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UW TACOMA
DIVISION OF CULTURE, ART AND COMM
WRITING INSTRUCTION

Detailed course offerings (Time Schedule) are available for

TWRT 101 Writing Ready (2)
Provides a foundation in college-level writing before enrolling in Introduction to Academic Writing and the first-year program. Introduces reading and composing skills needed for successful writing in academic settings, including close readings, critical thinking, and writing in response to others' ideas.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 101

TWRT 111 Discourse Foundations (2, max. 8)
Helps improve academic writing skills by focusing on students' own writing practices. Teaches reading skills to comprehend and analyze complex texts, review and analyze grammar structures as they appear in academic writing, and build advanced vocabulary. Prerequisite: either TWRT 120, TWRT 121, or TCORE 101; must be taken concurrently . Credit/no-credit only.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 111

TWRT 120 Academic Writing I (5)
Introduces principles of argument, critical thinking, reflection, analytical reading, writing, and research practices needed for academic writing. Covers skills for managing the writing process and how to transfer learning to other disciplinary contexts for writing as part of first of a two-course sequence. Prerequisite: completion of Tacoma Writing Selection survey. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: AW.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 120

TWRT 121 Academic Writing II (5) C
Reinforces and engages more deeply with principles of argument, critical thinking, reflection, analytical reading, writing, and research practices needed for academic writing. Covers skills for managing the writing process and how to transfer learning to other disciplinary contexts for writing as second part of a two-course sequence. Prerequisite: TWRT 120. Offered: WSp.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 121

TWRT 200 Introduction to Creative Writing (5) A&H
Introduces several genres and explores the creative writing process and terminology of imaginative expression. Cannot be taken for credit if credit received for TWRT 201.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 200

TWRT 201 Creative Writing in the Global Context (5) A&H
Introduces fundamentals of Prose and Poetry writing and explores the creative writing process and terminology of imaginative expression within international contexts. Emphasizes the importance of local and global audiences in shaping literary arts through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) projects in partnership with students and faculty at international universities. Cannot be taken for credit if credit received for TWRT 200.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 201

TWRT 211 Argument and Research in Writing (5) C
Focuses on writing critical analyses of texts in the arts and sciences. Emphasizes close reading, critical thinking, and developing well-supported arguments as well as advanced library research skills. Stresses managing the writing process so that good work can be produced within given time constraints. Prepares students for upper-division writing tasks.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 211

TWRT 270 Poetry Writing (5) A&H
Introduces students to the craft and process of poetry writing from initial draft to advanced revision. Explores current writing styles, poetic forms, and various aesthetic issues. Students discuss craft, assigned writings, and share work with other class members.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 270

TWRT 274 Spoken Word Poetry (5) A&H, DIV
Introduces students to creating spoken word performances and studying spoken word and slam poetry by analyzing its composition, performance, and social and historical contexts. Develops critical studies relevant to the U.S. rooted in social theories of race, gender, ethnicity and disability, and concepts related to inequality and exclusion.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 274

TWRT 280 Fiction Writing (5) A&H
Introduces the process and techniques of fiction writing. Readings familiarize students with various writing styles and strategies of other writers. Students discuss craft, the assigned readings, and share work with other class members.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 280

TWRT 287 Creative Nonfiction Writing (5) A&H
Builds narrative and descriptive skills in several genres of creative nonfiction, including the personal essay, feature articles for general trade magazines, or the literary essay. Includes reading of models and writers' workshops to provide feedback on drafts.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 287

TWRT 291 Technical Communication in the Workplace (5) C
Teaches objective-oriented and audience-centered communication for the workplace, while focusing on key genres of technical communication - reports, proposals, manual, and document design - essential for success in the professional world. Prerequisite: a minimum grade of 2.0 in either T CORE 101, TWRT 112, TWRT 121, or TWRT 211.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 291

TWRT 292 Power, Privilege, and Bias in Technology Design (3) DIV
Explores how design and technology are shaped by social, political, cultural and material forces and can create barriers and contribute to social change, inequality and equity. Examines technology as a tool of oppression or liberation in regards to identity categories and difference--ability, ethnicity, race, age, class, gender, and sexuality. Prerequisite: Either TCORE 101, TWRT 112, TWRT 121, TWRT 211, ENGL 131, or ENGL 141.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 292

TWRT 320 Rhetoric, Public Life, and Civic Engagement (5)
Introduces rhetorical criticism by examining how particular rhetorical theories and traditions have been applied to specific social issues. Explores the development of rhetoric, as both a theory and a practice, and how those at the margins of the Western rhetorical tradition have worked to expand its purview.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 320

TWRT 330 Written and Visual Rhetoric (5) A&H
Explores the principles and practices of written and visual rhetoric to learn to employ both effectively in print-based and electronic texts. Prerequisite: minimum grade of 2.0 in TWRT 211.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 330

TWRT 331 Writing in the Natural Sciences (5) A&H, C
Studies communications and rhetorical principles for sharing scientific knowledge in professional meetings with other scientists and with general audiences. Focuses on three most common genes: scientific paper (including literature review and abstract writing), research proposal, and scientific poster. Prerequisite: a minimum grade 2.0 in either TWRT 211 or TWRT 291.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 331

TWRT 333 Writing Through Comics (5) A&H
Introduces a critical perspective on comics and builds skills in creative writing and rhetoric studies. Focuses on theory and craft, providing a lens for interpretation and application, employing workshops for students to create (and revise) their own comics. Prerequisite: minimum 2.0 grade in either T CORE 101, TWRT 112, TWRT 121, TWRT 211 or ENGL 131.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 333

TWRT 340 Asian American Rhetorics, Literacies, and Activism (5) DIV
Explores rhetorical and literacy practices of diverse Asian Americans and analyzes the role of language in Asian American activism across time and space. Develops skills in rhetorical analysis and multimodal composition. Prerequisite: a minimum grade of 2.0 in either T CORE 101, TWRT 112, TWRT 121, TWRT 211, ENGL 121, ENGL 131, ENGL 141, or ENGL 182; recommended: TWRT 211 or T SOC 270.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 340

TWRT 350 Principles of User Centered Design (5) SSc
Explores the philosophy and process for developing solutions to design problems, including technical systems such as software applications and communication projects such as websites. Develops skills to identify and solve design problems through research, testing, and analysis.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 350

TWRT 353 User Experience Writing (5)
Explores the concept of writing as a design practice and process used to solve problems for users through a human-centered design process. Develops skills to research and write for inclusive user experiences, including the ability to understand and address implicit bias through strategic use of tone, voice, and language. Prerequisite: either T CORE 101, TWRT 121, TWRT 211, or TWRT 291.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 353

TWRT 355 Usability Testing and Research (5) SSc
Explores the concept of usability and research methods related to the evaluation of information and communication products as part of the user-centered design process. Develops skills to design and conduct usability studies, analyze results, and make recommendations. Prerequisite: TWRT 291.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 355

TWRT 360 PLAYWRITING (5) A&H
Introduces foundational skills in playwriting and writing for the stage including reading of scripts and analyses of produced plays to develop awareness of the playwright's process and position in theater productions. Employs workshops to provide feedback on drafts as students write and refine scripts.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 360

TWRT 362 Writing and War (5) A&H/SSc
Introduces students to the practice of multi-genre creative writing in the context of war. Emphasizes the writing of witness and explores the cultural impact of violent conflict in poetry and prose. Discusses writing as an act of peace and requires students to develop creative writing techniques in multiple genres.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 362

TWRT 364 Food Writing for Cultural Exploration (5) A&H, DIV
Examines the construction of cultural identity through the craft and structure of writing food-focused narratives. Using Latinx and Ethnic American interdisciplinary texts, students will evaluate the intersectional nature of race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomics in food traditions. These texts will be used as models for the creation of original content in poetry and prose.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 364

TWRT 365 Literary Editing and Publishing (5) A&H
Explores practices of literary editing, magazine design, and literary small press publishing. Readings examine history, aesthetics, funding, promotion, layout, and other issues faced by literary journals in print and in emerging online media. Student assignments reflect practices of literary editors. Credit/no-credit only.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 365

TWRT 372 Writing Eco-Poetry (5) A&H
Introduces the practice of poetry writing within the context of nature and eco-writing. Develops skills to read, analyze, and respond to seminal works of nature poems, eco-poems, and critical essays from Romanticism to contemporary poetry, then create, workshop, and revise original nature and eco-poems.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 372

TWRT 382 WRITING POPULAR FICTION (5) A&H
Teaches students to write popular fiction. Explores questions of narrative, characterization, action, form, formula, and code in popular genres. Uses primary and secondary texts to study mystery, romance, spy thriller, western, horror, and science fiction. Emphasizes peer review, revision, assessment, and reflection as methods of producing excellent written work.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 382

TWRT 384 WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION (5) A&H
Builds upon foundations skills in fiction writing and introduces elements essential to writing historical fiction, including research. Includes readings from creative and historical texts and employs workshops to provide feedback on drafts as students write and revise their own short stories. Prerequisite: either TWRT 200, TWRT 280, TWRT 380, or TWRT 382.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 384

TWRT 388 Writing for Social Change (5) A&H
Examines the rhetorical force of various forms of communication within specific social, political, and cultural contexts. Building on research and writing completed in other courses, students compose a project demonstrating their learning and which is intended for public audiences.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 388

TWRT 389 Nature Writing (5) A&H
Introduces students to the skills of creative non-fiction writing within the context of nature and environmental writing. Students read, analyze, and respond to seminal works of nature essays and environmental essays, as well as eco-critical writing, then create, workshop, and revise their own original nature and environmental essays.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 389

TWRT 391 Advanced Technical Communication (5) A&H
Explores Technical Communication concepts and skills to inform the creation of information across a variety of genres. Focuses on researching, creating, and delivering information through written and oral communication forms used in professional and technical settings. Prerequisite: TWRT 291
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 391

TWRT 420 Rhetoric and the City: Composing Urban Landscapes (5) SSc
Examines cites through an interdisciplinary lens, as texts that can be read, revised, and re-written as/through symbolic action. After reading and discussing critical theory about space and place, students conduct place-based research in preparation to compose critical essays, narratives, and visuals depicting specific experiences related to the city. Prerequisite: either T CORE 101, TWRT 112, TWRT 121, TWRT 211, ENGL 131, or ENGL 141; recommended: TWRT 320, TWRT 330, TWRT 340, or TWRT 388. Offered: Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 420

TWRT 440 Cross-Cultural Communication Design (5) SSc
Examines issues that affect communication from global and local perspectives including the role culture and technology play in human interactions. Discusses the research and practices that writers and designers need to consider when internationalizing and localizing information products. Explores techniques and skills to develop effective communication products.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 440

TWRT 450 Principles of Accessible Design (5) SSc
Explores accessibility barriers, standards, and guidelines for designing products and processes such as self-service kiosks and websites. Develops skills to solve accessibility problems through video ethnographies of barriers, apply automated and adaptive technology tools for testing and analyze data for devising solutions. Prerequisite: either TWRT 291, TWRT 350, TWRT 355, TWRT 440, TCOM 320, or TCOM 420.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 450

TWRT 464 Teaching Writing (5) A&H
Studies theories and practices of writing education and the history and challenges of writing assessment. Explores learning communities. Emphasizes pedagogical questions of social class, ethnicity, multilingualism, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and nationality. Prerequisite: minimum grade of 2.0 in either TWRT 211 or TWRT 272.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 464

TWRT 470 Advanced Poetry Writing (5, max. 10) A&H
Builds upon foundational skills in writing both traditional and contemporary poetry. Includes reading of models and writers' workshops to provide feedback on drafts. Students develop a portfolio of polished writing by the end of the course. Prerequisite: minimum grade of 2.0 in either TWRT 270 or TWRT 372.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 470

TWRT 480 Advanced Fiction Writing (5, max. 10) A&H
Builds upon foundational skills in fiction writing such as dialog, narration, theme, language, and character. Includes reading of models and writers' workshops to provide feedback on drafts. Students develop a portfolio of polished writing by the end of the course. Prerequisite: minimum grade of 2.0 in either TWRT 280, TWRT 380, TWRT 382, or TWRT 384.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 480

TWRT 487 Advanced Creative Nonfiction (5, max. 10) A&H
Builds on beginning creative nonfiction skills in several genres: personal or lyric essay, literary journalism, the nonfiction "short", or prose poetry. Includes reading of models and writers' workshops to provide feedback on drafts. Students develop a portfolio of polished writing by the end of the course. Prerequisite: TWRT 287 or TWRT 389.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 487

TWRT 492 Special Topics in Rhetoric and Composition (5, max. 10) SSc
Introduces students to current and emergent conversations in the fields of/at the intersection of rhetoric, composition, literacy studies, and technical communication. The content of specific sections to be determined by individual faculty in Writing Studies in reflection of their research and scholarly interests. Sections may also reflect new directions in research methods and pedagogical approaches. Prerequisite: either T CORE 101, TWRT 112, TWRT 121, TWRT 211, ENGL 131, or ENGL 141. ; recommended: TWRT 320, TWRT 330, TWRT 340, or TWRT 388. Offered: Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 492

TWRT 499 Advanced Topics in Creative Writing (1-5, max. 15) A&H
Builds on beginning creative writing skills. Includes reading of models and writers' workshops to provide feedback on drafts. Students work on developing a portfolio of published writing. Prerequisite: either TWRT 270, TWRT 280, or TWRT 287.
View course details in MyPlan: TWRT 499