Goals of First Year Composition

By the end of FYC, students should

• Understand that purpose, audience, self, and subject matter shape writing
• Understand that writing can be self-empowering
• Develop self-awareness in terms of evaluating their own writing process(es)
• Understand the relevance to effective writing of the discovery stages in the process
• Understand the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes, and the benefits thereof
• Be able to transfer knowledge learned in first year composition to other courses, the workplace, and their daily civic and personal lives
• Better understand their connections to the local, national, and global communities of which they are a part
• Have an increased knowledge of and appreciation for cultural diversity
• Use a variety of technologies to address a range of audiences

Outcomes Statement for First-Year Composition

Rhetorical Knowledge
By the end of first year composition, students should respond appropriately to different kinds of rhetorical situations by

• Focusing on a purpose and developing their ideas thoughtfully and thoroughly with that purpose in mind
• Responding to the needs of different audiences
• Using conventions of format and structure appropriate to the rhetorical situation
• Organizing ideas and information for best effect
• Effectively supporting their positions and assertions
• Adopting appropriate voice, tone, level of formality, and style, while maintaining personal voice

Critical Thinking
By the end of first year composition, students should

• Use writing and reading for inquiring, learning, thinking, and communicating
• Understand a writing assignment as a series of tasks, including finding, evaluating, analyzing, synthesizing, and drawing conclusions from a variety of appropriate primary and secondary sources
• Be able to analyze and evaluate a number of different kinds of written texts for rhetorical effect
• Integrate their own ideas with those of others, using research as support for their ideas
• Practice reflection about their writing

Processes
By the end of first year composition, students should

• Show an understanding of writing as an open and recursive process that permits writers to use invention to revise their work at any point in the process
• Develop a variety of flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proof-reading multiple drafts to create and complete a successful text
• Work collaboratively to critique their own and others' works in a thoughtful and meaningful way

Knowledge of Conventions
By the end of first year composition, students should

• Display coherence and unity through appropriate use of transitions
• Control syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling
• Use appropriate means of documenting their work