<p>I want to know if I should take the freshman writing seminar. I have taken the AP English Language exam, and I am pretty sure that I will get a 4 or a 5, the score needed to place out of the freshman writing seminar, meaning that I don't have to take it if I don't want to. I HATE writing. I hate reading fiction, and I hate writing essays and analyzing literature. Don't get me wrong, its not necessarily because I am bad at it, I just hate it. A writing seminar would be absolute torture for me, but at the same time, it could be helpful. I will avoid at all costs taking classes that involve a lot of writing, although it is inevitable to some extent. So, what it comes down to is...</p>
<p>Which would be worse for a person that hates to write: Taking the freshman writing seminar, which would be horrible, but accepting the fact that it may make future writing in college easier.
or
Not taking the freshman writing seminar because I would hate it, but having to be slightly more challenged in writing stuff for other classes the rest of college.</p>
<p>It would be nice to hear from someone that did NOT take the writing seminar, and if they regretted it. I'm pretty sure that most people that took it will say that it was helpful, as I'm sure it is, but I want to know if it is necessary. Thank you!</p>
<p>Is it necessary? If you place out of it, no. Is it beneficial? Very.</p>
<p>Wake's course offerings are unique, challenging, and very beneficial to growing intellectually. One example is the requirement of a foreign language literature course (one of the only Universities to implement this requirement). Another example comes in the form of First Year and Writing Seminars.</p>
<p>I took the Writing Seminar two years ago, and it generally consisted of analyzing Documentary work and determining how the author molded information to convey a message. This course is not on the link, but as a sports junkie, I would have taken "Sports in Society" in a heartbeat if I were an incoming freshmen.</p>
<p>The Writing Seminar is beneficial because it can help you hone in on a Major/Minor. Because of my Writing Seminar, I am now pursuing a minor in Journalism (professor Wayne King in the Journalism Dept. is top-notch, BTW).</p>
<p>In short, check out the link. If one of the options appeals to you, go for it. Otherwise, you can get away with not taking the Writing Seminar. Of course, this is contingent upon whether or not you receive a 4 or 5 on the exam.</p>
<p>Don't take it in order to make future college writing easier. Take it if you have a genuine interest in learning the material. It is MUCH easier to write about something you enjoy.</p>
<p>Unless something has changed in the last couple years, my son was told that if you score high enough to receive credit from an AP exam, you may NOT take the class for credit. If that is still the case, I certainly wouldn't take the seminar for no credit. Wake is generally pretty writing intensive in most classes---you'll get plenty of writing practice without the seminar.</p>
<p>Yes, I got a 4 on AP Lit (probably a bit flukey) and I know that writing is something I am constantly needing to work on, but they said no way when I asked them if I could take the Writing Seminar. Take it if you can, because the way I see it: easier 4 credit class and it will give you a solid basis for writing. They want to keep as many folks out of it as possible though.</p>
<p>Fly, I'm in the same situation. What class are you taking if you get a 4 or 5 on the exam? I looked at the course schedule on the registrar site:</p>
<p>Well, you all are lucky because we could only take certain English classes and I wound up taking British Lit 165 which was probably my favorite class all year. English classes depend more on the folks in the classes I find, because they are generally discussion based. Like my FYS topic was really cool, but the people in it didn't really talk that much so it was pretty dull.</p>
<p>I loved Brit Lit 165. I think that we read more books than most of the other classes, but we started with Beowulf and other writings from that period (that was my professors specialty; I don't think that the other classes read these). We then went onto The Mayor of Casterbridge. Then we read two Shakespeare works (King Lear and one of the comedies), and then a modern play and two Virgina Woolf works.</p>
<p>I took Brit Lit 165 this past semester and I would definitely recommend it. </p>
<p>We read: Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure, Hamlet, The Tempest, Shakespeare's Sonnets, Frankenstein, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Paradise Lost. (I may be missing like one or two) My class was very heavy on Shakespeare as that was my teacher's expertise. Most semesters they offer a few different 165 classes so before registration you can head over to the English department and look at the posted reading lists. I picked my class based on the reading list.</p>
<p>Brit Lit sounds good to me. I'm reading Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead right now. Haha it seems more like a play for a philosophy class than lit.</p>
<p>My teachers expertise was Joyce so we read Dubliners, but we also read a bunch of Browning poems, Little Dorrit by Dickens, Measure for Measure, Much Ado About Nothing, and Othello.</p>