Office of the Registrar

English Composition at Reed

English composition is an integral component of Humanities 110

Reed College requires all students to include in their program a year-long course in Humanities 110— Introduction to Humanities. In this course, students earn three Reed units, the equivalent of twelve semester or eighteen quarter credit hours. Recent accreditation reports state, "Humanities 110 is Reed College's required course in writing," and "Humanities 110 does afford its students a common initiation into a process of mastering written analysis and expression." Finally, the faculty affirmed one goal of the course is "to teach the disciplined expression of critical, analytical thought couched in good English prose."

Students spend between a quarter and a third of their effort in the course in writing, including discussion of papers with faculty, practice in framing written arguments, learning to gain a firmer understanding of the subject matter, and honing their styles in grammar, syntax, diction, etc. Each student who completes Humanities 110 has therefore completed between three and four semester credits in composition.

Please contact the Office of the Registrar at (503) 777-7793 if additional clarification or information would be useful.