Part 1
To reflect on your experience of ENGL 1020 online, please open a Word document and respond (in sentence form) to the prompts outlined below as clearly, comprehensively, and honestly as you can. There is no length requirement; however, every response to each prompt must (1) attend to what the prompt is asking you to do, (2) provide evidence for whatever position you take in each response, and (3) demonstrate serious thought and careful reflection. In addition, try to avoid using the same example for different prompts. After you have typed your responses,
� read what you have written aloud to catch any writing errors, gaps in clarity, completion, and/or formatting,
� make sure your document contains the proper heading, and
Prompts
1. In colleges and universities across the US, freshmen often take at least one required course in writing as part of what we call �general education.� freshmen must take two Gen.-Ed. writing courses. The first, ENGL 1010, introduces freshmen to the rhetorical situation (catalyst, purpose, audience, genre, and context), which they then apply to real-world writing situations and create texts such as personal statements, product-service reviews, op-eds, and r�sum�s.
In the second course, ENGL 1020, students read more than they write. They practice analyzing texts rhetorically, paying close attention to rhetorical situations, strategies (narration, exposition, persuasion, description, division, classification, comparison-contrast, and cause-effect), and appeals (ethos, logos, pathos, and kairos) the authors of these texts use to achieve their purpose. An important component of ENGL 1020 is informational literacy, which the Association for College and Research Libraries defines as the �set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning.� Therefore, in ENGL 1020 students also complete an annotated bibliography and compose a researched text that demonstrates their ability to contribute to a conversation about a topic of personal interest. Although faculty across the disciplines consider these writing courses foundational, teaching skills necessary for advanced college coursework, a vast majority of students do not, reporting that if English 1010 and 1020 were not requirements for graduation, they would not take them.
Using what you know about the high school curriculum in English and the learning objectives in ENGL 1010 and 1020 at, compose a short response to the following anonymous post of an incoming MTSU freshman on Reddit: �WTF? I took 4 years of high school english now I have to take a year of freshman writing??? I took spanish all 4 years of high school and they let me take a test to skip Spanish 1010 and 1020. Why cant I do that for English!!!!!�
2. �The Novice as Expert: Writing the Freshman Year,� a longitudinal research study by two Harvard professors, concludes that if a change occurs in a student taking first-year composition courses, that change will not be evident on the page. (This is because writers need lots of practice, in many different writing situations, to improve.) If there is a change, this study shows, it will be in the way the freshman thinks about writing. Compose a short response that discusses whether or not your attitude towards writing has changed and how. (Remember, specific responses are most effective; therefore, please mention the change or lack of change followed by an example of that change or stagnation.)
3. Many professions have corresponding professional organizations. For example, if one were to become an attorney, s/he would join the American Bar Association (ABA). If one were an English instructor and taught writing, s/he might join the Council for Writing Program Administration (CWPA). This organization functions as a governing board, issuing policy statements and organizing conferences. Visit the CWPA website and browse its Statement of Outcomes for First-Year Writing. Afterwards, briefly identify your top 3 outcomes�the ones you mastered or significantly improved in in this class.
4. A primary objective of ENGL 1020 is the acquisition of informational literacy�the ability to locate, evaluate (in terms of credibility), and integrate source material. Briefly discuss (1) whether or not Module 6 (the citation exercise on Bob Herbert�s �Falling Apart�) informed your understanding of a writer�s choices regarding integrating and citing sources and (2) why the citation exercise did or not inform your understanding of source integration and citation.
5. In an article for Forbes (2014), Susan Adams surveyed employers and produced a top ten list of skills employers most want in 2015 graduates:
� Ability to work in a team structure
� Ability to make decisions and solve problems (tie)
� Ability to communicate verbally with people inside and outside an organization
� Ability to plan, organize and prioritize work
� Ability to obtain and process information
� Ability to analyze quantitative data
� Technical knowledge related to the job
� Proficiency with computer software programs
� Ability to create and/or edit written reports
� Ability to sell and influence others.
Think about the various activities you have participated in this semester�reading, viewing, designing, presenting, researching, reviewing, editing, etc.�and their relationship to Adams�s top ten list. Briefly identify which activity(ies) and/or assignment(s) most helped you acquire or sharpen the skills listed above? (Try to match an assignment or activity with as many of Adams�s skills as you can.)
6. Like all disciplines, the field of writing studies has its own vocabulary. Transfer is one of the key concepts in writing studies. Ideally, what you do in this class should resonate in your other classes, the skills you learned transferring to other academic (and even work or personal) situations. Briefly identify one activity, assignment, and/or concept from this class that will have transfer value for you and explain why.
7. One of my colleagues is fond of saying �D is for diploma.� This instructor is very popular with students, as she brings to her teaching an awareness of how tough college can be. She herself had two disastrous years (personally and academically) before pulling her GPA up above 2.0, graduating from a prestigious liberal arts college, and then continuing on to graduate school and earning her Ph.D. She says that she had to grow into being a successful student. These are what I consider to be the traits of a successful/ideal student:
� Attentive�attends to details, task, instructor, and classmates
� Intellectually curious�chooses topics that challenge or expand current preexisting knowledge and/or belief
� Self-motivated�sets goals, overcomes obstacles to improve, and takes initiative
� Disciplined/Organized/Prepared�regularly checks the schedule, meets deadlines, and makes no excuses
� Resourceful�uses course materials, instructor, library/librarians, tutors, and peers as support
� Reflective�analyzes what�s working and what�s not, recognizes personal weaknesses, and willing to make changes
� Pleasant/Courteous/Respectful�helps build class community.
Keeping in mind that nobody is an ideal student 100% of the time and that being successful means prioritizing our commitments, briefly identify (1) which of the traits above did you consistently display in this class and why, and (2) which were lacking and why?
Part2
8. Revisit the freshman anonymously referenced in question 1. Despite this student�s frustration with having to take another year of writing classes after four years of high school English, s/he has attended for a semester and even passed ENGL 1010. In another anonymous post, this time on Rate My Professors, this freshman contemplates taking ENGL 1020 online. With this in mind, briefly provide this freshman with a frank assessment of the challenges, frustrations, surprises, and/or highlights of ENGL 1020 online.
*SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR QUESTION 8
Post your brief response to under the appropriate topic. Unless you are the first person to post, try as best as you can to build on what your classmates have already posted and expand the discussion to other aspects of the course. Essentially, question 8 amounts to each of you collaborating on a review of ENGL 1020 online, offering the anonymous freshman specific information about the course. Speak as honestly as you desire from your own experience as a student in ENGL 1020 online, even if that means you are speaking from a contrary view.
