Courses of Instruction

Humanities and Social Sciences Annex 201
(213) 740-1980
E-mail: expo@hermes.usc.edu

Co-Directors: Irene Clark; John Holland

The Writing Program employs a rhetorically-based process approach to writing instruction. Its goal is to develop the critical thinking, reading and writing skills that are necessary for success in all college work. Small classes and tutorials in the Writing Center enable students to receive frequent response to their writing and highly individualized composition instruction.

WRIT 140, offered in affiliation with courses from the "Social Issues" category of the General Education program, focuses on the rhetorical principles and techniques necessary for successful university and professional writing, with special attention to critical reading, sentence-level fluency, research techniques, and elements of academic argument and reasoning. Students must complete WRIT 140 and an advanced writing course, WRIT 340, to meet the university's writing requirement.

Advanced Writing Requirement

All students at USC must complete an advanced writing course that will help them write for non-specialist readers on topics which may be related to their professional or disciplinary interests. The only course that fulfills this requirement is WRIT 340 Advanced Writing. Students enroll in WRIT 340 after WRIT 140 Writing and Critical Reasoning has been completed, usually in the junior year and no earlier than the sophomore year. There are many sections of this course, offered by different schools at the university. Students should consult their major departments to learn which sections of WRIT 340 best complement their programs of study.

Sections that meet the university's advanced writing requirement teach students to write clear, grammatical, well-structured prose; to discover and convey complex ideas critically; and to appreciate the nuances of good argument. The principal aim of the requirement is to develop a student's capacity to address specific audiences and formulate persuasive arguments.

Preparatory Course Work

Students who are not adequately prepared for WRIT 140 will be required to take preparatory course work. All domestic students who have a score below the specified level on the verbal portion of the SAT are required to take the University Writing Examination. Those scoring below the minimum standard on the examination must enroll in Introduction to College Writing (WRIT 120) or Introduction to College Writing in a Second Language (WRIT 121) during their first semester at USC.

International students take the University Writing Examination after having completed all course work required by the American Language Institute.

Students Enrolled Prior to Fall 1997

Students who enrolled in USC prior to fall 1997 and who have partially fulfilled the general education requirement in expository writing by completing COMP 101 will complete the requirement by enrolling in WRIT 340.

Students who enrolled in USC prior to fall 1986 and who have partially fulfilled the general education requirement in expository writing by completing COMP 101 must consult with an advisor at the Writing Program before enrolling in a writing course.

Transfer Credit

Students may complete the lower division portion of the writing requirement by completing course work equivalent to Composition II at another institution. Equivalent transfer credit is determined by the university's articulation officer. Students may not receive unit or GPA credit in courses for which they received (subject or unit) advanced placement or transfer credit.

Time Limits

Students should complete the lower division writing course requirement (WRIT 140) by the end of their first year at USC and must complete it before they enroll in their sixty-fifth unit. Transfer students should complete the requirement before enrolling for their thirty-third unit.

Transfer students who have not completed the lower division requirement must enroll in WRIT 140 prior to or concurrently with registering for their nineteenth unit (second semester) at USC.

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