FAQs

Yes, all ATWP classes being offered in Summer 2024 will be 100% online.

An ASYNCHRONOUS course is one that doesn't have fixed meeting times at which a student is required to engage with the instructor or course materials; while there might be some “real time” sessions every week, they won't be mandatory, and students will have access to what is covered in these sessions (likely through a recording of the session).

The Academic and Technical Writing Program offers several sections of the same course.

If you really need to enrol in this particular section for some reason, you should add yourself to the waitlist via My page. Please refer to this tutorial on how to add yourself to a waitlist. It is then your responsibility as a student to actively check the email that UVic has on file for you (and ensure that messages sent by the university don't wind up in a spam or junk folder). Offers to accept a waitlisted position will come through your email, and you will only have 24 hours to accept a spot in a class.

But if you simply need to take the class at a particular time on a particular day, look at other sections. We often run a few sections of the same class in the same time slot, and putting yourself on the waitlist for one section won't move you into an empty seat in another section.

You might even check to see if other sections with open seats will work for your schedule. AWR-designated classes fill up every year. Taking an open seat is often a better idea than sitting on a waitlist and hoping for a spot in a section that meets at a more desirable time.   

Your first step is to put yourself on a waitlist for a class section and hope for the best. Please refer to this tutorial on how to add yourself to a waitlist. It is then your responsibility as a student to actively check the email that UVic has on file for you (and ensure that messages sent by the university don't wind up in a spam or junk folder). Offers to accept a waitlisted position will come through your email, and you will only have 24 hours to accept a spot in a class.

You may also look ahead and plan to take the course in a future term. We run sections of AWR-designated courses every term during the regular academic year as well as several in the summer. Enrolling in the course on the first possible day when you can register offers you the best possible chance of getting a seat.

And finally you might want to consider whether a different AWR-designated course will meet your needs. Look at the Which course is right for me page to help you make a decision. 

In order for students enrolled in AWR-designed courses to receive the best possible instructions, classes must be as small as possible. For example, there is a cap of 32 students for a section of ATWP 135. Enrolling students above the class cap is detrimental to the learning environment in an academic writing course. For that reason, we will normally not enrol any students beyond the posted class cap.

Beginning in Fall 2024, we recommend enrolling in ATWP 110. This 3.0-credit year-long course combines a first term that prepares students for university-level writing with a second term that allows them to meet the AWR (UVic’s Academic Writing Requirement). This course is designed to get you ready to succeed in a course that meets the Academic Writing Requirement by offering extra instruction in sentence and paragraph-level writing as well as practice with basic essay structures.

Also note that the Centre for Academic Communication offers tutoring and workshops to support student writers in all classes at UVic. Please use their services while you are enrolled in any AWR-designated course.

If you would like to stay in the class, we encourage you to meet with your instructor to discuss any difficulties you are having. They will be able to provide information on the class expectations and suggest tools and resources that can help you succeed.

The Centre for Academic Communication offers tutoring and workshops to support student writers in all classes at UVic. Please use their services while you are enrolled in any AWR-designated course.

If passing the course seems impossible, we suggest that you look at the Academic Calendar to view all the deadlines for adding and dropping as well as withdrawing from a class without academic penalty. It would also be a good idea to meet with an academic adviser to discuss all your options.

Your AWR instructor or academic adviser may recommend that you enrol in ATWP 110. This 3.0-credit year-long course combines a first term that prepares students for university-level writing with a second term that allows them to meet the AWR (UVic’s Academic Writing Requirement). This course is designed to get you ready to succeed in a course that meets the Academic Writing Requirement by offering extra instruction in sentence and paragraph-level writing as well as practice with basic essay structures.

Yes, every student enrolled in an academic program at UVic is required to meet the AWR in order to earn an undergraduate degree.

The Academic Writing Requirement (AWR) is a university-wide requirement. It is not mandatory that you complete an AWR course in your first year.

However, an AWR-designated course may be a program requirement. Please be sure to consult the program planning worksheet for your degree program. Reach out to an academic advisor to create a personal academic plan that shows the requirements for your specific degree program and to answer questions specific to your situation.

Additionally, we strongly encourage enrolling in an AWR-designated course (such as ATWP 135) early in your degree program. These courses will equip you with the skills essential to university-level academic learning.

This is a great question. We suggest talking with your student about their expectations of a writing-intensive class. Are they hoping to read classic texts by Joyce and Shakespeare? Do they want to work on their technical writing skills so that they will be able to write lab reports? Are they most interested in researching a topic of their own choosing? Looking at the Which course is right for me page with your student will help foster a discussion that will enable this student to pick a suitable course.

All AWR-designated and ATWP classes will develop your writing skills. That being said, most students at UVic who need to meet the AWR enrol in ATWP 135, which will give you the option of practicing a range of different types of academic writing. Students who enjoyed reading literature in high school will enjoy getting to write about poems, novels, and plays in ENSH 101 and ENSH 102. Please see Which course is right for me for more information.

Fear not! You still have time to meet the AWR. We encourage you to enroll in a class as soon as possible. Have a look at our Courses page to view our upcoming classes. If you are placed on a waitlist, we strongly suggest checking your UVic email regularly for notifications about your enrolment status. You can also reach out to an Academic Adviser if you have any further questions.