Gordon Rule

Course Criteria

The Common Program Oversight Committee will certify as Gordon Rule any course that can prove that four assignments of college-level writing (as defined below) will be part of the course. (In a course with multiple sections, all sections must meet the new Gordon Rule criteria for the course to be an authorized Gordon Rule writing course.)

For the purposes of Gordon Rule review, the University of Central Florida defines “College-Level Writing” as follows:

• Has a clearly defined central idea or thesis.
• Provides adequate support for that idea.
• Is organized clearly and logically.
• Shows awareness of the conventions of standard written English.
• Is formatted or presented in an appropriate way for the intended audience, purpose, and genre.

To qualify as a University of Central Florida Gordon Rule Course a course must:

• Include the written component (a minimum of 4 written assignments) as a significant portion–at least 60% minimum–of the final grade.
• Demonstrate substantial, developed writing through the inclusion of at least one multi-page writing assignment.
• Integrate at least one writing assignment in which the students submit a revision in response to substantive teacher/grader feedback.

Suggestions for Writing Assignments

The interpretation of “assignments” that evidence college-level writing (see above) may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Essays
• Reports
• Lab reports
• Written examinations
• Portfolios
• Reviews
• Case studies
• Manuals
• Discussion question responses
• Process papers
• Project plans
• Business plans
• Research papers
• Interviews
• Journals
• Feasibility studies
• Evaluated drafts
• Online Discussion postings

Writing that would normally NOT fulfill this requirement would include the following:

• Resumes
• Free-writing
• One-minute (very short) papers
• Annotations
• E-mails
• Brainstorming
• Creative Writing
• PowerPoint Presentations