First Year Writing

The First Year Writing courses (UW 1020s) exist to strengthen students’ writing abilities in ways that will serve them during their academic careers at GW and in their future pursuits. UW 1020 courses emphasize the importance of strong writing, critical thinking and communication skills for future academic and professional success. For a list of commonly asked questions, see our First Year Writing FAQs.

UW1020: The Foundational Academic Writing Course for all GW Students

UW1020 classes are theme-based learning communities where students are immersed in the culture and value of academic writing. You will delve into a particular course theme by analyzing and discussing published work with your professor and classmates; writing about active questions connected to the theme will be central to learning new and more complex writing processes. As you gain expertise, you’ll review each other’s writing as engaged and informed readers. You and your classmates will become collaborators in learning and writing.

Many students arrive at college having practiced a few types of academic writing, such as the “five-paragraph essay” and research-based reports that use expert opinions to support a position. UW1020 builds on that experience: students not only summarize what is known but also practice creating new knowledge. You will emerge from UW1020 as a writer who -- through cycles of researching, writing, and discussing your ideas--can carry out sophisticated writing projects and attend to the ethical responsibilities integral to such work.

All UW1020 courses explore how language is a site of power. A common metaphor for describing academic writing is that you are joining an on-going conversation, which means paying close attention to who is included or excluded, what languages are privileged, and how we credit the people we have learned from.  As GW students enter into a community of writers from across the country and the world, together you will explore how we each draw on multiple forms of English, and leave more prepared to make deliberate choices based on the purpose and context of your writing.

UW Requirement Details

• All entering first year and transfer undergraduate students are required to take UW 1020, which is a four-credit course.
• Students can take UW 1020 in either the fall or the spring semester. UW 1020 is occasionally taught during the summer.
• Neither AP, IB, nor any other test will exempt a student from UW 1020.
• UW 1020 is designated as a pre-disciplinary course: the goal is to enable students to write effectively in various contexts, within the university and beyond.
• Unlike some required GW and WID courses, UW 1020 cannot be counted toward the requirements of any major or minor.

Hybrid and Service Learning Formats

In addition to traditional classroom formats, some UW 1020 courses incorporate hybrid or service learning elements.

• Hybrid courses blend face-to-face classroom instruction with online learning to improve learning outcomes, with a significant portion of coursework completed online.
• Service-learning courses address a community need through direct or indirect service and community-based research.