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The First Year Writing Program
The First Year Writing Program serves all UMass Amherst undergraduates and is a key part of the University’s General Education effort. The Program has a special relationship, however, with the English Department in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts: the Writing Program Director is a member of the English Department faculty, other English Department faculty members support the Writing Program by serving as Course Directors, the English Department offers graduate studies in Composition and Rhetoric, and some of our courses are offered as English courses. At the same time, the First Year Writing Program recognizes its important connection to departments across campus as part of the larger University Writing Program. Therefore, while the majority of Teaching Associates (TOs) funded by the Writing Program are graduate students in English, the Writing Program is committed to funding TOs from departments other than English.
Entering Students: Placement
All entering first year students, except for the few who have been exempted from the First Year Writing requirement through high test scores on the Critical Reading and Writing sections of the SAT, must take the Writing Program Placement Test. On the basis of their performance on this test, students are placed into Basic Writing (Englwrit 111) or College Writing (Englwrit 112) or receive a waiver from the first year requirement. Waivers resulting from the Writing Program Placement Test do not carry credit; therefore, students receiving waivers (approximately 5% of those tested) may still choose to take College Writing for credit.
First Year Courses
English Writing 111, Basic Writing, is a pre-requisite to College Writing for the approximately 5% of entering students who are placed into Basic Writing. In addition, some students elect to take Basic Writing before College Writing because they would like additional writing practice. Because Basic Writing fulfills the UMass General Education U.S. diversity requirement, a small number of upper-class students even opt to take Basic Writing after completing College Writing.
Basic Writing is a reading and content-based course taught in the Writing Program’s computer classroom, meeting three hours per week, workshop style. Like College Writing, Basic Writing focuses on the essay and addresses the composition process: pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, and using peer response and in-class conferences with the instructor as ways of informing the revising process. Sentence level issues are addressed both on an individual basis and in class group work.
The content of Basic Writing focuses on the complex issue of language in society. Students in this course talk, read, and write about the myriad literacies by which and through which they negotiate their worlds and how these literacies shape identity. The class analyzes how literacies brought from outside the academy can enrich the language developed and used in school. The course also examines the ways that society privileges some forms of literacy and restricts others and the impact this has on personal identity.
Basic Writing does not satisfy the first year requirement; however, it does carry three General Education U.S. Diversity (U) credits.
English Writing 112, College Writing,satisfies the University’s First Year Writing Requirement. The prerequisite for enrollment in all sections of College Writing is satisfactory performance on the Writing Program Placement Test or completion of Basic Writing. All sections of College Writing carry three General Education (CW) credits. Some sections of College Writing are offered in our computer lab. All sections of College Writing have the opportunity to hold several class meetings in computer labs throughout the semester.
Placement in College Writing presupposes a greater capacity for successful independent writing than does placement in Basic Writing. During the semester, each student composes five full essays of around 750-1,500 words each—including personal, reading-based, and documented essays—as well as a variety of shorter pieces. Each major essay is taken through a series of revisions and, when submitted in final form, is accompanied by all the notes and drafts that were part of its composition.
Once per semester, instructors in College Writing suspend regularly scheduled classes and hold a conference with each student. In this conference, students discuss with their teachers the writing that is in progress, the writing that has been completed, and the writing that is still in its planning stages.
The basic goals of College Writing, as elaborated in the program syllabus, are to provide students with practice in the following areas:
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Writing for a variety of audiences and purposes;
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Developing their thinking by questioning their own views and considering the views of others;
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Drawing on and appropriately citing different sources of information and ideas;
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Revising their writing in substantive ways;
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Being a perceptive reader of their own and others’ writing;
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Effectively managing their writing processes by reflecting on their choices; and
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Copy-editing their final drafts at every level (word, sentence, paragraph, and text).
Special Sections of College Writing: A number of College Writing sections are offered in cooperation with Residential Academic Programs (RAP and TAP) as well as Commonwealth College (Honors). While these sections are open to specific student populations, they are in all other respects similar to regular sections of College Writing, following the same syllabus and pursuing the same goals.
Residential Academic Programs (RAP) sections of College Writing are provided to students enrolled in the University’s general Residential First Year Program. This program features discussion groups and small classes, including College Writing, conducted in the residence halls for students who live near one another.
Talent Advancement Program (TAP) sections of College Writing, also conducted in the residence halls, are designed for students in particular majors, including the biological sciences, computer science, engineering, English, management, mathematics, and nursing.
Honors Sections of College Writing (Englwrit 112H) are offered in cooperation with Commonwealth College for all students admitted into Commonwealth College. While honors sections of College Writing generally follow the program-wide syllabus, the curriculum may be augmented with special projects and activities.
Computer Sections of College Writing are held in the Bartlett 101 and 105 computer labs. The labs include PC workstations, a projector, printer, and a large seminar table. The configuration of the lab allows instructors to do a mix of computer related activities with whole class discussions and small group work. Connection to the internet enables instructors to fully integrate many of SPARK’s features into the classroom as well as enabling students to upload drafts and other writing to the University’s UDrive. While the sections taught in the labs generally follow the program-wide syllabus, the labs enable the curriculum to be augmented with multi-media activities and projects. Although a limited number of sections of College Writing are taught in the Bartlett labs (5-10 sections per semester), all sections have access to four days per semester in a computer lab across campus.
More detailed information about the College Writing curriculum can be found in the “Planning Your Course” section of the Handbook.
Celebration of Writing
At the end of the academic year, the Writing Program hosts “A Celebration of Writing” in order to showcase the work done by students in our Basic, College, Junior Year, and Experimental Writing classes. The Celebration of Writing is held on Reading Day before final exams during Spring semester. The Celebration consists of displays of student work, performances, and readings by students. Each year a local writer is featured as our keynote speaker. During the Celebration, awards ceremonies are held recognizing the winners of the Best Text Contest for Basic, College, and Junior Year Writing, the student writers selected for the upcoming Student Writing Anthology, and the students completing our year long tutoring class for the Writing Center. All instructors are encouraged to submit students' work for the Celebration and to attend. It is a wonderful way to end the academic year and to see the great work our students and teachers have accomplished.
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