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Northwestern University

First-Year Writing Seminar

NOTE: Students who started taking classes at Northwestern in Spring 2023 or earlier should refer to the First-Year Seminar page and the Writing Proficiency page. The information below pertains to students who start at Northwestern after Spring 2023.

 

About first-year writing seminarS

Students take two different first-year seminars: a College Seminar in the fall and a First-Year Writing Seminar in either the winter or the spring. Both are small, discussion-oriented classes in which students explore a single topic or theme. The First-Year Writing Seminar builds on the base established by the College Seminar and pays special attention to the process of writing and revision. In these seminars students are invited to expand their definition of writing and to reflect on the complex role that writing plays in forming knowledge and identities.

First-Year Writing Seminars may not be counted toward Weinberg College’s foundational discipline requirement areas, and most departments and programs exclude them from counting toward major and minor requirements.

Learning objectives

One of the four Weinberg College learning goals is Express. The first-year writing seminars focus on the fundamentals of effective, college-level written communication. Students learn how to use the four inter-locking elements of written expression:

Students learn to understand and apply these elements through their own writing and that of other authors. As they do so, they engage in activities and practices designed to introduce concepts foundational to writing in college and beyond:

fulfilling the First-year writing seminar requirement

NOTE: Students who started taking classes at Northwestern in Spring 2023 or earlier should refer to the First-Year Seminar page and the Writing Proficiency page. The information above pertains to students who start at Northwestern after Spring 2023.

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