The writing program offers courses in beginning composition and creative writing through advanced writing in expository prose, poetry, and prose fiction. The department has pioneered new techniques in computer writing, and computers are among its most important teaching tools. The teaching of literature is supplemented by a large slide collection, as well as recordings of music and narrative. The Owen Duston Video Collection of Performing Literature is available to all teachers at the college and is used in many of the department's courses. The most distinctive feature of the curriculum is its broad coverage of literary genres and periods, while offering many opportunities for specialized study.
Intermediate courses focus on particular authors, themes, and modes.
A required Advanced Seminar involves majors in a small, discussion-oriented class, usually reflecting a faculty member's current research interests. A number of students elect to spend a year or a semester off-campus in the study of English literature at one of the British universities. Oxford and the University of Aberdeen in Scotland are two of the most popular. Majors interested in journalism often work for the campus newspaper, The Bachelor , as well as the yearbook and humor magazine. The Wabash Review has published student and faculty poetry for over 40 consecutive years.