What are our students saying about the Academic Writing Program? Find out in the comments below.
An Introduction to Academic Writing starts students thinking about their university experience in relation to the high volumes of writing they will do throughout their degree. As a science major, I found the grammar unit particularly helpful when writing up formal lab reports. Researching my paper really helped with knowing how to use the library databases, a skill I now use at my job for background literature searches of scientific papers.
Grace Carruthers
Bachelor of Science (Biological Sciences)
As someone who took Writing 1000 in his first semester of university, I found that this course helped me embrace the academic environment of university. Overall, Writing 1000 has given me the tools to excel in projects as a student, and enhanced my confidence to succeed as an aspiring professional.
Kevin Beauchamp
Bachelor of Management (Finance)
I'm a student majoring in psychology and I took Writing 1000 as a GLER in my first semester of my first year. I found this course to be both interesting and extremely useful for my other courses as it helped me to make the transition from High School writing to University writing; it further enhanced my essay writing skills and especially helped me to master the art of citation, something that was previously unknown to me.
Jordan Bartlett
Bachelor of Arts (Psychology)
Of all the courses taken during my Bachelors degree, Writing 1000 was one of the top, if not the top, courses that I consider to have been instrumental in giving me the skills I needed to excel. Not only did this course give me the rhetorical power to clearly articulate arguments in papers assigned in class, but it also enabled me to carefully analyze any argument presented, written or otherwise. That is, I've attained my own style of writing that is unique and empowering, and I've gained critical thinking skills important for classes, business, and my personal life. I suspect many students who have completed this course in their early years at the University have seen a substantial increase in their GPA over what they would have received if they had avoided what might seem a daunting workload.
Jeremy Girard
Bachelor of Science (Neuroscience)
ULSU President 2009-10
I highly recommend taking the Writing 1000 course. Of all the courses I took in my first year, it was by far the most useful. It has noticeably improved both my writing and reading skills. It teaches students how to properly write summaries, how to structure essays, how to research and cite sources properly, and even how to use appropriate and effective grammar. Basically, it will help to improve and fine-tune the skills that you already have, and will make you a much better writer—at least, this was my experience. The work load is somewhat heavy; however, it is by no means unreasonable and it is so worth the work it takes. Unlike many courses, which sometimes seem only to make you memorize facts and concepts that only apply to that topic or area of study, this one teaches you skills that you can use in any area. Again, it is a very useful course, and I very much recommend taking it.
Wesley Ogloff
Bachelor of Science (Biological Sciences)