McGill Writing Centre
Refine your academic writing and communication skills in English with courses offered by the McGill Writing Centre. As a student in one of our courses, you'll learn essential strategies and techniques that will help you to communicate effectively both at university and beyond the Roddick Gates.
Academic writing and communication in English courses (formerly CCOM prefix), English as a Second Language courses (formerly ESLN and CESL prefixes), and English for Academic Purposes (formerly EAPR and CEAP prefixes) are offered by the McGill Writing Centre under the WCOM prefix.
For a list of WCOM courses that can be taken for credit in the Faculty of Arts, consult the McGill Writing Centre website. WCOM courses are also on the list of approved courses for the BA Foundation Program.
Note: Up to a maximum of 12 credits of English as a Second Language courses, including academic writing courses for non-anglophones (WCOM ESL courses), are open to you if your primary language is not English and you have studied for fewer than five (5) years in an English-language secondary institution. Placement tests are required for all WCOM ESL courses. For more information on WCOM ESL placement tests, see the McGill Writing Centre.
About the McGill Writing Centre
Currently located in the McLennan-Redpath Library, the McGill Writing Centre (MWC) is the University's central resource for written communication. The Centre offers credit courses in academic writing, science communication, creative writing, digital communication, and professional communication, as well as a tutorial service that is open to McGill students. In addition, the Centre offers a number of non-credit writing courses in business communication and scientific writing that are open to the public.
McGill Writing Centre Faculty
Director
Yvonne Hung
Academic Staff
Mehdi Babaei; Donetta Hines; Kyle Kubler; Ross Sundberg
WCOM (Written and Oral Communication in English) Courses
Academic Writing
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| WCOM 150 | Critical Analysis and Composition. | 3 |
Critical Analysis and Composition. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Principles of effective written communication: audience, purpose, organization, and style. Emphasis on short writing assignments leading to the composition of longer essays. Critical analysis of academic and popular genres. Application of rhetorical strategies. Pre-writing and re-writing processes. Multiple drafts and peer review. | ||
| WCOM 250 | Research Essay and Rhetoric. | 3 |
Research Essay and Rhetoric. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Academic research-based writing across the disciplines. Article summary, critical analysis, rhetorical strategies, citation and paraphrase of academic sources, and editing for cohesion and clarity. | ||
Academic Skills and Communication
(tailored for English Language Learners (placement test required))
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| WCOM 235 | ESL: Academic English 2. | 3 |
ESL: Academic English 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Academic writing skills and communicative competence in English at the mid-intermediate level. Organizational structures and conventions for academic essays; expressing complex ideas effectively; documenting sources; writing cohesive paragraphs. Independent learning strategies for vocabulary building, grammar, editing techniques, critical thinking and reading skills. Fundamentals of oral presentation, including pronunciation skills. | ||
| WCOM 245 | ESL: Essay and Critical Thinking. | 3 |
ESL: Essay and Critical Thinking. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Academic writing skills and communicative competence in English at the upper-intermediate level. Critical thinking and reading applied to the whole writing process. Focus on integrating sources, creating effective arguments, and understanding essay structure and paragraph essentials. Academic genres: summary, paraphrase, quotation, and critique. Review of writing mechanics and grammar. | ||
| WCOM 255 | ESL: Research Essay and Rhetoric. | 3 |
ESL: Research Essay and Rhetoric. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Principles and use of academic research skills to generate academic writing at an advanced level of English across the disciplines. Focus on article summary, critical analysis, and logical reasoning to develop sound arguments and well-reasoned essays. Common rhetorical strategies, citation and paraphrase of academic sources, and editing skills to enhance cohesion and avoid common English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) errors in grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. | ||
| WCOM 295 | ESL: Academic Skills. | 3 |
ESL: Academic Skills. Terms offered: Summer 2025 The university classroom: note-taking and summary of lectures; paraphrase and summary of written and multimedia materials; oral and seminar presentations. Critical thinking, reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills and strategies. Exigences des cours universitaires: prendre des notes, faire des exposés oraux, résumer (cours magistraux, documents oraux, écrits et multimédias). Raisonnement critique, lectures, écoutes, rédactions, habiletés et stratégies de communication. | ||
Creative Writing
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| WCOM 203 | Introduction to Creative Writing. | 3 |
Introduction to Creative Writing. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Production of original creative works in English. Study and application of writing techniques and craft elements observed in both traditional and contemporary forms, ranging from poetic forms such as the sonnet, the villanelle, and free verse,to short fiction forms such as the short story and the vignette, to hybrid forms such as prose poetry and flash fiction. Craft, analysis of literary texts, workshop-style critique, and multiple drafts. | ||
| WCOM 313 | Writing Poetry. | 3 |
Writing Poetry. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Production of original works of literary poetry in English. Advanced study and application ofwriting techniques,craft elements, poetic approaches and formal considerations used in contemporary free verse. In-depth instruction in the nuanced use of sound, line, image, rhythm, figurative language, and form. Craft, analysis of modern and contemporary literary poems, workshop-style critique, multiple drafts, and substantive revision. | ||
| WCOM 333 | Writing Creative Nonfiction. | 3 |
Writing Creative Nonfiction. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Production of original works of literary creative nonfiction in English. Advanced study and application of story telling techniques and craft elements used in forms such as the memoir essay, literary journalism, and the lyric essay. In-depth instruction in the nuanced use of structure, scene, narration, reflection, description, and researched information. Craft, analysis of published literary creative nonfiction essays, workshop-style critique, multiple drafts, and substantive revision. | ||
Science Communication
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| WCOM 314 | Communicating Science. | 3 |
Communicating Science. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Production of written and oral assignments (in English) designed to communicate scientific problems and findings to varied audiences Analysis of the disciplinary conventions of scientific discourse in terms of audience, purpose, organization, and style; comparative rhetorical analysis of academic and popular genres, including abstracts, lab reports, research papers, print and online journalism. | ||
| WCOM 414 | Advanced Communicating Science. | 3 |
Advanced Communicating Science. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Use of digital platforms to produce written and oral assignments (in English) designed to communicate scientific challenges and findings to broad audiences. Rhetorical analysis of academic and popular genres including abstracts, researcher profiles, infographics, and serial and episodic podcasting. | ||
Digital Genres
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| WCOM 317 | Writing the Internet. | 3 |
Writing the Internet. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Critical assessment of digital genres in terms of audience, purpose, organization, and style; application of rhetorical strategies for effective communication in digital contexts in English. Topics and readings derived from writing pedagogy and critical analyses of online environments: technological affordances, non-linear structure, “living” texts, online identity, network dynamics, authorial collaboration. | ||
| WCOM 417 | Digital Storytelling. | 3 |
Digital Storytelling. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Analysis and application of digital storytelling strategiesthrough the production of long-form written and spokencontent for English-language audiences. Drafting,revision, concision, precision, and digital affordances inlong-form journalism, essays, and podcasts. Topicsinclude narrative structure, character development,accessibility, socio-technical analysis, and audioproduction. | ||
Business Communication
(required for certain SCS certificate programs; other undergraduate students can request permission from the MWC)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| WCOM 202 | Communication in Management 1. | 3 |
Communication in Management 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Written and oral communication in Management (in English): emphasis on strategies for identifying, analyzing, and solving writing and speaking problems. Course work based on academic and professional communication in management. | ||
Communication for Engineers
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| WCOM 206 | Communication in Engineering. | 3 |
Communication in Engineering. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Written and oral communication in Engineering (in English): strategies for generating, developing, organizing, and presenting ideas in a technical setting; problem-solving; communicating to different audiences; editing and revising; and public speaking. Course work based on academic, technical, and professional writing in engineering. | ||
Special Topics
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| WCOM 371 | Selected Communication Topic 1. | 3 |
Selected Communication Topic 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Study of a selected topic in written and/or oral communication in English that is relevant to undergraduate students. | ||
| WCOM 372 | Selected Communication Topic 2. | 3 |
Selected Communication Topic 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Study of a selected topic in written and/or oral communication in English that is relevant to undergraduate students. | ||
Location
McLennan-Redpath Library, Main Floor, Room 2
3459 McTavish Street
Montreal, Quebec, H3A 0C9
Telephone: 514-398-7109
Email: mwc@mcgill.ca
Website: mcgill.ca/mwc