Undergraduate courses, which teach written and oral communication in English, are listed below with links to their respective descriptions in the eCalendar.
If you wish to take WCOM 245 (formerly CESL 400) or WCOM 255 (formerly CESL 500) you will need to take a placement test. For information about the placement tests: www.mcgill.ca/mwc/courses/placement-tests
Note: These courses are not open to students who have taken them under former course codes CCOM, CEAP, CESL, EAPR, ESLN, and EDEC.
Academic Writing - Academic Writing: ESL - Creative Writing - Science Communication - Digital Genres - Business Communication - Communication for Engineers - Special Topics
Academic Writing
WCOM 250 (formerly CEAP 250): Research Essay and Rhetoric
WCOM 250
Written and Oral Communication: Academic research-based writing across the disciplines. Article summary, critical analysis, rhetorical strategies, citation and paraphrase of academic sources, and editing for cohesion and clarity.
Offered by: McGill Writing Centre
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken CESL 500 or CEAP 250 or WCOM 255. Only open to students in degree programs - all years and faculties.
- Intended for students whose first language is English.
- Entrance test: Short essay first day of classes.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
Academic Writing - ESL
Courses tailored for English Language Learners -placement test required; please see www.mcgill.ca/mwc/courses/placement-tests
WCOM 235 (formerly CESL 300): ESL Academic English 2
WCOM 235
Written and Oral Communication: Academic writing skills and communicative competence in English at the mid-intermediate level. Organizational structures and conventions for academic essays; expressing complex ideas effectively; documenting sources; writing cohesive paragraphs. Independent learning strategies for vocabulary building, grammar, editing techniques, critical thinking and reading skills. Fundamentals of oral presentation, including pronunciation skills.
Offered by: McGill Writing Centre
- Prerequisites: CESL 200 or WCOM 225 or placement test.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken CESL 300. Only open to students in degree programs.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
Admission and registration:
Full-time, non-anglophone students whose secondary education (high school and CEGEP) has been in institutions where the primary language of instruction was not English, or who have attended English language secondary institutions (high school and CEGEP) for four years or less, are eligible to take up to 12 credits in English as a Second Language (CESL).
WCOM 245 (formerly CESL 400): ESL: Essay and Critical Thinking
WCOM 245
Written and Oral Communication: Academic writing skills and communicative competence in English at the upper-intermediate level. Critical thinking and reading applied to the whole writing process. Focus on integrating sources, creating effective arguments, and understanding essay structure and paragraph essentials. Academic genres: summary, paraphrase, quotation, and critique. Review of writing mechanics and grammar.
Offered by: McGill Writing Centre
- Prerequisites: CESL 300 or WCOM 235 or placement test.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken CESL 400. Only open to students in degree programs.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
Admission and registration:
Full-time, non-anglophone students whose secondary education (high school and CEGEP) has been in institutions where the primary language of instruction was not English, or who have attended English language secondary institutions (high school and CEGEP) for four years or less, are eligible to take up to 12 credits in English as a Second Language (CESL).
WCOM 255 (formerly CESL 500): ESL: Research Essay and Rhetoric
WCOM 255
Written and Oral Communication: Principles and use of academic research skills to generate academic writing at an advanced level of English across the disciplines. Focus on article summary, critical analysis, and logical reasoning to develop sound arguments and well-reasoned essays. Common rhetorical strategies, citation and paraphrase of academic sources, and editing skills to enhance cohesion and avoid common English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) errors in grammar, syntax, and vocabulary.
Offered by: McGill Writing Centre
- Prerequisites: CESL 400 or WCOM 245 or placement test.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken CEAP 250 or CESL 500. Only open to students in degree programs.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
Admission and registration:
Full-time, non-anglophone students whose secondary education (high school and CEGEP) has been in institutions where the primary language of instruction was not English, or who have attended English language secondary institutions (high school and CEGEP) for four years or less, are eligible to take up to 12 credits in English as a Second Language (CESL).
WCOM 295 (formerly CESL 299): Academic Skills
WCOM 295
Written and Oral Communication: The university classroom: note-taking and summary of lectures; paraphrase and summary of written and multimedia materials; oral and seminar presentations. Critical thinking, reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills and strategies. Exigences des cours universitaires: prendre des notes, faire des exposés oraux, résumer (cours magistraux, documents oraux, écrits et multimédias). Raisonnement critique, lectures, écoutes, rédactions, habiletés et stratégies de communication.
Offered by: McGill Writing Centre
- Restriction: Only open to students whose first language is not English and who are newly admitted at McGill (into Year 0 or Year 1) to a Bachelor program in the following fall. The course is designed to assist these new students to integrate into the English language milieu at McGill.
- Restriction: Ce cours s'adresse aux étudiants dont la langue maternelle n'est pas l'anglais et qui sont nouvellement admis (en première année préparatoire - niveau U0 ou première année d'études universitaires - niveau U1) à McGill à un programme de 1er cycle à l'automne suivant. Il est conçu pour faciliter leur intégration dans le milieu anglophone de McGill.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken CESL 299.
- Due to the intensive nature of this course, the standard add/drop and withdrawal deadlines do not apply. Add/drop is the second lecture day and withdrawal is the fourth lecture day.
- Although this course follows a MTWR class schedule pattern, the last day of class may be on a Friday.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
Class time:
WCOM 295 is an intensive course. Class time is from 9:35am to 12:25pm, M, T, W, R, and there will be one Friday on the last day of class, August 11, 2023.
Admission and registration:
Full-time, non-anglophone students whose secondary education (high school and CEGEP) has been in institutions where the primary language of instruction was not English, or who have attended English language secondary institutions (high school and CEGEP) for four years or less, are eligible to take up to 12 credits in English as a Second Language (CESL).
Tuition subsidy
Students newly admitted (into Year 0 or Year 1) at McGill to a Bachelor program in the following fall will receive a subsidy upon completion of the course (only students who have not previously been enrolled in a Bachelor program at McGill are eligible). Students are expected to pay for the course, and those eligible will automatically receive a credit to their student account in the fall. For more information, read the last paragraph at this web page Scholarships, awards and assistance.
Creative Writing
WCOM 203 (formerly CCOM 200): Introduction to Creative Writing
WCOM 203
Written and Oral Communication: Production of original creative works in English. Study and application of writing techniques and craft elements observed in both traditional and contemporary forms, ranging from poetic forms such as the sonnet, the villanelle, and free verse,to short fiction forms such as the short story and the vignette, to hybrid forms such as prose poetry and flash fiction. Craft, analysis of literary texts, workshop-style critique, and multiple drafts.
Offered by: McGill Writing Centre
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken CCOM 200.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
WCOM 333: Writing Creative Nonfiction
WCOM 333
Written and Oral Communication: Production of original works of literary creative nonfiction in English. Advanced study and application of story telling techniques and craft elements used in forms such as the memoir essay, literary journalism, and the lyric essay. Indepth instruction in the nuanced use of structure, scene, narration, reflection, description, and researched information. Craft, analysis of published literary creative nonfiction essays, workshop-style critique, multiple drafts, and substantive revision.
Offered by: McGill Writing Centre
- Prerequisites: CCOM 200 or WCOM 203 or permission of the Centre.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken CCOM 323.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
Science Communication
WCOM 314 (formerly CCOM 314): Communicating Science
WCOM 314
Written and Oral Communication: Production of written and oral assignments (in English) designed to communicate scientific problems and findings to varied audiences Analysis of the disciplinary conventions of scientific discourse in terms of audience, purpose, organization, and style; comparative rhetorical analysis of academic and popular genres, including abstracts, lab reports, research papers, print and online journalism.
Offered by: McGill Writing Centre
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken CCOM 314.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
WCOM 414 (formerly CCOM 414): Advanced Communicating Science
WCOM 414
Written and Oral Communication: Use of digital platforms to produce written and oral assignments (in English) designed to communicate scientific challenges and findings to broad audiences. Rhetorical analysis of academic and popular genres including abstracts, researcher profiles, infographics, and serial and episodic podcasting.
Offered by: McGill Writing Centre
- Prerequisite: CCOM 314 or WCOM 314 or permission of the Centre.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken CCOM 414.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
Digital Genres
WCOM 317 (formerly CCOM 315): Writing the Internet
WCOM 317
Written and Oral Communication: Critical assessment of digital genres in terms of audience, purpose, organization, and style; application of rhetorical strategies for effective communication in digital contexts in English. Topics and readings derived from writing pedagogy and critical analyses of online environments: technological affordances, non-linear structure, “living” texts, online identity, network dynamics, authorial collaboration.
Offered by: McGill Writing Centre
- Not open to students who have taken CCOM 315.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
Business Communication
Required for certain SCS certificate programs; other undergraduate students can request permission by emailing mwc [at] mcgill.ca
WCOM 202 (formerly CCOM 205): Communication in Management 1
WCOM 202
Written and Oral Communication: Written and oral communication in Management (in English): emphasis on strategies for identifying, analyzing, and solving writing and speaking problems. Course work based on academic and professional communication in management.
Offered by: McGill Writing Centre
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken CCOM 205.
- Because this course uses a workshop format, attendance at first class is desirable.
- Continuing Studies: requirement for the EA, AAC, and the Canadian Institute of Management.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
Communication for Engineers
WCOM 206 (formerly CCOM 206): Communication in Engineering
WCOM 206
Written and Oral Communication: Written and oral communication in Engineering (in English): strategies for generating, developing, organizing, and presenting ideas in a technical setting; problem-solving; communicating to different audiences; editing and revising; and public speaking. Course work based on academic, technical, and professional writing in engineering.
Offered by: McGill Writing Centre
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken CCOM 206. Only open to students in degree programs.
- Limited enrolment.
- Because this course uses a workshop format, attendance at first class is desirable.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
Special Topics
WCOM 371 (formerly CCOM 371): Selected Communication Topic 1
WCOM 371
Written and Oral Communication: Study of a selected topic in written and/or oral communication in English that is relevant to undergraduate students.
Offered by: McGill Writing Centre
- The content can vary from year to year and will be announced prior to registration.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
WCOM 372 (formerly CCOM 372): Selected Communication Topic 2
WCOM 372
Written and Oral Communication: Study of a selected topic in written and/or oral communication in English that is relevant to undergraduate students.
Offered by: McGill Writing Centre
- The content can vary from year to year and will be announced prior to registration.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
Notes
- Courses coded as WCOM may be taken to fulfill language requirements or as electives in some degree programs. In some faculties, you need to obtain approval from your Student Affairs Office as well as from your academic advisor before you take courses outside your faculty, especially if the courses do not form part of your program requirements.
- Placement tests are required for admission to most ESL undergraduate courses.
- WCOM 206 is restricted to students pursuing a Bachelor of Engineering degree at McGill.