A WSUP flag (previously designated as a writing check or WDEF) is a way to notify students that they should spend additional time working to improve their writing during their time at Brown. Designed as an adjunct to faculty feedback on student writing, the process—noted by a checkmark (✓) on students’ internal transcripts—helps faculty directly connect students with Brown’s writing support network. The flag emphasizes the value the Brown community places on written communication and helps to ensure that learning to write well is an integral and intentional part of all students’ educational experiences.

The purpose of this guide is to (1) explain why the WSUP system is in place, (2) provide recommendations to assist you in deciding whether to assign a WSUP flag, (3) provide guidance on how to assign a flag in Banner, and (4) describe how students are notified that they have received a flag and the different ways that students may choose to address it before graduating from Brown. Students with two or more flags cannot graduate until they have resolved the checks through the process described below.

Faculty are advised to assign a flag to students if there are significant concerns about one or more of the following:

• Their writing lacks awareness of purpose, audience, and/or genre
• They have difficulty conveying their analysis of primary or secondary sources through writing
• Their sentences cannot be easily understood
• They are unfamiliar with the kinds of writing required of them at Brown
• They struggle to complete writing assignments

For other concerns about a student’s development as a writer, you may put the student directly in touch with the Writing Center via email (Sheridan_Center@brown.edu), contact a Writing Center staff member,  or recommend that they schedule a Writing Center appointment where they can spend 60-minutes working one-on-one with a staff member.

Writing Center consultations

A WSUP flag can be used to indicate undergraduates who are having difficulty with their writing and would benefit from additional help. This flag can be applied to a student’s record in Banner under the Faculty Grade Entry. A checkmark visible to academic advisors then appears on the student's internal academic record next to the course in question; the checkmark does not appear on the official Brown transcript. While faculty referrals are not required for students to have a consultation at the Writing Center, students with a WSUP flag will receive priority support and guidance about Writing Center resources by Writing Center staff. The first flag acts as an early indicator to encourage a student to seek writing support.

After assigning a flag to a student, the faculty member will receive an automatic email with a questionnaire regarding the student’s writing. Responses to this questionnaire will help Writing Center staff best support the student.

Students who receive a flag will be contacted by the Writing Center to explain the writing resources available to them. If a student has received more than one check, Writing Center staff will contact them to determine how they will resolve the checks to enable graduation.

Students with more than one check cannot graduate until they have taken steps to address the flag. There are four ways to address multiple WSUPs:

1. Enroll in one Nonfiction Writing course: (1) ENGL 0900, Critical Reading/ Writing I: The Academic Essay or (2) ENGL 1030, Critical Reading/ Writing II: Research Essay. When students successfully complete the course, the flags are cleared.
2. Enroll in a Writing Fellows course. When students successfully complete the course, the flags are cleared.
3. Meet with a staff member in the Writing Center to be connected with a Writing Advisor and to establish a writing schedule for the semester. Students usually work on a minimum of three writing assignments (at least 12-15 pages of writing in total). For each assignment, a student’s Writing Advisor will read and respond to a draft and then meet with them to talk about their revision plans. The flag is cleared at the end of the semester after students schedule a reflective meeting with their Writing Advisors.
4. If students receive no additional WSUP flags and complete a combination of 3 or more WRIT, English, Comparative Literature, or Literary Arts classes, their flags will be cleared at the end of their 7th semester.