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 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:

• Foundations of Writing
• Personal Writing
• Finding and Responding to Secondary Sources
• Creating Knowledge using Primary Research
• Reflecting on Your Writing Process
• Writing and Citing Like a Pro​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
• Writing Arguments

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.

Objectives

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.

Objectives

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.

Objectives