The Writing Program’s Spring 2023 workshop hosted guest speaker Debbie Finocchio, the Assistant Core Director, who shared a useful handout of resources for FYW 150 instructors. The link to that resource is here. A second guest speaker, Deniz Perez-Combs, shared information Continue reading
A reminder about class caps: Sometimes we get requests to add students to already full FYW and E304 classes. We are nice people who care about students—but the English Department and Writing Program discourage faculty from adding students beyond the Continue reading
An example FYW 150 syllabus that emphasizes academic writing skills by combining literary and other types texts for exploration and class discussion.
This syllabus explores multiple controversies in several different kinds of texts (journalism, fiction, Op-eds, research, and so on). The selected topics are ones that might be interesting and engaging to first year students on campus.
New instructors can use this template (linked to as a google doc, with space-holders for your class and official policy language) as a starting point to build their FYW150 syllabi.
Here is an example syllabus that uses one fiction novel as a single core reading for FYW150, but supplements it with other shorter readings in other discourses and genres. The paper sequence is Reflective writing with description with a purpose Continue reading
Here is an example syllabus that studies language and discourse explicitly, asking students to treat discourse as the subject of their reading and analysis (in this case, the connection between discourse and identity, and new discourse innovation). The paper sequence Continue reading
This meme-making assignment is a great way to teach genre and encourage students to get creative to understand terms in a challenging reading. Before giving the assignment, students should have background knowledge in what “genre” means. See Dirk’s “Navigating Genre,” an accessible Continue reading
This formal paper prompt challenges FYW 150 students to do some primary (field) research on the topic of language innovation, and then position what they see “in the field” by connecting it essays and research from “language experts.” Here is Continue reading
The following writing exercise challenges students to find an example of experimental/innovative language use they are familiar with. This can be a poem or song lyric, anything. They then annotate it with commentary informed by class discussions and readings and Continue reading
