First Year Writing Program Goals and Outcomes

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