We believe that writing is essential to your education.

Effective writing takes effort, commitment, practice, and time. At Iowa, all undergraduates complete two courses that directly enhance their strength as college-level communicators: Rhetoric and Interpretation of Literature. These classes—part of our rigorous General Education curriculum—require UI students to critically focus on their writing, speaking, listening, and critical reading skills, leaving them prepared for academic and career success across disciplines. 

Our Rhetoric courses teach compositional and presentational skills, such as thesis statements, introductions and conclusions, claim-evidence format, and proper citation formatting. Courses also build competence in analysis and persuasion, as well as in research and inquiry. 

Interpretation of Literature courses focus on the major genres of literature (short and long fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama), improving students' abilities to read and analyze a variety of texts, think critically, share insights, and to listen thoughtfully to the arguments of others. 

After completing these two writing and communication requirements, students understand themselves as readers, writers, speakers, and listeners. Importantly, they accumulate the rhetorical skills necessary to select and make use of persuasive strategies, evidence, and media in their roles as scholars and citizens.