"Writing every book is like a purge; at the end of it one is empty... like a dry shell on a beach, waiting for the tide to come in again." -Daphne Du Maurier

Directions for Election

You will enroll for a writing course during the online registration on campus at the beginning of either the fall or spring semester. You should have several courses in mind in case the one you most want is full. We offer tantalizing but sometimes bewildering array of topics for Writing 125 courses. Use these questions to help make your selections:

1. Should I take Writing 125 in the fall or in the spring?
For students who lack confidence in their writing, it is essential to take Writing 125 in the fall (see question 2, below). Other students, too, may wish to take immediate advantage of all that Writing 125 offers to students: the intimacy of a small class, close contact with an instructor who comes to know your work well, an introduction to technology and the library system at Wellesley, and, of course, careful instruction on how to approach and complete college-level writing assignments. But there are advantages to taking Writing 125 in the spring as well--after a full semester's work in other courses at Wellesley, you will have a deepened sense of the demands of reading and writing at the college level, you will better understand the point of Writing 125 instruction, and you will grow rapidly as a writer.

About half of all first-year students take Writing 125 in the fall; half take it in the spring. We schedule enough sections to seat all members of the first-year class. Still it can be a tight squeeze trying to fit everyone into a section, so please have patience with us--we do our best. What you can do: Plan carefully. Register for your Writing 125 class on schedule. Do not wait to register for a spring 125 class as a fifth class.

2. Do I think I need extra help with writing?
This year, we are able to offer four sections in the fall semester especially designed for students who lack confidence or preparation for college-level writing:

Writ 125 10: The Role of Stories
Writ 125 12: Women and Memoir
Writ 125 13: Leaving a Trace: Women's Lives at Crossroads
Writ 125 14: The International Short Story (for students who speak English as an additional language)

These sections would be appropriate for you if: (a) your verbal SAT score was under 580, (b) your high school training did not provide long and deep experience with writing; (c) you do not have much experience writing in English; (d) you have written primarily creative or personal prose rather than analytic or argumentative prose; (e) your grades in courses that require written work are a letter grade or more lower than your grades in other courses, OR (f) you simply feel that you have difficulty writing. These sections are not "watered down" sections of Writing 125; students emerge from them having written as much and as deeply as students in other sections of Writing 125. Rather, these sections provide an instructor who has the special training and experience to work with a wide range of writers, and who will be able to identify your particular writing issues and help you with them.

If you think you especially need one of these sections, you can reserve a spot for yourself prior to the onsite fall registration period. Simply return the form enclosed in your admissions booklet, or fill out the online form at http://www.wellesley.edu/Writing/Program/Election/prereg.html

If you think you need more than one semester of writing instruction, you should consult with your fall Writing 125 instructor and/or the Director of the Writing Program. We allow students who demonstrate need to take a second semester of Writing 125 for credit, but only with the consent of the Director of the Writing Program. You can also take Writing 126, a tutorial course taught by juniors and seniors under the supervision of a Writing 125 instructor. Writing 126 is available only to students who have completed Writing 125, and only in the spring semester.

3. Should I try to take a "combined" section of Writing 125?
Some Writing 125 sections are "combined" with introductory courses in another department (these are always listed at the beginning of our course offerings each semester). In order to provide ample time for writing instruction, these courses meet at least one extra hour each week and all are taught by instructors who have a special interest in writing. Like standard Writing 125 courses, they carry only one unit of credit, but some of the combined sections will meet a distribution requirement.

Reasons to take combined sections: (a) you have a special interest in learning to write in a particular discipline, (b) you would like to combine writing instruction with instruction in a particular discipline, or (c) you would like to use your Writing 125 course to meet a distribution requirement. Reasons NOT to take a combined section: (a) you would like to focus on a fairly narrow topic for your writing course, or (b) you would like to concentrate as much as possible on writing in your writing course.

4. What does it mean when a course is listed as "Mandatory Credit/Noncredit"?
Some instructors prefer to teach writing courses as ungraded courses, in large part because they have found that students will take more risks with their writing and improve more quickly without the pressure of a grade. You will see "mandatory credit/noncredit" in italics at the end of the course description for these courses. If you enroll in one of these sections, you will not have the option of receiving a grade for that course; you will automatically be enrolled in the course credit/noncredit. Please note that students enrolled in other sections of Writing 125 may individually elect to take the course credit/noncredit: your instructor can help you decide which is the best option for you.


5. What else should I know about the Writing Requirement?
Writing 125 is an introduction to writing at Wellesley. ALL students are required to take a Writing 125 course; we offer no exemptions. In addition, Writing 125 must be taken at Wellesley: AP credit courses or college-level writing courses taken at another college cannot be substituted (Exception: Davis Scholars and transfer students may substitute writing credit earned at another school for Writing 125, or may take Writing 225 in lieu of Writing 125).

For many sound reasons, we expect and require students to take Writing 125 during their first year. Students who have not taken Writing 125 by their secong semester at Wellesley will not be allowed to register until after everyone else in their class has registered; this penalty remains in effect until the student has completed the Writing Requirement.

• Lynne Viti and Wini Wood
• Wellesley College Writing Program
• Created by: Karyn Lu '01
• Date Created: June 29, 2000
• Expires: June 30, 2008

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