The first-year writing sequence includes two courses. In English 120
(Composition I), students use writing, reading, and additional inquiry to
explore and develop writing strategies for college-level work. In English 121
(Composition II), students use research and writing to explore issues of
language and community. At the end of each semester, English 121 students share
their research in the Celebration of Student Writing.
English 120 and 121 work from the assumptions that:
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writers use writing and reading to engage in serious, academic inquiry;
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writers grow by approaching, comprehending, conversing with, and
interpreting texts of all kinds: personal experience, written "academic"
texts, popular culture, and non-print media;
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writers gain control over conventions of writing through extensive writing
practice and frequent feedback from peers and instructor;
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writing development should proceed from what students can do, and writing
development should be positively articulated.