Writing Programs

Kent State University offers a number of writing programs, most of them available on all eight campuses. The one most students will come in contact with is the First-Year Writing Program: English 10001 and 10002. In these courses, students will write a minimum of 4500 graded words a semester and will develop reading, writing, and critical thinking skills, usually in relation to a theme which varies with each course. If a student needs additional preparation before taking these courses, we offer English 10000, a basic reading and writing course. Students are placed into these courses based on their ACT or SAT scores and the results of COMPASS, an early computer placement test given at the university.

In addition to the first-year program, Kent also offers advanced courses in expository and argumentative writing on the junior level. These courses give students a chance to continue developing and refining the skills of the first-year sequence while pursuing expertise in a specialized kind of writing. We also offer courses in business, technical, and creative writing once a student has finished the first-year sequence.

For those students who prefer to work in a computer-integrated environment, we offer many of the above courses in a networked classroom called the TWRC (Technology & Writing Research Classroom) on the third floor of Satterfield Hall on the Kent campus. The students may also use this classroom as a computer lab during designated hours.

Another program we offer is the Writing Minor, a program which certifies that the student has taken a number of writing, theory, and cognate courses; students taking this minor finish their course work with a writing portfolio, which can be used to apply for graduate programs in writing or for jobs in writing. The student can shape the minor to fit any type or combination of types of writing offered in the programs above.

Further information about any of these offerings can be found at this site, in the Undergraduate Student Catalogue, or by calling or visiting the Department of English office in Satterfield Hall on the Kent campus.