Writing-Intensive Courses at Saint Louis University

Eloquentia Perfecta: Writing Intensive courses are part of a rigorous and cohesive set of courses designed to cultivate “perfect eloquence” in writing, speaking and other forms of creative public expression in alignment with the foundational goals of the Jesuit Ratio Studiorum. Courses that satisfy the Eloquentia Perfecta: Writing Intensive requirement build students’ ability to write effective prose within the context of a specific Core or disciplinary inquiry. 

Through a range of formal and informal writing assignments involving multiple stages of invention and revision, students will develop persuasive written claims and analyze and synthesize material from a variety of sources appropriate to the course inquiry. As they write messages and arguments for specific audiences and purposes, students will gain the ability to reflect critically on the ways identity and values shape written communication. They also further reflect on the ways in which rhetorically fluent communication is vital to ethical public discourse, understood as effective communication in service of the common good.