How will UW20 help students who already appear to be strong writers (via high AP, IB, or SAT scores?)

Many students are very capable at writing one kind of essay (say a personal experience or a literary analysis) but can use more guidance when confronted with more complex treatment of that form, or when working in an entirely new genre (say a bibliographic essay or a critical analysis). And because the class size for UW20 is small, faculty will be able to work with students to develop their abilities with new and more sophisticated genres. For students who come in with high AP, SAT or IB scores, UW20 faculty will use that as the starting point and help them build a repertoire of writing strategies for working in a range of disciplines. Furthermore, because the courses culminate in a final, extensive research project, they will get hands-on experience with the multiple research resources available at GW--from the Gelman library to the Library of Congress to many museums and resources in the DC metro area. This introduction will help them as they conduct research in later classes.

What if students receive a 4 or 5 on the AP exam or a 6 on the IB? Can they apply that towards UW20?

Students with scores of 4 or 5 on the AP or a 6 on the IB can continue to get credit for those exams; they will show up as English 099 on their transcripts. However, these credits cannot be substituted for the literacy requirement. Students must still take UW20 and their upper-division WID courses to satisfy the literacy requirement.

May students fulfill the literacy requirement by taking courses at other colleges?

Students who enroll at GW as freshmen must take UW20 here at GW to complete their first-year requirement. We believe that UW20, as an intensive college-level writing experience, is the right course for our students to take. While courses elsewhere might cover similar topics or have some assignments in common with ours, we feel responsible for ensuring that our students have the kind of individualized attention that our program offers.

Students who enroll at GW as freshmen and take UW20 at GW will be required to take their two WID courses at GW as well, for similar reasons. WID courses have been designed by GW faculty to meet the UWP guidelines and approved by the University Writing Advisory Committee, an all-University board with members from the various schools at GW.

How does this literacy requirement impact transfer students?

Transfer students entering GW with fewer than 30 credit hours will be required to take UW20 and meet the WID requirement.

May a student be in both UWP and the Honors Program?

Yes. There are honors designated UW20 courses and honors WID courses.