Course Description and Competencies

What to Expect

In this course, you will work through four modules of material. Each module is broken down into smaller units. These units will cover topics related to writing foundations, purpose, audience, writing strategies, revising, editing, and feedback.

Throughout the course, you will find readings, videos, lightning rounds, and practice quizzes to help deepen your understanding of the content. Engaging with these activities reinforces new learning and complements the knowledge you bring to this area of study. Because this course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to build proficiency in the course competencies.

Course Competencies

This course covers the following competencies:

  • The learner writes with purpose for a given context and target audience. 
  • The learner incorporates writing strategies and techniques for written communication. 
  • The learner constructs a written document with correct format, style, structure, and grammar. 
  • The learner formulates a strategy for editing and revising written text.
  • The learner composes constructive feedback of written texts.

Assessment

The assessments provide an opportunity for you to demonstrate your mastery of the competencies in this course. The method of assessment includes three final projects. You must achieve a ranking of Competent on each assessment to pass the course. You may attempt the assessments two times before additional support is necessary. If you require further attempts, please contact your Course Instructor or Student Experience Specialist.

3 Final Projects
3 Competency Units

Course Outline

ModuleUpon completion of this module, you will be able to:
Writing Foundations
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the writing process.
  • Apply appropriate, inclusive conventions to written communication. 
  • The learner identifies conventions appropriate for a specific writing context.
  • The learner constructs text that incorporates appropriate grammatical rules, sentence structure, and writing conventions.
Purpose and Audience
  • Determine an appropriate writing purpose for a given context. 
  • Apply rhetorical appeals as an effective writing strategy.
Writing Strategies
  • Identify various patterns of expository structure in example texts. 
  • Construct an effective expository essay using compare and contrast, cause and effect, problem and solution, or other expository pattern as its structure. 
  • Organize a piece of writing for a specific audience.  
  • Demonstrate clarity, consistency, and concision in writing.
  • Apply techniques to ensure cohesiveness in writing.
Revision and Feedback
  • Sequence each step of the revision process, adjusting as appropriate to a specific situation.
  • Revise a problematic text with formatting, style, structure, and grammar issues.
  • Identifies issues with format and structure.
  • Apply effective methods for proofreading and editing to a first draft.
  • Describe the elements of constructive feedback.
  • Prioritize major issues over minor ones when providing feedback on a piece of text.

Key Contacts

Certificate Connect
Check out this online community to take advantage of course resources, including videos and tips from your educators. You can ask and answer questions, provide feedback on your progress, and interact with fellow students. You will find this platform in the Student Resources section of the course. Log on and do some exploring!

Technical Support
If you encounter technical issues, be sure to contact the Help Desk. Just submit a Support Request for assistance.

Program Support
Do you have questions about your account? Student Support has answers. They can help with billing, switching courses, and other requests. You can contact them at (888) 320-0540 or support@academy.wgu.edu.

Accommodations

WGU provides compliant and accessible learning experiences. If you require accommodation, please contact us at the start of the course. You can email disability@academy.wgu.edu or call (888) 320-0540.

We are committed to ensuring that all students with disabilities have equal access to WGU's services and materials. We strive to use best practices for accessibility. Our goal is to conform to existing U.S. laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Our learning management system (LMS) platform is Open edX. Open edX’s commitment to accessible content is published in their Website Accessibility Policy.