This description of the campus writing requirements emphasizes our first-year writing requirements by placing them in the broader scope of the university’s writing requirements.
All students must demonstrate competency in writing skills as a requirement for graduation. At Cal State LA, students demonstrate competency by
- Successfully completing a First-Year Writing course (GE Written Communication) or an approved equivalent
- Successfully completing a second course in writing (GE Critical Thinking/Composition) or an approved equivalent
- Successfully completing the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR), either through taking and passing the Writing Proficiency Examination (WPE) or by successful completion of a course alternative to the WPE (UNIV 401)
- Successfully completing two Writing Intensive (wi) courses
- Successfully completing an upper division writing course in the major, which also might count as one of the two (wi) courses
The First-Year Writing Requirement (ENGL 1005A & 1005B or ENGL 1010)
Who must take a First-Year Writing Course?
Transfer students usually satisfy this requirement by taking a transferrable CSU GE A2 Written Communications course prior to entering Cal State LA.
All entering first-year students must satisfy the First-Year Writing Requirement. The English Placement Test (EPT) determines which courses students can take to satisfy this requirement.
Exempt from EPT or a score of 147 or higher: Student can choose to enroll in either the two-semester long first-year writing course (ENGL 1005A & 1005B) or the one-semester accelerated first-year writing course (ENGL1010).
EPT score of 146 or lower: Student must enroll in the two-semester long first-year writing course (ENGL 1005A & 1005B)
First-Year Writing Courses (GE Written Communication: ENGL 1005A & 1005B, and ENGL 1010)
In all first-year writing courses, students receive personal attention, detailed guidance, and ample opportunity to revise and edit their papers based on instructor feedback. Faculty commonly employ peer review, individual writing conferences, peer workshops, and portfolios, as well as maintain a close relationship with the University Writing Center, which offers one-on-one writing tutoring to students.
In the first-year writing courses, students develop strategies for using writing to explore, interpret, and communicate information about themselves and their lives; use writing as a tool to learn and to discover; develop critical reading strategies; develop a sense of purpose and audience; develop their ability to reduce sentence-level errors in their writing; and increase their ability to use writing to accomplish their own goals in the university and society.
The year-long first-year writing course (ENGL 1005A & 1005B) covers the same skills and has the same objectives as the one-semester course (ENGL 1010), but provides students with more writing instruction, more time to complete writing assignments, and more low-stakes writing practice. These year-long courses are often called "stretch writing” courses and are ideally paced for many incoming first-year students who will benefit from more focused attention on their writing. Classes are kept small to allow for individualized attention.
The Second Course in the University Writing Requirement: GE Critical Thinking/Composition
Transfer students usually satisfy this requirement by successfully completing a transferrable CSU A3 Critical Thinking course prior to entering Cal State LA.
All entering first-year students must satisfy the second course in writing requirement.
Most students will satisfy this requirement by taking one of the approved GE Critical Thinking/Composition courses, such as ENGL 1050: Argumentative Writing and Critical Thinking. Successful completion of the first-year writing requirement is a prerequisite for enrolling in a GE Critical Thinking/Composition course.
ECST majors will satisfy this requirement by taking ENGL 2030: Introduction to Technical Writing. Successful completion of the first-year writing requirement is a prerequisite for enrolling in ENGL 2030.
The Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR)
Students satisfy the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement either by passing the Writing Proficiency Exam (WPE) or by successfully completing a course alternative to the exam. The prerequisite for taking the WPE or enrolling in the course alternative is completion of GE Basic Skills (Block A).
Students must satisfy the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement prior to completion of 90 semester units. To avoid potential registration holds, students should plan on completing the GWAR as soon as they are able. For information on registering for the WPE, contact the University Testing Center. For information on the course alternative to the WPE (UNIV 401), contact the University Writing Center. Students are also encouraged to visit the University Writing Center, which offers free orientation and workshops and maintains a detailed WPE information page, with sample essays and scoring guides.
Writing Intensive (wi) Courses Requirement
Students are required to take and successfully complete two courses designated in the catalog as writing intensive (wi). One of these two courses must be in the major and might be the same course used to satisfy the upper division writing requirement listed below. Consult your major department adviser for more information on satisfying both the writing intensive courses requirement and the upper division writing requirement.
The Upper Division Writing Requirement
Students are required to take and successfully complete an upper division writing course in their major degree program. Successful completion of the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR) is a prerequisite to the upper division writing course in the major. Students should contact their individual departments for more information on the courses that satisfy the upper division writing requirement in their majors.
Descriptions for the First Course in Writing (GE A2)
ENGL 1005A & ENGL 1005B (College Writing I and II)
A two-semester first-year writing class for students who score 146 or below on the EPT; intended for students who would prefer to stretch the curriculum of a first-year writing course across two terms rather than attempt the more challenging pace of ENGL 1010 Accelerated College Writing.
ENGL 1005A College Writing I
First course in two term sequence (1005A & 1005B) focused on reading and writing to develop and communicate ideas. Instruction in strategies for planning, composing, and revising college writing that incorporates authorities, examples, arguments, and facts to write developed, supported texts.
ENGL 1005B College Writing II
Prerequisite: ENGL 1005A. Second course in two-term sequence (1005A & 1005B) focused on reading and writing to develop and communicate ideas. Instruction in strategies for planning, composing, and revising college writing that incorporates authorities, examples, arguments, and facts to write developed, supported texts. Completion of this course satisfies the GE A2 requirement.
ENGL 1010 Accelerated College Writing
Reading and writing to develop and communicate ideas. Instruction in strategies for planning, composing, and revising college writing that incorporates authorities, examples, arguments, and facts to write developed, supported texts. Completion of this course satisfies the GE A2 requirement.
Descriptions for the Second Course in Writing (GE A3)
ENGL 1050: Argumentative Writing and Critical Thinking
Instruction in argumentation and critical writing, critical thinking, analytical evaluation of texts, research strategies, information literacy, and proper documentation. This course integrates writing and other critical thinking activities to increase students’ learning while teaching them thinking skills for posing questions, proposing hypotheses, gathering and analyzing data, and making arguments, applicable to any discipline or interest.
POLS 1555: Critical Analysis of Political Communication
Critical analysis of ideological messages, political biases, and manipulative devices in all forms of communication; from newspaper reporting to scholarly texts, from films to television news to social media.
PHIL 1600: Critical Thinking and Composition
Logical analysis of language and critical evaluation of arguments in everyday language; deductively valid and invalid argument forms; rudiments of inductive logic and scientific reasoning; informal fallacies. Students will develop analytical, critical, and information-literacy skills necessary for writing an academic paper containing a well-supported argument. Some sections to be offered online.
COMM 1200: Argumentation
Principles of argumentation: methods of logical analysis to test reasoning and evidence. Practical application through adaptation of rhetorical speech and writing to audiences and situations.
ECST Majors take ENGL 2030: Introduction to Technical Writing to fulfill the GE A3 requirement
This course offers instruction in designing effective print and digital technical documents, with particular emphasis on common genres, such as instructions, procedures, definitions, descriptions, specifications, reports, and manuals. In addition, this course provides students with the opportunity to develop further their rhetorical skills and to refine their composing and revision practices and their development of a clear and effective style. For ECST majors, this course fulfills the GE A3 requirement.
English Department Writing Elective Courses Open to all Majors
ENGL 2010: Intermediate College Writing
Building upon the rhetorical skills developed in ENGL 1005A & 1005B or ENGL 1010, students will develop analytical, interpretive, and information literacy skills necessary for writing a well-supported, researched, academic argument. Continued instruction in strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proofreading writing. This course helps students develop analytical, interpretive, and information literacy skills necessary for writing a well-supported, researched, academic argument.
ENGL 3010: Advanced College Writing
This course helps students in all disciplines learn methods of and gain practice in college writing, with an emphasis on critical reading and writing and advanced rhetorical issues including invention strategies, arrangement, selecting and analyzing evidence, and developing an appropriate style.
ENGL 2030: Introduction to Technical Writing
This course offers instruction in designing effective print and digital technical documents, with particular emphasis on common genres, such as instructions, procedures, definitions, descriptions, specifications, reports, and manuals. In addition, this course provides students with the opportunity to develop further their rhetorical skills and to refine their composing and revision practices and their development of a clear and effective style. For ECST majors, this course fulfills the GE A3 requirement.
ENGL 3030: Professional and Technical Writing
This course focuses on methods of and practice in writing professional documents, reports, proposals, and other workplace writing, with an emphasis on understanding the rhetorical situation and developing a clear style. Business professionals, scientists, medical professionals, engineers, attorneys and other professionals who can communicate well gain credibility and are more effective in the workplace. Central to effective communication is the ability to analyze and respond to the “rhetorical situation,” the competing demands of author, audience, and context, and so a key objective of the course is to help develop rhetorical awareness.