Area 1: Writing and Discourse

6 credit hours (2 courses) selected from approved CLE courses

Students who entered the university prior to Fall 2005 and maintain continuous enrollment until graduation must meet the previous Writing Intensive (WI) requirement.

Goals for Area 1

1. Understand the use of words as basic tools of thought;
2. Engage in defining, developing, and understanding ideas through the process of writing;
3. Understand modes of verbal discourse that are central to college-level academic work, such as argument, interpretation, analysis, and metaphor;
4. Develop clear and effective prose through attention to style, grammar, and other elements of composition;
5. Engage in planning, inventing, editing, and revising as elements of the writing process;
6. Read texts and write analytical and interpretive prose as a reciprocal means of expanding powers of understanding and
   imagination; and
7. Participate in verbal discussion of texts and ideas as an essential element of discourse and communication.

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Current Fulfillment Options

Students may meet the first-year writing requirement in one of three ways:

1. By successful completion of the two-semester sequence, ENGL 1105-1106 or COMM 1015-1016.
2. By successful completion of ENGL 1106 for students who are awarded Advanced Standing (based on standardized test scores and high school class rank) and are placed in ENGL 1106. Advanced Standing students who complete ENGL 1106 at Virginia Tech in the first enrollment with a C- or better receive Advanced Standing credit for ENGL 1105;
3. By successful completion of ENGL 1204H for students who meet University Honors Standards or English Department Honors Standards. Honors students who successfully complete ENGL 1204H at Virginia Tech in the first enrollment with a C- or better receive Advanced Standing credit for ENGL 1105.

In addition, Virginia Tech accepts ETS Advanced Placement credit for the Freshman Writing sequence.