(For non-SWS courses, please see the general guidelines for course descriptions.)
For each SWS course (SWS form link), boilerplate language that includes required opening and closing phrases is provided below. The description should also contain 3-4 sentences about the course topic’s connections to communication competencies.
Additionally, please keep the following guidelines in mind:
- Write your description with the primary audience of first- and/or second-year students in mind.
- Avoid discipline-specific jargon or specialized terms.
- Write in the present tense (e.g., “Students investigate…,” not “Students will investigate…”).
- Do not include instructor names or specific assigned texts in the description.
- Use the word “course” sparingly.
SWS 105 Boilerplate
An exploration of four communication competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
[3-4 sentences about specific topic’s connections to communication competencies]
The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven written and spoken texts.
SWS 202 Boilerplate
An exploration of oral communication competencies.
[3-4 sentences about specific topic’s connections to communication competencies]
The use of reading and listening to interpret ideas of others and form one’s own ideas will be applied toward thesis-driven spoken texts.
SWS 205 Boilerplate
An exploration of research-informed communication (reading, writing, speaking, and listening).
[3-4 sentences about specific topic’s connections to communication competencies]
Students engage with ideas by reading and listening to academic sources and build on those ideas by producing thesis-driven written and spoken texts.