The first-year Chinese courses have been a component of university curricula in Taiwan since 1949. In 2000 and after, these courses witnessed significant changes in terms of teaching innovation, characteristics, and social responsibilities in response to societal expectations. Such developments, in general, fall into three main categories: “application of language skills”, “cultivation of professional skills in general education”, and “specialisation of curriculum design”. Among these, the “application of language skills” has led to a shift from the traditional examination-based to a creative-writing-based assessment. This paper is a case study of the first-year Chinese course’s curriculum design and writing pedagogy, under the theme of “Civic Awareness”, at Soochow University in Taiwan. It illustrates how educators, under the framework of a compulsory general education course, reform teaching methods for non-literature major students with low motivation. Implementing a curriculum centred on “critical thinking pedagogy” discusses strategies for reforming teaching methods to enhance their motivation and kindle their passion for writing, thereby teaching writing more efficiently.