Humber College requires 2 credits in writing courses, both of which
are normally competed in the first two semesters:
*Communications 200 - College Writing Skills
- focuses on essay writing
- normal maximum of 30 students per class
- meets for one single period (50 minutes) and one double period (100 minutes),
per week for 16 weeks
* Communications 300 - Business Writing Skills
- focuses on letters, memos, reports, (composing email is
receiving attention as well
- normal maximum is 35 students per class
- meets for one single period (50 minutes) and one double
period (100 minutes), per week for 16 weeks
It's possible to be exempted from COMM 200, but not usually from
300.
Some programs (e.g. Film and Television Production, Journalism,
Law Clerk, Public Relations, Radio Broadcasting) have specialized
and usually compulsory COMM courses over the first 2 semesters.
Humber also has parallel Technical Writing courses (COMM 213
and 313) that are compulsory for all students in technical programs.
By the way, all writing teachers teach (count 'em) 5 courses per
semester, with no teaching assistants.
Karen Golets Pancer,
Professor,
Writing Across the Curriculum Resource Person,
Humber College of Applied Arts and Technology,
Toronto
Date sent: Sun, 10 Sep 2000 12:52:03 -0400
Send reply to: CASLL/Inkshed <[log in to unmask]>
From: "John B. Killoran" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Canadian 1st-year writing courses
To: [log in to unmask]
> Colleagues, it's that time of year again when Brock University's rather
> naive English dept dreams up unusual things to do to its young writing
> program, and so I need your help with a couple of questions about Canadian
> 1st-year writing courses:
>
> 1) Do any Canadian universities or colleges offer 2-course sequences in 1st
> year? I know these are common in the US, but general ed requirements are
> also common there. I'm not aware of any such Canadian offerings (correct
> my ignorance please) and I'm hoping Brock sees the wisdom of doing one
> course well rather than two courses poorly. Writing is not required at
> Brock, so students here drop out of the second-term course after surviving
> the poorly designed first-term course. (Of course, Brock's English dept
> blames everybody but itself.)
>
> 2) How many/few campuses attempt to teach writing courses partly out of a
> lecture hall? Aside from Brock, I'm aware of only 5:
> + Toronto: Engineering program
> + Waterloo: English and Math depts (shame on my alma mater)
> + Ottawa: English dept (??? is that correct?)
> + Carleton: English dept (??? is that correct?)
> + Saskatchewan: Commerce program
> Are there others? I need to argue that only 5 (or whatever) other
> universities are attempting this, while the other 1000 or so North American
> universities and colleges don't presume to lecture students into becoming
> better writers.
>
> Ironically, one of the latest proposals the dept floated is for an
> upper-year undergrad course on writing pedagogy. Maybe some of the English
> faculty here will consider taking it.
>
> Thanks for your help,
>
>
> All the best,
> John
> ----
>
> John B. Killoran, PhD
> Assistant Professor
> Dept. of English Language and Literature
> Brock University
> St. Catharines, Ontario
> L2S 3A1 Canada
> (905) 688-5550 ext.3886
> [log in to unmask]
>
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