Expository Writing Program (2022 - 2024)
Writing the Essay
EXPOS-UA 1 Required of all College of Arts and Science freshmen, and transfer students who have not completed an acceptable, equivalent course at another college. Special thematic sections are offered, which require permission from the Expository Writing Program (EWP). No exemptions. May not be taken on a Pass/Fail basis, and must be repeated if failed. 4 points.
Foundational instruction and practice in critical reading, creative and logical thinking, and clear, persuasive writing. Students learn to analyze and interpret written texts; to use texts as evidence; to develop ideas; and to write exploratory and argumentative essays. Exploration, inquiry, reflection, analysis, revision, and collaborative learning are emphasized.
International Writing Workshop: Introduction
EXPOS-UA 3 Prerequisite: EWP permission. A preliminary course in college writing for undergraduates for whom English is another language. Permission to register based on NYU admissions criteria and EWP assessment of reading, writing, listening, and speaking proficiency. Cannot substitute for International Writing Workshop EXPOS-UA 4 and/or EXPOS-UA 9. May not be taken on a Pass/Fail basis. Meets twice weekly for 150 minutes each session. 4 points.
Provides preparation in reading, writing, listening, and speaking for academic purposes while increasing fluency, sentence control, and confidence. Emphasizes pre-writing strategies (exploratory writing, outlining, reflective writing, paraphrase, synthesis, analysis) and provides practice in multi-modal presentation. Students learn to make use of inquiry, evidence, and the incorporation of texts as they read in various genres (journals, newspapers, books, visual and moving arts) and draft and revise essays of their own.
International Writing Workshop I
EXPOS-UA 4 Prerequisite: EWP permission/standardized test scores. The first of two courses for students for whom English is not a first language. The College Core Curriculum expository writing and foreign language requirements are fulfilled with this course and International Writing Workshop II (EXPOS-UA 9). May not be taken on a Pass/Fail basis. 4 points.
Provides instruction in critical reading, textual analysis, exploration of experience, the development of ideas, and revision. Stresses both the importance of inquiry and reflection and the use of texts and experience as evidence for essays. Reading and writing assignments lead to essays in which students analyze and raise questions about written texts and experience, and reflect upon text, experience, and idea in a collaborative learning environment.
International Writing Workshop II
EXPOS-UA 9 Prerequisite: either International Writing Workshop I (EXPOS-UA 4) or Writing the Essay (EXPOS-UA 1) with a D or better. Students may not skip over International Writing Workshop I to enter this course. The second of two courses for students for whom English is not a first language. The College Core Curriculum expository writing and foreign language requirements are fulfilled with this course and International Writing Workshop I. May not be taken on a Pass/Fail basis, and must be repeated if failed. 4 points.
Provides advanced instruction in analyzing and interpreting written texts from a variety of academic disciplines, the use of written texts as evidence, the development of ideas, and the writing of argumentative essays through a process of inquiry and reflection. Stresses analysis, revision, inquiry, and collaborative learning.
Writing Tutorial
EXPOS-UA 13 Required for students who do not pass the NYU writing proficiency exam. May not be taken on a Pass/Fail basis. 4 points.
Offers intensive individual and group work in the practice of expository writing for those students whose writing proficiency examination reveals the need for additional, foundational writing instruction. Aims to better prepare admitted transfer students for the rigorous work they will have to complete in either Writing the Essay or International Writing Workshop (above). Concentrates on foundational work (grammar, syntax, paragraph development) leading to the creation of compelling essays (idea conception and development, effective use of evidence, understanding basic forms, and the art of persuasion).
A Spectrum of Essays
EXPOS-UA 15 Prerequisite: Writing the Essay (EXPOS-UA 1). 4 points.
Provides advanced instruction in essay writing. Emphasizes the development of analytical, reflective, and imaginative skills that lead to accomplished essays in any academic discipline. Stresses curiosity and investigates the relationship in a written text between empirical evidence and thoughtfulness, inquiry and judgment, and exploration and decisiveness. Content and topics may vary.
Advanced Essay Writing for Science
EXPOS-UA 16 Prerequisite: Writing the Essay (EXPOS-UA 1). Offered in the spring. 4 points.
Offers science and pre-health students the opportunity to design and conduct intensive individual research, write honors-level essays for the public and for the academy, and deliver a professional presentation. Students are encouraged to present their own research at the College's Undergraduate Research Conference and to submit completed essays for publication in Mercer Street, EWP's journal of student work.
Writing in Community
EXPOS-UA 17 Prerequisite: Writing the Essay (EXPOS-UA 1). Offered in the spring. 4 points.
Intended for students who are passionate about writing and community service and would like to explore the dynamic relationship between these two pursuits. Includes mentoring of under-served high school students in essay writing. Studies writers, artists, and filmmakers whose service and/ or community engagement has become a basis for work that documents and reflects on pressing social concerns.
Research, Writing, and Speaking in the Disciplines
EXPOS-UA 18 Formerly Writing and Speaking in the Disciplines (4 points). Prerequisite: Writing the Essay (EXPOS-UA 1). Offered in the fall. 2 points.
Emphasizes effective communication of research in theses, research papers or reports, literature reviews, panel or poster presentations, or grant proposals. Explores how good research practices inform good critical writing, and vice-versa. Special attention to articulating research problems, formulating thoughtful interpretive arguments, and situating one’s project in the context of the current literature. Students awarded—or planning to seek—a Dean’s Undergraduate Research Fund (DURF) grant or planning to present at the CAS Undergraduate Research Conference are especially encouraged to enroll.
Advanced Writing for Engineers
EXPOS-UA 22 Prerequisite: Writing the Essay (EXPOS-UA 1). May not be taken on a Pass/Fail basis, and must be repeated if failed. Offered in the spring. 4 points.
Fulfills the second-semester writing requirement for Tandon students. Special topics include research, service, and entrepreneurship. Building on their work in Writing the Essay, students analyze and practice such lay and technical genres as pitches, proposals, and essays. Working independently and collaboratively, students further develop their academic and professional skills including clear writing, strategic research, audience awareness, multimodal presentations, analysis, critical thinking, reflection, revision, teamwork, and peer review.
Writing Proficiency Examination
The Expository Writing Program administers the writing proficiency examination to students who receive a C- or lower in Writing the Essay (EXPOS-UA 1) or International Writing Workshop 1 (EXPOS-UA 4). Contact your adviser with questions, and for more information, please consult https://cas.nyu.edu/ewp/faq/waiving-the-ewp-writing-requirement.html#exam.