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Writing in Arts and Science

(Note: For courses in creative writing, see entries under “English” (ENG), “Innis College” (INI) and “Victoria” (VIC) in this Calendar.)

The ability to think critically and to write well-organized, clear, grammatical prose is important to your work in Arts and Science courses. It will also improve your chances if you apply to graduate or professional schools and will give you an advantage in the workplace. To help you develop your writing skills, Arts and Science provides a range of instructional resources.

Courses

Departments and programs integrate instruction on writing into their courses, and some offer courses that concentrate on communication in their disciplines. Check the course listings by department. In any course, your instructors and teaching assistants will provide guidelines for written assignments. They will often offer instruction in class and give you the opportunity to ask questions before assignments are due. You may ask them to discuss work that has been graded and returned to you. In addition, the university offers a number of courses in writing non-fiction prose:

  • ENG100H1 (Effective Writing) is listed under “English” in this Calendar
  • TRN190Y1 (Critical Reading and Critical Writing) is listed under “Trinity College”
  • Innis College now offers a minor program called Writing and Rhetoric. See the program website at www.utoronto.ca/innis/wr/. Its offerings include the following courses, all listed under “Innis College”: INI103H1 (Writing Essays), INI104H1 (Writing Reports), INI203Y1 (Foundations of Written Discourse), INI204Y1 (The Academic Writing Process), INI300Y1 (Strategic Writing in Business and the Professions: Theory and Practice), INI301H1 (Contemporary Issues and Written Discourse: Rhetoric and the Print Media), INI304H1 (Critical Thinking and Inquiry in Written Communication), INI305H1 (Word and Image in Modern Writing), INI311Y1 (Seminar in Creative Writing), and INI412Y1 (Prose Style across Genres).
  • The University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) offers a major and minor program in Professional Writing and Communication. For more information, see the UTM timetable at https://registrar.utm.utoronto.ca/student/timetable/ . Consult with your college registrar about taking courses at UTM. These are among the courses offered: WRI203H5 (Expressive Writing), WRI303H5 (Specialized Prose), WRI307H5 (Science and Writing), WRI320H5 (History and Writing), WRI325H5 (Community and Writing), WRI330H5 (Oral Rhetoric), WRI340H5 (Critical Reading and Listening), WRI360H5 (Finance and Writing), WRI392H5 (Research and Writing), and WRT420H5 (Making a Book).

English Language Learning Opportunities

The new English Language Learning initiative (ELL) offers undergraduates in Arts and Science a variety of ways to develop skills and confidence in both oral and written communication. For its intensive non-credit summer course, see the entry for ELL010H1/ELL011H1 under “New College” in this calendar. Fall and Spring programming includes free dropin workshops using high-level language activities focussed on listening and speaking, and also an online component for practising reading and critical thinking. The ELL website at www.newcollege.utoronto.ca/ell gives current information.

Writing Centres

The Writing Centres provided free of charge at undergraduate colleges will help you develop the writing skills needed throughout your university studies. They offer both group and individual instruction.

The Writing Plus workshops are short intensive group sessions that demonstrate the expectations for university writing. They include sessions on research essays, science reports, book reviews, and essay-type exams, and they give targeted advice for handling your reading load and the challenges of studying for tests and exams. Special sessions focus on writing admissions statements for graduate programs. See the webpage www.utoronto.ca/writing/writingplus.html for dates and locations.
In individual consultations, trained writing instructors help you improve your ability to plan, write, and revise, using your assignments from any subject as examples. Instructors are familiar with writing conventions in the whole range of Arts and Science courses, and some specialize in the needs of students using English as a second language. You are entitled to use the writing centre of the college where you are registered. All the college writing centres now use an online booking system that requires your UTORid for login. To make an appointment with your college writing centre, start from the common login page at https://awc2.wdw.utoronto.ca/awc-login/ or use the contact information given below. Here is a list of Arts and Science writing centres, including contact information.

Self-Help Material

Campus libraries stock many reference guides on academic writing. Besides general handbooks on style and format, you will find books that specialize in the ways to write for specific disciplines. You can also consult the website Writing at the University of Toronto at www.utoronto.ca/writing. It includes over 60 specialized files giving advice on university writing along with links to other useful online and print resources, and it gives current information on writing instruction in Arts and Science.