Taking the Long View

2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-42
Author(s):  
Irwin Weiser
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Colleges And Universities ◽  
Composition Courses ◽  
First Year ◽  
Opportunities To Learn ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
First Year Composition

Abstract This article discusses how the concept of undergraduate research has evolved from an artificial academic exercise, typically introduced in first-year composition courses, to an authentic activity that engages students in primary research. Through these authentic experiences, students have opportunities to learn why research is valued in colleges and universities, to see themselves as makers of knowledge, and often to contribute to their communities.

scholarly journals Vocabulary sophistication in First-Year Composition assignments

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-66
Author(s):  
Philip Durrant ◽  
Joseph Moxley ◽  
Lee McCallum
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Composition Courses ◽  
First Year ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Loss Of Information ◽  
Substantial Loss ◽  
First Year Composition ◽  
Large Corpus

Abstract Recently-developed tools which quickly and reliably quantify vocabulary use on a range of measures open up new possibilities for understanding the construct of vocabulary sophistication. To take this work forward, we need to understand how these different measures relate to each other and to human readers’ perceptions of texts. This study applied 356 quantitative measures of vocabulary use generated by an automated vocabulary analysis tool (Kyle & Crossley, 2015) to a large corpus of assignments written for First-Year Composition courses at a university in the United States. Results suggest that the majority of measures can be reduced to a much smaller set without substantial loss of information. However, distinctions need to be retained between measures based on content vs. function words and on different measures of collocational strength. Overall, correlations with grades are reliable but weak.

A comparison of writing tasks in ESL writing and first-year composition courses: A case study of one US university

2019 ◽  
pp. 136216881985986
Author(s):  
Jooyoung Lee
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Information Source ◽  
Composition Courses ◽  
First Year ◽  
Esl Writing ◽  
Writing Assignments ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
First Year Composition ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Course Syllabi

Many international students in American universities are required to take writing courses in English as a second language (ESL) before participating in a mainstream first-year composition (FYC) course. Given that the goal of ESL writing course is to prepare students for FYC course, the connection between ESL and FYC courses is significant. This study investigates the correspondence of two such courses in terms of writing tasks based on the analysis of course syllabi, assignment sheets, and interviews with eight ESL course and 10 FYC instructors as well as 26 international students who are from diverse countries and took both composition courses. The findings suggest that students’ assignments from both courses are all essays in terms of genre, but show differences with regard to the text’s purpose, audience, information source, topic, and rhetorical function. Students are also aware of such similarities and differences, but occasionally demonstrate less sophisticated or inaccurate understanding of the assignments. Pedagogical implications for modifying the writing assignments in ESL courses to fit the expectations of FYC courses are discussed.

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