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College Writing Requirements

Satisfying Trinity College Writing Requirements

Writing Proficiency

RHET 103 College Writing fulfills the writing proficiency requirement.

Writing Emphasis Part 1

Passing the First-Year Seminar or Gateway with a C- or better will fulfill Writing Emphasis Part 1.
Students who fail to earn a C- in their First-Year Seminar or Gateway are required to take one of the following courses within the next two semesters:

RHET 108. Research and Writing
RHET 125. Writing for a Digital World
RHET 128. Writing and Mindfulness
RHET 130. Visual Rhetorics
RHET 145. Autobiography and Activism
RHET 202. Writing in the Disciplines
RHET 208. Argument and Research Writing
RHET 215. Writing the Personal Essay
RHET 225. The Rhetoric of Broad Street
RHET 226. Writing About Places

OR

ENGL 170/270. Creative Writing
ENGL 285. Creative Writing in the Community
ENGL 318. Literacy and Literature
ENGL 333. The Art of Telling True Stories*
ENGL 334. Advanced Creative Writing Fiction*

*Prerequisite(s): ENGL 170/270

Writing Emphasis Part 2

All students fulfill Writing Emphasis Part 2 by earning a C- or better in a Writing Emphasis Part 2 designated course in their major. Only courses given at Trinity qualify. See your major advisor for more information about qualifying courses. Double majors only need to choose one major in which to fulfill Writing Emphasis Part 2. If a student fulfills Writing Emphasis Part 2 by earning a C- or better in a declared major and subsequently drops that major in favor of another one, it is not necessary for the student to fulfill Writing Emphasis Part 2 in the new major.

Transfer Students

Transfer students may fulfill Writing Emphasis Part 1 with a course taken at their previous college or university, provided that they receive Trinity transfer credit for the course and the institution at which the course was taken officially designated it on the transcript (or in some other manner) as “writing intensive” or the equivalent. Otherwise, transfer students are required to take one of the Writing Emphasis Part 1 courses listed above no later than their second semester at Trinity. Transfer students fulfill Writing Emphasis Part 2 by taking a designated Trinity course in their major.

Individualized Degree Program

Individualized Degree Program (IDP) students fulfill Writing Emphasis Part 1 by earning a C- or better in the IDP seminar. Otherwise the IDP student must take one of the Writing Emphasis Part 1 courses listed above within the next two semesters of enrollment. In those exceptional instances when a transfer IDP student is exempted from taking the transitional seminar, and did not take a course that fulfills Writing Emphasis Part 1 at a prior institution, one of the Writing Emphasis Part 1 courses listed above must be taken within the first two semesters of enrollment at Trinity. IDP students fulfill Writing Emphasis Part 2 by taking a designated Trinity course in their major.

FAQ: RHET 103 and the Writing Foundational Requirement

FAQ RHET 103 and Writing Foundational Requirement