Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.

Dartmouth to require writing classes for all undergrads

As Brown and other colleges across the country review their writing programs, Dartmouth has recently announced that it will launch a new Institute for Writing and Rhetoric to foster students' written and oral communication skills. Among other changes, the College will no longer exempt students with high SAT verbal scores from the required first-year writing class, according to Thomas Cormen, professor and chair of the writing program at Dartmouth.

The institute will expand Dartmouth's current writing program, which is in its fourth year of operation, Cormen said.

"The changes are mostly structural changes - particularly, how it's governed," Cormen said.

The new institute will be a "student center for research, writing and information technology," Cormen said. He added that the expanded writing program will aim to help students not only with writing, but "with all phases of the composition process." Often, "a student will come in and say that they have a problem elsewhere, but it will actually be a research problem," he said.

Dartmouth is working toward eliminating all exemptions from the writing requirement, Cormen said. Just over 300 students, composing approximately 20 percent of the student population, were previously exempted each year based on their SAT scores.

Currently, Dartmouth has not eliminated exemptions for the incoming class of 2012, "as it would require creating new sections of our Writing 5 course (Dartmouth's first-year writing course), as well as solving several logistical issues that go along with it," Cormen said. Logistical issues include hiring new instructors to make more sections of the required course available.

Writing 5 "introduces Dartmouth students to the writing process that characterizes intellectual work in the academy and in educated public discourse," according to the Web site of Dartmouth's registrar.

Dartmouth considers strong writing ability an important skill for all students, as "it really cuts across all disciplines," Cormen said.

"I think there's just increasing recognition that the ability to communicate clearly and concisely is really important," Cormen said. "And that's one of the things that we can offer in liberal arts."

Adverse student reactions are not expected, Cormen said, as students "will see very little change in what happens in the classroom and our student support services."

Darren Cheng, a freshman at Dartmouth, said he supported the decision to eliminate exemptions from the writing requirement.

"I actually don't mind the writing requirement," Cheng said. "I think it's really good that Dartmouth is striving to have all its students master the skill of writing."

Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell and Princeton all require students to choose from several courses to fulfill their writing requirements, while Harvard and Columbia require all students to take the same required writing course, according to their respective Web sites.

Unlike the other Ivies, Brown does not have a rigid writing requirement. Students are expected to "demonstrate competence in writing" as a degree requirement, according to the University's Web site. Students are encouraged to take a writing course or work in the Writing Center only if an instructor recommends it or if the student's application demonstrates weak writing ability.

Brown students expressed their support for the University's lenient writing requirement and said a program like the one at Dartmouth would contradict Brown's academic philosophy.

"It's important to know how to write, but (Dartmouth) shouldn't force anybody to do anything," David Jenkins '11 said.

However, some students said they saw room for improvement in Brown's writing program.

"If I were to reform (the writing program), I would offer writing courses within certain disciplines," said Alexandra Dreyzin '09. "For example, if you are a science concentrator, you should be able to choose to take a science writing class."


ADVERTISEMENT


Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2025 The Brown Daily Herald, Inc.