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The Composition Program, part of George Mason University's nationally-ranked Writing Across the Curriculum program, serves about 7,000 students a year on five campuses via three courses: English 100, English 101, and English 302. In all three courses, students are encouraged to see writing as a social, imaginative, multifaceted action: writers create texts that attend to particular cultural and academic contexts and that meet the expectations of particular audiences.
At GMU we understand that writing is not a skill that can be taught once and mastered, but must be continually learned and re-learned as writers move into new rhetorical situations. To that end, our faculty help students attend to and control their writing throughout an extended, recursive process of drafting, revising, and editing. In addition, we help students adapt their writing to a range of genres and audiences; improve their critical reading, researching, and reviewing skills; develop strategies for working collaboratively; and prepare to participate as writers in their disciplines, their workplaces, and their communities.
Writing Competency Requirements
All GMU students are required to successfully complete (with a grade of C or better):
In addition to these composition requirements, all students are required to take a writing-intensive course within their major.
Students can be exempted from ENGL101 through a three-hour proficiency examination offered at various times throughout the semester. Students with appropriate AP or IB scores, or equivalent transfer credits, may also be exempted from English 101. Students can receive exemption from ENGL302 by presenting a portfolio of their academic writing through a specific procedure.
Dr. E. Shelley Reid, Director of Composition
Dr. Jessica Matthews, Assistant Director of Composition
Ms. Stacey Remick-Simkins, Undergraduate Program Coordinator and Exemption Exam Coordinator
Ms. Laura Scott, Undergraduate Advisor (for advice about course transfer and other enrollment questions)
Dr. David Kaufmann , chair, Adjunct Faculty Committee (for information about available teaching positions) Members: Dr. Devon Hodges, Dr. Deborah Kaplan, Dr. Susan Lawrence and Dr. Douglas Wulf.