301 or 201?

How do I know which upper-level writing course to take?
If you transferred credit for Expository Writing 101, you still have to make decisions about what upper-level writing course to take. There are two upper-level Writing Program courses that transfer students often take to fulfill their final writing requirement: College Research and Writing (355:301) and Research in the Disciplines (355:201).

College Research and Writing (355:301) is designed specifically for transfer students. Its purpose is the same as that of 201 - to teach students to do independent research writing - but it does not assume that students have taken 101. The first half of the course helps students build the skills necessary to compose expository essays that reflect their own points of view and that demonstrate thoughtful engagement with complex readings. The second half of the course develops these skills further through research and writing on specific topics related to the general theme of the course.

Research in the Disciplines (355:201), also known as Expos. II, teaches students to do extensive research, analysis, and writing within an area of their interest (such as Popular Culture) or within their potential major field (such as Issues in the Law). Students in 201 work independently of their instructor to choose, evaluate, and analyze texts for a research project of their own design. This course builds on specific skills that are taught in 101. Because these analytical reading and writing skills are not necessarily taught in every first semester college writing course, some transfer students have difficulty in 201.