategies, including discipline-, mode-, or genre-driven conventions of organization. Adapt transition strategies to a variety of rhetorical contexts.
  2. Identify and practice project-, discipline-, mode-, or genre-driven approaches to syntax and diction, including the relationship between rhetorical context and tone.
  3. Practice and refine strategies for making mechanical choices.
  4. Identify and practice discipline- and genre-based formatting and citation conventions.

Written Communication and Information Literacy II (W2)

AU's Written Communication and Information Literacy II (W2) requirement is designed to build on the skills that you developed in the W1 requirement. You will continue to practice and refine your writing and information-literacy skills, but you will do so in the context of your particular discipline. As a result, you will not only improve your writing and information-literacy skills but also develop your disciplinary expertise through that writing.

Although most majors have a specific W2 that students are required to take, any W2 course may be applied toward the university's graduation requirement. See below for a list of major-designed W2 courses.

Students may satisfy the Written Communication and Information Literacy II (W2) requirement by:

  • Completing an appropriately designated Written Communication and Information Literacy II course with a grade of "C" or better. For a full list of W2 courses, see our Courses page.

  • W2 courses may count towards AU Core and a major/minor/certificate requirement.

  • A single course cannot be used to satisfy both Q1 and Q2.

  • Up to two appropriately designated courses taken abroad can be used to satisfy AU Core requirements. See our Core Abroad page for additional details.
  • External credit may be used to satisfy this requirement. See our Transfer Credit page for additional information.

W2 Learning Outcomes

  1. Students will be able to identify and employ the genres of a discipline.
  2. Students will be able to interpret the information and research of a discipline in order to find, evaluate, and contextualize credible and appropriate sources and information.
  3. Students will be able to take a writing project through multiple drafts and revision based on reflection and interactive feedback in order to develop ideas or arguments.
  4. Students will build on their ability to write clearly, concisely, and accurately (as learned in W1), in order to demonstrate the style, attribution, and correctness of a discipline.

Major-Designated W2 Courses 

Some Academic Programs have designated specific courses that simultaneously satisfy a major requirement and the W2 requirement, while other academic programs have included one or more W2 courses as options students may complete to satisfy major electives.

Find your major on the table below to learn what W2 course(s) you can take.
If there is nothing listed for your major, you can take (in consultation with their academic advisor) any W2 course, provided you meet any prerequisites. A list of W2 courses with no prerequisites is included below the table.