Connecting Students to Writing Support

Students are recommended for Intensive Writing courses after a placement process coordinated by the Director of Intensive Writing (beginning summer 2023). If you are are working with a student who needs writing support, please reach out to Director Kristina Reardon. She would be happy to talk more with you and the student about how to find the appropriate level of writing support for them, whether that involves booking appointments at the Writing Center, attending Writing Studio events, enrolling in a writing attentive course, or enrolling in an Intensive Writing course. You may also find it helpful to review the Sites of Writing page to guide students to appropriate resources.

Teaching an Intensive Writing Course

In spring 2022, the following definition was approved by the CEP for Intensive Writing courses:

Intensive Writing (IW) courses provide academic writing instruction for students who would benefit from more feedback and support than is offered in writing attentive classes. Students enroll with permission of the Director of Intensive Writing after a placement process or instructor recommendation. IW classes employ guiding principles of Composition pedagogy by integrating reading, writing, and critical thinking strategies that students can apply in a range of courses across the curriculum. They emphasize multi-step drafting and revising processes, equipping students to offer and respond to feedback. They further teach students to navigate core rhetorical components of academic writing, including: audience and genre awareness; analysis and argument development; use and citation of evidence; clarity and organization of prose; and critical awareness of one’s identity as a writer. While courses may engage a range of topics, the study and practice of writing itself is always their main focus. Ultimately, IW classes empower students to cultivate their own intellectual voices and to feel confident about contributing to ongoing scholarly conversations.

While faculty may choose the tag writing attentive at their discretion, any courses tagged Intensive Writing must first be approved by the director of Intensive Writing to ensure they match the definition. The approval process involves a conversation with the director about a current or proposed syllabus. The director uses checklists, approved by the CEP, to determine in conversation with the faculty member whether or not the course in question matches the Intensive Writing definition.

Note: The writing attentive tag and the Intensive Writing designation are mutually exclusive; only one may be used per class. For more on the difference between writing attentive and Intensive Writing, see the landing page.

Further information

For more information on Intensive Writing, please email Intensive Writing Director Kristina Reardon at kreardon@amherst.edu.