About Our Program
First-Year Writing students at all levels will read and communicate in a variety of genres, apply a variety of rhetorical strategies, and employ a variety of research methods. To help students to develop, test, and refine their own researchable questions and engage in self-discovery of the writing process, teachers create and employ scaffolded assignments that take students from low-stakes process exercises to high-stakes longer compositions.
These sequential assignments stimulate curiosity, exploration, and re-evaluation, and emphasize revision and reflection. The varieties of discourse in which students communicate comprise an entire project.
In ENGL 1157, students will produce a minimum of three projects, comprised of no less than 5000 words (total), 3000 of which are high-stakes (i.e., formally assessed). The scaffolded assignments that lead to the production of these three projects should introduce students to a variety of genres and their conventions, should teach students how to conduct research and to integrate their findings into their own writing, and should create opportunities for students to understand how audience and purpose govern the content, scope, organization, and expression of their own ideas.
Writing should occur in the classroom, but it should not be assessed as a high-stakes assignment. Revision and reflection are integral to the production of successful projects. Peer Collaboration (e.g., peer review, group work, and even group presentations) and student-teacher conferences may also be useful teaching tools. Ultimately, 1157 teachers need to ensure that students are introduced to the concepts, strategies, skills, and habits of mind that will lead to the program's outcomes. Having students write a formal reflection of their experience to accompany their best works or complete works portfolio during the final exam period will provide you with an effective assessment mechanism.
In ENGL 1158 , students should continue to work toward the program's outcomes. To help students reach these goals, instructors should assign no less than two projects, composed of at least 5000 words (total), 3000 of which are high-stakes (i.e., formally assessed). Some low-stakes writing must happen inside the classroom. At least one of these projects needs to create an opportunity for 1158 students to practice writing arguments. When ready, 1158 students may be given the freedom to craft their projects (by choosing, for example, its topic, scope, purpose, audience, kinds of writing, and/or presentation method). However, instructors need to guide students to make effective choices, ensuring that students employ a range of research methods, integrate others' ideas effectively, engage in discourse, and apply appropriate rhetorical strategies (e.g., considering opposing viewpoints or appealing to ethos).
By the end of 1158, students should have met our program's outcomes. Only those students who exhibit proficiency in each of the three areas (Rhetorical Knowledge; Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing; and Knowledge of Conventions) should earn a passing grade in 1158. Having students present their best project (or an arm of it) during the final exam period in addition to submitting their portfolios will allow you to easily assess their proficiency.
English 1157 |
English 1158 |
| Students compose a minimum of 500 words, 3000 of which should be formally assessed | |
| Assignment sequences employ scaffolded assignments | |
| Revision and Reflection are an integral part of the writing process | |
| shorter, more frequent assignments | longer, more sustained assignments |
| suggested three projects minimum | suggested two projects minimum, one of which is an argument |
| more instructor-guided | more student-driven |
| students learn research skills and methods | students hone research skills, employing a variety of research methods |