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English Department
First Year English Program FAQs
- What do I do if I want to make an appointment with my First
Year English instructor?
- Your First-Year English instructor should have contact information at the top
of the syllabus he or she hands out to you on the first day of class. Using
this information you may call or email your instructor to set up an appointment.
Instructors should also have office hours. If these are not posted on the syllabus,
instructors will probably announce their available times in class. You should
not hesitate to approach your instructor if you wish to schedule time with him
or her. You may also find out your instructors' availability by consulting the
list of instructors, class times, and office hours posted in the English Department
corridor near the copy machines on the third floor.
- Why are my instructor's absence policies so strict?
- Individual instructors design their own absence policies. It is common First Year
English policy, however, to allow no more than three absences for MWF sections,
and two absences for TTH sections. Most instructors will drop a student's grade
by a certain percentage point if a student exceeds the absent limit. If a student
misses more than six classes, he or she risks failing the course. These absence
policies are not simply bureaucratic rules devised to torture students. The university
catalog and the student handbook specify that students must attend class. Beyond
this, however, English 101 and 102 are not lecture courses; they are hands-on
classes that provide students with opportunities to practice writing and critical
reading, and also to work collaboratively on writing and reading. Simply put,
if you exceed your allowed number of absences you do not take responsibility for
your own learning, and you also miss out on valuable practice and instruction.
- Why Do I need to keep my English handbook for both English
101 and 102?
- Not only should you keep the handbook for English 101 and 102, you should keep
it for all courses in which you need to write and research. The handbook contains
valuable information about grammar, punctuation, brainstorming, drafting, organizing,
and revising papers, as well as research and source citation methods. The reason
your instructor wants you to keep the handbook for both classes is so that you,
your classmates, and your instructor will have a common reference point when
discussing writing issues and using the handbook. Also, you save money by keeping
the handbook for both courses.
- Why are some classes required to meet weekly with tutors
but others are not?
- If you are required to meet weekly with Writing and Reading Center (WRC)
tutors, your placement essay indicated that you needed extra writing support.
Therefore you were placed in a English 101 sections with other writers who
could benefit from similar support. The WRC service is free, and you should
look at this requirement as an opportunity to improve your writing and expand
your critical reading skills. Doing so will help you write and read better
in all of your classes. Remember also that the WRC is not just a place for
remedial writers. Writers of all levels and abilities go there for feedback,
including graduate students and faculty. Even if you did not place in a supported
section of English 101, we encourage you to make appointments with the Center
to talk over your writing with a tutor. For more information on the WRC, please
visit them in the Group I building on the second floor.
- My English 101 class is in the computer room one day a
week; what do computers have to do with writing?
- Your English 101 class is scheduled in a computer equipped classroom for several
reasons.
- English 101 and 102 are required university courses that fulfill Tier I computer
and information literacy General Education requirements.
- In the computer equipped classroom you will learn the fundamentals of researching,
writing, and formatting college papers on computers, how to use library, and
internet databases.
- The First-Year English program is based on the assumption that students learn
how to write by actually writing; thus you will be asked to brainstorm and draft
papers in the computer room, as well as respond to your peers' papers on the
computers.
- Learning how to research well means knowing how to navigate library and internet
online sources, and also how to evaluate those sources. You will learn how to
do these things in the computer equipped classroom.
- Why are the kinds of writing required in some First Year
English sections different from others sections?
- While First-Year English sections may share common textbooks and similar syllabi,
individual instructors are free to design their courses in order to meet First-Year English objectives
(see English 101 and English 102 objectives.) Like students, instructors bring
to their courses particular talents and interests, thus enriching the program
with diversity, while still working towards common goals.
- Why does my instructor make me write so many drafts of
a single essay?
- Through drafting and revising texts, students formulate and revise their ideas,
while clarifying their thinking for particular audiences and contexts.
- Who do I contact if I have other questions about the First-Year
English program?
- You may contact the First-Year English Program Administrator.
- Contact information
for the FYE Program Administrator is located in the "Contact Info" area
at the bottom of all department webpages.
