Academic Writing

The Academic Writing Program at Metro State University supports students in developing writing competencies that prepare them to communicate effectively and responsibly with diverse audiences in academic and professional communities. The program offers introductory and intermediate writing courses that satisfy general education writing requirements at Metro. The introductory writing courses help students understand how writing functions within rhetorical situations and develop frameworks through which to analyze the audiences, purposes, genres, and contexts in which they write. Students also learn how to engage in effective writing processes, including planning, drafting, revising, editing, and reflecting—steps that recur throughout the writing experience. The intermediate writing course builds on these foundations, focusing on how they shape the inquiry of a topic, the development of research questions, and the development of well-constructed arguments. The course helps students develop research and information literacy skills such as conducting research, finding and evaluating sources, and effectively integrating them into academic texts. The program also offers writing courses for students who have completed their general education writing requirement and seek further, discipline-focused instruction in how writing and research are shaped by their academic disciplines. These courses help students enhance their writing, research, and analytical skills by applying them to the genres, audiences, and rhetorical situations of their fields. Students are encouraged to complete their academic writing courses early in their college journey as the skills and experiences they gain in our classrooms transfer to writing in the wider university and professional worlds, helping them succeed in college and in their careers.