PWR 1 Assignment Sequence
The PWR 1 assignment sequence aims to engage students in the serious practice of academic analysis, college-level research, and argument. The sequence both introduces students to the standards of university-level academic writing and engages them in project-based, individually-designed research.
Student learning objectives for PWR 1 include the following:
- Students will develop experience with invention, drafting, rethinking based on feedback, revision, and reflection as they work through the writing process.
- Students will develop the ability to read and analyze texts rhetorically, taking into account relationships between writer, audience, cultural context, purpose, and argumentative strategies and appeals.
- Students will develop the ability to compose well-reasoned arguments and write persuasively with audience, purpose, and genre in mind.
- Students will develop research skills, including the ability to craft a focused research question and to locate, analyze, and evaluate relevant sources, including both print-based and digital sources.
- Students will develop the ability, in research and writing, to engage a range of sources and perspectives that illuminate a wider conversation about the topic.
Overall, the total amount of polished final-draft writing each student should expect to complete per quarter is between 7,500 words (25 pages at 300 words per page) and 9,000 words (30 pages at 300 words per page). Each major graded assignment should include a draft and revision stage as specified by our PWR Commitment to students. In addition to the three major writing assignments, students may be asked to do a significant amount of informal writing, including blogs, journals, online discussions, outlines, parts of drafts, and reflective memos.
The assignment sequence of major graded assignments is as follows: