Updates |
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Program EnrolmentThe Writing and Rhetoric Minor is now a Type 1 program. You may sign up for the program directly through ROSI. Students may take INI courses even if they do not wish to enrol in the Writing and Rhetoric Program.
First Year CoursesINI 103H and 104H count toward Writing and Rhetoric Minor requirements, whether or not they are taken in first year. First-year students who are interested in enrolling in the program in second year (or a later year) should take one or both of these courses in first year. (Upper-level students are also welcome to take first-year courses.) Any course that counts toward program requirements may be taken before a student formally enrols in the program. INI104H is not offered in 2011-12.
Note on Registration in "P" indicator coursesAre you having trouble enrolling in second-year and third-year INI courses? They may be restricted to W&R program students until early August. Try again on the day on which the course restrictions fall away (August 5th, 2011 @ 6 a.m.).
List of Innis College Writing and Rhetoric Courses on offer in 2011-12:INI 103H1F Writing Essays;
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New Course: INI 410H1F "Scholarly Editing and Publishing"Students who enrol in this advanced course should possess strong writing and reading comprehension skills and must be fluent in spoken and written English. Class schedule: Fall term (September - December 2011). Mondays, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m., IN312. Instructor: Roger Riendeau This is an "E" indicator course. Enrolment is by ballot.
New Course: INI 409H1S "Editing"Students who take this course will learn how to edit a variety of texts, including fiction and non-fiction prose. Students should expect to undertake editing exercises each week during class. The instructor will be a professional editor. One of the goals of this upper-level course: to enhance students' writing, critical thinking, and analytical skills. Students who enrol in this advanced course should possess strong writing and reading comprehension skills and must be fluent in spoken and written English. Class schedule: Spring term (January - April 2012). Mondays, 3:00 - 6:00 p.m., IN204. Instructor: TBA This is an "E" indicator course. Enrolment is by ballot.
Joint Course: JEI 206H1F "Writing English Essays "JEI 206H1F, Writing English Essays |
Writing & Rhetoric
@ Innis College
The Writing and Rhetoric minor reflects the belief that strong skills in critical thinking and written communication are central to a liberal education. The mission of this unique minor is to facilitate the intellectual and academic development of undergraduate students and to provide them with a powerful tool that will prove useful in graduate schools, professional schools, and the workplace. This non-remedial program responds to the University's repeated calls for initiatives that address the written communication skills of students from across the disciplines.
Innis College has played a leading role in providing writing instruction at the University of Toronto for over thirty-five years. Innis College's Writing and Rhetoric Program is built on a foundation of long-standing Innis courses in academic and creative writing and on more recently mounted courses in professional writing, rhetoric, and media. The Writing and Rhetoric Program draws on relevant U of T courses in a range of disciplines. The program's design reflects three interrelated themes.
Writing:
Writing Studies as a discipline involves more than instruction in composition skills. Writing is related to rhetoric, logic, reasoning, and critical thinking. Writing is therefore most fruitfully studied, not in isolation, but in a multidisciplinary program such as the one Innis has designed. One of the main goals of the program is to ensure that students graduate with exposure to various modes of writing and with well-developed written communication skills. (Graduates of the new program could pursue postgraduate degrees in rhetoric, professional writing, medicine, law, communications, management, creative writing, journalism, and media studies, to name several possibilities.)
Rhetoric:
One of the oldest disciplines in the liberal arts, rhetoric is an evolving area of scholarship that has illuminated the making of meaning in a large number of academic fields. Today's "rhetoric" reaches well beyond notions related to the art of persuasion. Contemporary definitions of rhetoric focus on the relationship between discourse and social forces. For the purposes of the program, rhetoric will signify the patterns of communication identifiable in a variety of disciplines and environments. Students will be taught to recognize and use rhetorical strategies in their written work. The program is committed to the ethical use of rhetorical strategies, and therefore ethical decision-making is a component of program offerings.
Critical Thinking:
Innis writing and rhetoric courses all strive to teach students that good writers have learned to read and think critically. One of the tenets of the Writing and Rhetoric Program is shared by many of the University's Arts and Science disciplines: that problem-solving and creative, persuasive, and effective writing depend on the ability to analyze discourse critically. Students in the program will learn to identify strengths and weaknesses in the texts they study. They will learn that the critical analysis they engage in when they write is intimately connected to the rhetorical strategies they adopt, the emphases they impose, the tone they create, and the organizational plan they choose.