Critical Writing seminars

What to expect

Offering a range of course topics from across the university, Penn writing seminars are designed to do one thing: help you write well. Focusing on the fundamentals of academic and professional writing, our seminars sharpen your reasoning and provide you with strategies for its effective expression. In the first half of the course, a series of short formal exercises teaches you how to generate and express your own ideas. The second half introduces research-based writing, which focuses on how to research, synthesize and build upon others' ideas. All elements of the critical writing seminar include guidance from an experienced instructor and feedback from fellow students, which provides writers with the additional challenge of addressing diverse readers. The emphasis throughout is on creative thinking precisely expressed.

Students are strongly encouraged to take the writing seminar in their first or second semester at Penn. They should anticipate 3 to 6 hours per week of outside work, particularly in the first half of the semester when they are immersing themselves in the practice of critical writing as well as in the course topic. Attendance, punctuality, and timely submission of work are central to success. Grades are based on the work done throughout the semester, quality of contributions to class work, and a final portfolio assessment by an outside reader.