Writing in the Major Courses

Every undergraduate at Stanford is required to take at least one writing-intensive course in his or her major. The TCP is charged with implementing the University Writing in the Major requirement within the School of Engineering. The TCP works with faculty to make their courses writing-intensive, helping them to devise effective writing assignments that are discipline-specific and to structure their courses to allow for valuable feedback and revision. The program provides writing TAs, who give students instruction on organization, style, grammar, mechanics, and so on.

The TCP has also created for two departments, EE and ME, writing courses attached to existing departmental courses. Students write assignments based specifically on work done in the major and receive individual feedback on their writing. The assignments clarify discipline-specific technical material as well as raise certain rhetorical issues concerning audience, purpose, structure, document design, and so on that are crucial in the kinds of professional writing that the students will likely do in a professional setting.

E102E. Technical/Professional Writing for Electrical Engineers - Combines lectures, discussions, and tutorials to explore topics like audience analysis, purpose, document structure and design, the writing process. It gives EE undergraduates practice writing the kinds of reports they will write routinely as professionals. Assignments based on material from digital systems laboratory. Corequisite for WIM: EE108A or consent of instructor. Not for graduate students. I unit, Aut, Win, Lougee

E102M. Technical/Professional Writing for Mechanical Engineers - Like E102E, explores various aspects of professional communication—audience analysis, purpose, document structure and design, the writing process-through lectures and one-on-one tutorials. Assignments based on ME203 project: each student writes a proposal for the prototype he or she will create in ME203 and also documents the manufacturing system used to build the prototype. Required of Mechanical Engineering and Product Design majors. Corequisite for WIM: ME203 or consent of instructor. Not for graduate students. I unit, Aut, Win, Lougee