Director: Dr. Dennis D. McDaniel, Associate Professor of English

Based on the liberal approach to life and learning, the Interdisciplinary Writing Program unites the Saint Vincent College academic community in an effort to develop students' reading, thinking, and writing skills in every course of study. The program establishes clear, consistent principles of writing practice and technique across the curriculum and offers faculty an opportunity to maintain an active, interdepartmental conversation on writing pedagogy. Students encounter and adapt these writing skills, develop flexibility in applying those skills, and establish an effective writing process. The program garners students' intellectual gifts and professional aptitudes and encourages students to build an individual writing practice that is broadly applicable to their academic, professional, and personal pursuits.

Students participate in this program by enrolling in "Writing Designated" (WD) courses. These courses fulfill the program's mission by instructing students to write effective papers in the sciences, social sciences, business fields, as well as in the humanities. In WD courses, trained faculty cultivate their students' ability to write powerful, professional documents by incorporating the Six Principles of Good Writing, the Three Stages of Good Practice, and building on the lessons learned in the Language and Rhetoric courses. Typically, WD courses require students to respond to reading assignments, integrate ideas and information from various sources, complete sequenced assignments, and revise papers based upon peer reviews or instructor feedback.