MIT Practices

• MIT students are required to take one communication intensive (CI) course during their first year. CI-H subjects (Communication Intensive in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences) provide a foundation in effective writing and oral communication. CI-H subjects are writing classes or classes in the HASS curriculum in which students plan, organize, draft, and revise a series of assignments based on course material. CI-HW subjects are a subset of CI-H subjects with a larger emphasis on the writing process and the rhetorical dimensions of writing.

All incoming first-year students who did not score a 5 on either the AP Language and Composition exam or Literature and Composition exam, or a 7 on either the English A or B Higher Level International Baccalaureate (IB) exam must complete the Freshman Essay Evaluation (FEE) the summer before arriving on campus. The selection of writing subjects available to these student is determined by their performance on the FEE. (Students who meet AP/IB cutoffs can register for any CI-H/CI-HW subject.)

• Lecturers from Writing, Rhetoric, and Professional Communication (WRAP) teach CI-HW subjects and co-teach numerous CI subjects with faculty.
• Angles, produced annually, highlights a selection of work by students in CI-HW subjects.

Programs of Note

• University of Southern California: Writing in the Community. Students partner with community groups to tell stories about social issues through writing and film while developing their composition and rhetoric skills. Participation in this program allows students to satisfy the general education writing requirement.
• Northwestern University: Design Thinking and Communication course. A two-term course for all first-year engineering students that integrates concepts from engineering design, service learning, and written and oral professional communication. Students engage in authentic design projects for real clients in the community. The course incorporates many practices that support growth mindset, self efficacy, and metacognition. The two-term length allows time for scaffolding, practice, and feedback. Students go through the design process three times, revise all written deliverables, and practice all oral presentations. Opportunities for student reflection are also built into the course (Hirsch et al., 2001).