The Writing Program's Directed Self-Placement (DSP) process empowers first-year students to select the Academic Inquiry Seminar that best suits their needs as new college writers and thinkers. In this process, incoming students are provided with materials to help them make a decision about the classroom environment that will best support their critical reading and writing development.
In the sections below, you will find answers to commonly asked questions about DSP.
Students matriculating in Fall 2023 and later will be enrolled in a new set of General Education Requirements (GER) and be required to complete the following sequence of courses:
- An Academic Inquiry Seminar (3 credit-hours) during their first year of enrollment;
- Two Communication-Intensive Courses (at least 3 credit-hours each);
- A Disciplinary Communication Course (3 credit-hours); and
- A Capstone Project Course (at least 3 credit-hours).
For more details, please see the General Education Writing webpage.
DSP is a guided activity that empowers first-year students to select an Academic Inquiry Seminar that best suits their needs as new college writers and thinkers. As part of their matriculation "Roadmap," new students are provided with materials to help them make this decision, including descriptions of the courses available to them, a questionnaire about their writing and reading experience, and a reading and writing activity that they self-assess with criteria provided to them.
In order to facilitate DSP in the Writing Program, we have implemented an online placement process in which students read, write a response to the reading, assess that response according to specific criteria typical of Academic Inquiry Seminar writing, and complete a questionnaire about their own reading and writing experiences before coming to college. Incoming first-year students complete this process as part of the Roadmap. The process encourages students to reflect on their needs as new college writers and to select from among:
- Foundations Seminars - for students who need or want support while developing strong writing habits and acclimating to college-level writing;
- Seminars for Non-Native Speakers of English - for students who are not completely confident in their academic skills and/or are interested in more intensive support in academic English with faculty who know how to help them appropriately;
- Topical Seminars - for students who need or want to apply their writing to explore scholarly areas of interest.
The three kinds of Academic Inquiry Seminars have the same learning objectives and meet the same requirements, but they each foster academic writing in a different environment.
The seminar’s defining feature is its small size: with enrollment limited to 16 or fewer students, every Academic Inquiry Seminar promotes active engagement and discussion, allows students to learn from one another, and offers a vigorous introduction to academic inquiry. Academic Inquiry Seminars have a topic of study, consistent with CWRU’s general education mission, and they also involve instruction in academic writing. In addition to the Topical Seminars, CWRU also offers Foundations Seminars and Seminars for Non-Native Speakers of English, which are designed to provide more direct writing support to students who need more experience and/or confidence in writing at the college level.
Topical Seminars have a topic of study, consistent with the Writing Program’s general education mission, but they also involve instruction in academic writing. These Seminars have a variety of topics. The majority of first-year students take a Topical Seminar.
AIQS 100: Academic Inquiry Seminar Course Description
This course develops the habits of mind and writing/communication processes that characterize academic discourse. Students engage with questions and topics from multiple perspectives, and they establish effective writing processes (including planning, drafting, responding to feedback, revising, reflecting, and self-assessing).
Note: Each AIQS 100 course has a specific topic; students who select Topical Seminars through the DSP process will have an opportunity to indicate their choices as part of the first-year registration process.
Some examples of Topical Seminars are (coming soon):
Foundations Seminars are designed to provide more direct writing support to students who need or want more experience with the writing process. These seminar experiences will provide students with opportunities to develop their own writing processes and their confidence about their ability to perform college level writing.
AIQS 110: Academic Inquiry Seminar - Foundations of College Writing Course Description
This course develops the habits of mind and writing/communication processes that characterize academic discourse. Students engage with questions and topics from multiple perspectives, and they establish effective writing processes (including planning, drafting, responding to feedback, revising, reflecting, and self-assessing). This seminar provides attention to the personal aspects of writing including processes, habits, and skills as well as to the social aspects of writing including types of writing, persuasion/argument, and conventions.
The course structure of this section allows for us to spend more time and attention on your individual needs and goals as writers. You will learn academic writing conventions, rhetorical techniques, and various processes that you might apply in new writing situations.
Note: Each AIQS 110 course focuses on writing and communication as a topic of study; students who select Foundations Seminars through the DSP process will be placed into a seminar that fits their schedule as part of the first-year registration process.
Seminars for Non-Native Speakers of English are designed for students whose first language is not English and who need or want direct support in reading and writing in academic English. Seminars for Non-Native Speakers of English provide classroom support for students who are not comfortable reading and/or writing in English. They have the same course outcomes as other Academic Inquiry Seminars, but extra time is devoted to grammatical and rhetorical concerns. These classes are composed of students whose first language is not English (including students who have attended high school in English-speaking countries) and a teacher who has special training in teaching English as a second language.
Note: There are two kinds of Seminars for Non-Native Speakers of English (please see below for additional information.) Students who select a Seminar for Non-Native Speakers through the DSP process will be placed into a seminar that fits their schedule as part of the first-year registration process.
Students who select a Seminar for Non-Native Speakers of English through the DSP process will enroll in either AIAE 100 or AIQS 120 in their first semester.
AIAE 100: Academic English Course Description
This course is designed to improve the fundamental reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills of students for whom English is not their first language.
AIQS 120: Academic Inquiry Seminar Course Description
This course, specifically designed for non-native speakers of English, develops the habits of mind and writing/communication processes that characterize academic discourse. Special emphasis is given to critical reading and writing in academic English by focusing on rhetorical and linguistic concerns specific to non-native speakers of English. Students engage with questions and topics from multiple perspectives, and they establish effective writing processes (including planning, drafting, responding to feedback, revising, reflecting, and self-assessing) as well as language acquisition habits.
| AIAE 100: Academic English | AIQS 120: Academic Inquiry Seminar |
|---|---|
| Develops fundamental academic writing skills in English such as paraphrasing, summarizing, and argument essay writing | Develops more advanced academic writing in English |
| Develops basic skills necessary to read and respond to academic texts critically | Fosters critical thinking by focusing on longer and more advanced readings |
| Develops skills needed to successfully participate in and lead classroom discussions | Offers practice in discussions in a seminar environment |
| Devotes special attention to language skills to understand and make rhetorical choices | Offers language support as part of the curriculum |
| Improves and extends students’ grammar, vocabulary, tone, and style | |
| Develops other general academic skills such as note taking, revising, editing, and proofreading | |
| After successful completion, students continue in AIQS 120: Academic Inquiry Seminar the following semester with the same instructor and classmates. |
Will taking AIAE 100: Academic English in my first semester and AIQS 120: Academic Inquiry Seminar in my second semester delay my academic progress or put me behind other students?
No, this will NOT delay the sequence of your general education communication requirements and will NOT put you behind other students. Opting for AIAE 100: Academic English in your first semester and AIQS 120: Academic Inquiry Seminar in the second semester will still leave you ample time to complete your other general education writing requirements. Instead, you will have an advantage as AIAE 100: Academic English will prepare you to be more successful not only in your Academic Inquiry Seminar and communication intensive courses, but also in all other courses at CWRU by developing your academic skills.
Are Seminars for Non-Native Speakers of English ESL courses?
Seminars for Non-Native Speakers of English are not English language courses. AIAE 100: Academic English is a course that develops students’ academic skills needed to be successful in their Academic Inquiry Seminar as well as other courses at CWRU. AIQS 120: Academic Inquiry Seminar has the same student learning objectives as Topical Seminars, but offers additional support to students in areas specific to non-native speakers.
If my preference is for a Seminar for Non-Native Speakers of English, am I missing out on interacting with native speakers?
You will have abundant opportunities to interact with native speakers in all your other courses during your first semester as well as in future courses at CWRU. A Seminar for Non-Native Speakers of English will be beneficial for you as it is taught by professors trained to attend to specific needs of students for whom English is not their first language in the same seminar format and with the same learning outcomes as Topical Seminars.
I am not sure which Seminar for Non-Native Speakers of English is best for me. What should I do?
During the Academic Inquiry Seminar Directed Self-Placement process you can select the option to have a Writing Program faculty member teaching these courses decide the option that would benefit you most. The faculty member will read your responses to the questionnaire as well as your response to the reading & writing task to consider the best course for you.
| Topical Seminars | Foundations Seminars | Seminars for Non-Native Speakers of English |
|---|---|---|
| Use writing to explore a topic of study | Study the topic of writing as a process | Study topics related to culture and identity to explore academic writing in English |
| Assume independence and confidence in personal writing processes | Foster strong personal writing habits & processes | Foster strong personal writing & language acquisition habits |
| Devote class time mostly to exploration of a topic | Devote class time mostly to experimentation with writing strategies | Devote class time to reading, writing, & evaluating academic English |
| Offer writing support as part of the curriculum | Offer intensive writing support as part of the curriculum | Offer writing & language support as part of the curriculum |
| Have 16 students per class | Have 12 students per class | Have 12 students per class |
All three Academic Inquiry Seminar experiences award academic credit and meet the General Education learning outcomes; students’ transcripts will reflect that they have taken an Academic Inquiry Seminar, regardless of which seminar experience they choose. None of these courses is remedial nor a prerequisite for a Topical Academic Inquiry Seminar.
If you have questions about the directed self-placement process or Foundations Seminars, you can contact Martha Schaffer, Director of First Year Writing, at martha.schaffer@case.edu or 216.368.1890.
If you have questions about writing for students whose first language is not English or Seminars for Non-Native Speakers of English, you can contact Gusztav Demeter, Director of Writing for Non-Native Speakers of English, at gusztav.demeter@case.edu or 216.368.2452.