The stories we tell about ourselves as writers are connected to the stories we tell about the places we inhabit. As students begin their careers at UW, this course offers a unique opportunity to reflect and build on their writing experiences so far while also learning and writing about the UW campus.  

Stories are how we come to know ourselves, others, our past, our relationship to where we are, and our sense of belonging. Stores are also how we can change how and what we know.  By the time students get to college, they usually have developed stories they tell (or have been told) about themselves and their abilities as writers: stories of success, fear, pride, confidence or lack of confidence, procrastination, etc.  Increasingly, these stories also include our relationship as writers to AI. These stories can be powerful; they can shape how we perceive ourselves as writers and our attitudes about writing. 

In this course, we will pause to examine these stories as part of reflecting on your writing life so far, and we will do so while thinking about how being at UW—a new place—gives you a chance to reorient your relationship to writing at the same time as you are orienting yourself to our campus and your new home. Our goal is to help you build on and adapt your writing experiences in order to become more successful writers, readers, researchers, and learners at UW.  Along the way, you will have a chance to reflect on how AI helps reveal (and is shaping and potentially changing) the ways we write. We will use our engagement with AI to reflect critically on who we are as writers, on how we write, and how we can grow as writers in ethical, creative, and intentional ways. 

The course will help you strengthen your skills as writers, build community, and help you establish a sense of belonging at UW by giving you a chance to visit and learn more about particular areas of campus that interest you and then work in groups to present what you’ve learned in a guided tour and map.  

Course Curriculum and Features  

The first half of the course focuses on the skills you’ll need to reflect on your relationship to writing and how writing shapes and is shaped by the places you write. In the second half, you'll complete a field-based research project that provides hands-on experience observing, researching, and writing about particular areas of UW campus. Along the way, you will become more familiar with campus writing centers, libraries, AI tools, and online resources.   

Designed for  

Students who want to strengthen their writing and learning skills to meet college-level study expectations, as well as those who want to learn more about the UW campus and build a supportive academic and social community with their classmates.  

Learning Goals and Activities 
ARTSCI 160 moves students towards:

• Increasing your writing fluency    
• Introducing the processes of inquiry, by having you practice the kinds of skills and understandings that support college-level writing   
• Familiarizing you with the UW campus while also introducing you to writing resources 
• Developing your metacognitive skills, that is, how you "think about thinking", using skills such as self-assessment, self-monitoring, transfer, and similar practices critical to becoming a successful student

Learn more about your instructors:

Professor Anis Bawarshi, UW Department of English

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History of ARTSCI 160: My Writing Story (formerly English 108) 

In 2004, Professor John Webster established English 108 as a bridge course for incoming undergraduates interested in reflecting on and strengthening their writing. Over the past two decades, English 108 has supported generations of UW students as they begin their academic journeys, offering a thoughtful and sustained introduction to college-level writing. As Professor Anis Bawarshi continues in the role of Director of English 108, we extend deep gratitude to Professor Webster for his extraordinary contributions to teaching, learning, and writing instruction at the University of Washington.

Professor Webster has taught at UW since 1972, specializing in Early Modern literature, literary theory, rhetoric and composition, and pedagogical practice. He has been recognized with both the English Department’s Award for Distinguished Teaching (2000) and the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award (2009). A leader in writing education at UW, Professor Webster directed the Expository Writing Program for eight years, co-directed the Puget Sound Writing Project, served on the Modern Language Association’s Executive Committee for the Division of Teaching as a Profession, directed the English Department’s Literary London Study Abroad program, and served as Director of Writing for the College of Arts and Sciences. In that role, he helped found and develop the Odegaard Writing and Research Center (OWRC), a cornerstone of writing support at UW.