First-Year Writing Courses

All FYW courses share a set of core goals, or learning outcomes, which are detailed below and are also reflected in the program Grading Rubric and Capstone Electronic Portfolio assignment.

 

English 1101: First-year Composition I

English 1101 focuses on informational, analytical, and argumentative writing (the principal genres of academic discourse that students will encounter in many courses across the curriculum), and on research skills and critical thinking. There are different varieties of English 1101 classes and instructors design their own syllabi.

 

Prerequisites

Students must either place into English 1101 or pass out of the Academic Enhancement Program.

 

Goals

The following outcome statements are linked to threshold concepts, or ideas that promote transformation and growth. Our learning outcomes are arranged under four threshold concepts that are most important for students in UGA’s English 1101 courses. Each concept includes a bulleted list of the learning objectives, suggesting how students will engage with these ideas in their 1101 courses.

• Writing is a process. Students learning this threshold concept should:
  • Produce writing through a sophisticated process that involves managing projects through multiple drafts, authoring new information, and using writing as a form of abstract problem solving;
  • Reflect on how they evaluate their own and others’ work;
  • Develop individual practices for writing and revision.
• Writing responds to a specific rhetorical situation. Students learning this threshold concept should:
  • Engage with and respond to elements of various rhetorical situations such as audience, context, purpose, genre, multimodality, and discipline;
  • Analyze and develop arguments made in response to varying rhetorical situations;
  • Select, organize, and apply evidence appropriate to the writer’s argument and readers’ needs;
  • Employ specific citation style guidelines and understand the underlying concepts behind discipline-specific citation practices.
• Writing is a social act. Students learning this threshold concept should:
  • Investigate written voice and writerly identity;
  • Consider how context-specific identities or personas are generated through acts of writing;
  • Give constructive feedback to peers, and thoughtfully incorporate feedback from others.
• Writing relies on technologies. Students learning this threshold concept should:
  • Create a variety of projects in different modes and media;
  • Recognize that different technologies provide distinct advantages and limitations to the writer’s process, peer review capabilities, and project design.

 

Requirements

Students will write a minimum of three essays (1,000-1,500 words or longer) that count for at least 50% of the students' final grades. In addition to writing papers and doing other work, all students will create a final electronic portfolio that counts as 30% of their final grade.

 

Course Texts

First-year Writing Guide (Digital version) 

The Norton Field Guide to Writing, 6^th edition

Primary texts must be chosen by Course Instructor.

 

English 1102: First-year Composition II

 

Prerequisites

To enroll in English 1102, students must have either exempted English 1101 or passed it with a “D” or better. To graduate, however, students must have earned a grade of “C” in English 1101 and have a combined average grade of “C” in English 1101 and 1102. Students therefore are strongly advised not to enroll in English 1102 until they have received a "C" in English 1101.

According to the University policy on plus-minus grading, a grade of “C-” will not satisfy the requirement for a “C” in ENGL 1101; a combined average of “C-“ or 1.7 in English 1101 and 1102 will not satisfy the requirement for a combined average of “C” in the two courses. For more information on plus-minus grading, refer to the UGA Bulletin's Q&A page on plus-minus grading policies.

FAQ #9 is particularly relevant to the requirements of First-year Writing.

 

 

Goals

English 1102 shares the core goals, or learning outcomes, of English 1101, but includes as well other goals specific to the course. The content also varies: while English 1101 focuses on different varieties of non-fiction writing, English 1102 focuses on informational, analytical, and argumentative writing through literary texts in various genres; as in English 1101, research and critical thinking skills are also emphasized. There are different varieties of English 1102 classes and instructors design their own syllabi.

In English 1102 students will learn to:

• read fiction, drama, and poetry and write analytically about them;
• understand literary principles and use basic terms important to critical writing and reading;
• complete written projects in and out of class using processes that include discovering ideas and evidence, organizing that material, and revising, editing, and polishing the finished paper;
• think critically so that they can recognize the difference between opinion and evidence and so that they can support a complex, challenging thesis, and more specifically, document essays using textual evidence;
• address written work to a range of audiences;
• understand the collaborative and social aspects of the writing process and demonstrate an ability to critique the writing of themselves and others;
• develop a sense of voice appropriate to the subject, the writer’s purpose, the context, and the reader’s expectations;
• understand how genres shape reading and writing and produce writing in several genres;
• follow the conventions of standard edited English and MLA documentation;
• use electronic environments for drafting, reviewing, revising, editing, and sharing texts;
• understand and exploit the differences in the rhetorical strategies and in the affordances available for both print and electronic composing processes and texts.

 

Requirements

Students will write a minimum of three essays (1,000-1,500 words or longer) that count for at least 50% of the student’s final grade. In addition to writing papers and doing other work, all students will create a final electronic portfolio that counts as 30% of their final grade.

 

Course Texts

Primary Required: First-year Writing Guide (Digital version found on departmental website)

Text(s) must be chosen by course instructor. 

Schilb and Clifford. Making Literature Matter, 6th edition.

 

Any standard college dictionary, such as:

• American Heritage Dictionary
• Random House College Dictionary
• Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary
• Webster’s New World Dictionary

 

Honors Courses for First-year Composition II

Honors students have the option of substituting for English 1102 either English 1050H (Composition and Literature) or English 1060H (Composition and Multicultural Literature). These courses have the same general goals as other First-year Writing courses at the University of Georgia, but each class is designed individually by the instructor, often around a special topic.

 

English Composition for ESOL Students

Special sections of English 1101 and 1102 are reserved for students who have a native language other than American English and who can benefit from an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) emphasis in these classes. Students enroll only with the permission of the department (POD), but the classes are not marked differently on their transcripts. The ESOL sections, like classes for native speakers, focus on writing academic argument in English 1101 and writing about literature in English 1102. 

First-year Writing classes for ESOL offer non-native speakers opportunities for vocabulary development, for grammar practice, and for orientation to American styles of writing and organization. Residents of the United States whose first language is not American English, as well as international students, may qualify for these classes. To determine your eligibility and to obtain a POD to register for the ESOL classes, contact the First-year Writing Program Office (706-542-2128) or Clare Reid Baeckeroot (clare.reid@uga.edu).

 

First-Year Writing Online

In the regular, eight-week "Thru Term" of summer school, the First-year Writing Program offers English 1102E, a fully online, asynchronous course. Students in 1102E meet all the standard FYW ENGL1102 requirements while completing a series of units (or "modules"). Students work as a cohort between specified dates, but do not meet as a group during particular class times, either online or face-to-face.  

 

Special Topics: 

Experienced instructors may design a special topics version of FYW that is approved in advance by the First-year Writing Committee. These courses often focus on topics related to the instructor’s research or scholarly interests, and the sections are marked by a special note in Athena.

Service Learning Courses:

English 1101S allows students to hone their developing writing skills through community service while still fulfilling the goals of a standard 1101. Depending on the focus of the course, 1101S may involve field trips and out-of-class community service as well as community based writing projects. The ultimate goal of service-learning is to promote students' civic and academic learning while contributing to the public good.