First-Year Writing Program
Department of English and Philosophy
Learning Outcomes
The First-Year Writing Program teaches undergraduate students to communicate effectively and engage in self-directed learning. These competencies are part of the six core intellectual and practical skills identified in the Drexel Student Learning Priorities, a framework for a broad education across disciplines designed to help students build a solid foundation for a successful future.
Drexel students are encouraged to write clearly with a firm sense of their audience. We believe, fundamentally, that students become better writers –and will more readily continue to practice writing on their own– when they connect with others on topics that they, the writers, care about authentically.
Because technology continually shapes writing and reading, courses offered by the First-Year Writing program integrate emerging modes of communication: text, images, audio, and video. Students enrolled in ENGL 101, ENGL 102, and ENGL 103, and their equivalent classes for multilingual writers, ENGL 111, ENGL 112, and ENGL 113, learn how to use writing effectively in their personal, academic, co-operative education, civic and professional lives.
Questions?
Please email Fred Siegel, PhD, at siegelf@drexel.edu. Fred is a teaching professor of English and the director of Drexel's First-Year Writing Program.
Writing Resources
We strongly encourage students to explore First-Year Writing Resources – this pragmatic and practical compilation of topics just for students enrolled in ENGL 101, ENGL 102, and ENGL 103 is expertly curated by faculty members who teach in Drexel's First-Year Writing Program.
Topics:
Writing Course Outcomes
English 101
The introductory English 101 course develops students’ abilities to use writing as a tool for inquiry. It introduces genres, writing as a process, revision, and strategies of primary and secondary research. In ENGL 101, students learn to explore grammar, style, and documentation conventions. The coursework is designed to engage students in reflection and promote positive attitudes toward writing.
- Writing to explore experiences and ideas
- Reflecting on their own writing and research processes in order to consider how context, experience, and identity inform this work
- Understanding the basic functions of genres: memoir, profile, summary/response
- Responding productively to classmates’ writing
- Using standard grammar and mechanics
- Recognizing primary research (interviews and surveys) as well as secondary research (library and Internet)
- Developing a more positive attitude towards writing
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English 102
In English 102, students advance their development as writers by learning to promote a critical evaluation and integration of information into their own writing as they research complex and open-ended issues. Students in ENGL 102 identify the relationships between rhetorical situations, the status of claims, and the need for evidence and warrants. Students are encouraged to apply these competencies to their personal, academic, and professional situations – such as co-op.
- Researching to enhance their understanding of topics that are meaningful to them
- Reflecting on their own writing and research processes in order to consider how context, experience, and identity inform this work
- Finding reputable information using Internet and library searches
- Integrating information from outside sources into their written work in an ethical manner
- Writing persuasive arguments appropriate to audiences both inside and outside of academia
- Responding productively to their classmates’ writing
- Improving clarity, grammar and mechanics
- Developing a more positive attitude towards writing
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English 103
The third course in the First-Year Writing Program sequence, English 103, invites students into an in-depth textual and rhetorical exploration of themes across genres. In ENGL 103, students gain in-depth knowledge in the writing and research processes and advance their understanding of how genres of writing shape meaning. Some courses may focus on the student's academic and discipline-specific experiences; others may be based on literary or social themes. The course promotes a critical reading of texts, reflective analysis, and a positive attitude toward writing.
Each First-Year Writing instructor offers a unique theme for their section of ENGL 103. Past topics have included dozens of diverse themes such as: "The Future of Being Human," "Dishing it out: Food and Writing," "The Mad Scientist’s Guide to Composition," "American Environmental Literature," "Language Diversity and Your Unique Voice," and "Write Out Loud: Writing for Social Justice" – to name a few.
- Analyzing creative, expressive, and/or discipline-specific texts in relation to theme, genre and/or context
- Reflecting on their own writing and research processes in order to consider how context, experience, and identity inform this work
- Employing critical reading and relevant research to support their analysis of texts and the ideas they raise
- Choosing a range of rhetorical strategies and genres in their responses to texts and ideas
- Responding productively to their classmates’ writing
- Revising their writing to improve its intellectual impact as well as its clarity, grammar and mechanics
- Developing a more positive attitude towards writing
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Equivalent Classes for Multilingual Writers
English 111
Equivalent to the university requirement of ENGL 101. Develops multilingual (non-native speakers of English) students' abilities to use writing as a tool for research and reflection.
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English 112
Equivalent to the university requirement of ENGL 102. Advances multilingual (non-native speakers of English) students’ abilities to use of writing as a tool for research and reflection and their understanding of writing as a process.
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English 113
Equivalent to the university requirement of ENGL 103. Advances multilingual (non-native speakers of English) students' development in the reading, writing, and research processes.
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