Writing in Biology                                                                                                                     Revised 10/20/2008

    It may surprise you to learn that each semester the Biology Department offers more writing intensive (W) sections than any other department at UNC-Charlotte.  For example, during fall, 2008, we offer 26 sections of W courses, including 18 labs and 6 senior seminars.  Total enrollment in these 27 sections is more than 400 students.   W courses in biology fall 2008

    What makes Biology W courses different from those of other departments is that most biology W courses are 1 hour credit, which means that most biology majors take 3 one-hour W courses in biology for their biology writing requirement.  Several years ago, the Biology faculty chose this unusual W system because scientific writing is integral to the laboratory experience.  Consequently, all of the labs of our required, second-level "area" courses, Cell Biology, Physiology, Ecology, and Genetics (BIOL 3111, 3144, 3166, 3273), are W courses.