If there's one constraint that Penn students often complain about, it's the writing requirement.
Many of the Writing Seminar courses follow a particularly rigid format.
Only a handful of classes allow students to practice specific writing skills needed for certain majors or fields, such as business or journalism.
And not all departments offer Writing Seminars, so students can't always use these courses to fill major requirements - often a factor in the course selection process.
The University needs to build on past efforts and expand the number of seminars that teach students specific writing styles.
A large number of Penn's academic departments also offer many writing-intensive courses.
Many students find themselves composing long papers well before they take a writing seminar.
Administrators should consider letting these classes - which often require students to write multiple argumentative or research papers - fulfill the writing requirement.
Penn prides itself on offering a strikingly wide variety of courses.
Let's give students the opportunity to explore even more.
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