First-Year Writing Seminar Program Shared Learning Outcomes

In the First-Year Writing Seminar, students will…

1. Identify, summarize, evaluate, and ethically respond to the arguments of others.
2. Craft rhetorically significant arguments supported by evidence and reasoning.
3. Practice writing as both a mode of thinking and communication that includes planning, drafting, and revising based on feedback from various readers.

To achieve these goals, students in the First-Year Writing Seminar will…

Pose Complex Questions: Practice asking creative, critical questions that challenge assumptions and provoke nuanced thinking.

Engage Ethically with Evidence: Encounter rhetorical occasions for responsibly incorporating source materials into their writing, including why, when, and how to contextualize, summarize, paraphrase, quote, and synthesize the ideas and language of others.

Design Significant Arguments: Interpret, evaluate, and respond to the creative and critical work of others by crafting well-reasoned, persuasive claims supported by text-based evidence.

Develop Authorial Voices: Experiment with appropriate tones, styles, accents, and dialects to effectively articulate arguments to the intended audience. Writing and speaking with an authentic authorial voice requires developing a range of abilities and responsibilities unique to human authorship: critical thinking, information literacy, ethical discernment, creativity, and innovation.

Practice Writing as an Iterative Process: Establish the habits of mind and social practices of experienced writers by asking for and giving descriptive, revision-based feedback at multiple points in the writing process.

First Year Writing Seminar Course Design Guidelines

• Enrollment in each First-Year Writing Seminar is limited to seventeen students.
• Course readings and materials will vary by discipline, but in all cases, they should act as springboards for writing and discussion.
• Some classroom time should be devoted to explicit discussion of the elements of writing, such as developing theses, incorporating evidence, and creating strong introductions, summaries, descriptions, paraphrases, etc. (The elements of a paper will vary across disciplines and can/should play to the strengths of the professor and idiosyncratic parameters of each course.)
• Each course should in some way require the use of the library or consultation with a librarian to seek out and evaluate relevant materials beyond the assigned class texts. Please consult with your subject-area liaison.
• Instructors are responsible for educating students on disciplinary forms of citation and attribution and acquainting them with the publication Originality and Attribution: A Guide for Student Writers at Vassar College, available at the Dean of Studies Office.
• Assignments should occur frequently and vary in length, format, and formality, enabling instructors to assess students’ strengths regularly. Students in a First-Year Writing Seminar should expect to submit 25 to 30 pages of writing over the course of the semester.
• Instructors are strongly encouraged to incorporate revision into their assignments and should require students to revise at least one paper, with close attention to making significant, not superficial, adjustments.
• Instructors should require one individual conference per student per semester and should strongly encourage at least one more conference per student per semester. Instructors may decide to replace one or even two class meeting times with individual conference times. If a student misses a required conference, they should be marked absent, and their grade should change accordingly.

Further Recommendations

• In-class peer review: Some form of student-to-student work has proven very effective at this level. Students can work one-to-one or in small groups during regularly scheduled class time to facilitate descriptive, revision-based conversations about their work.
• The Writing Center: Instructors should encourage students of all skill levels and abilities to work with a peer consultant in the Writing Center. To make an appointment, students should visit WCOnline.
• Effective speaking: Instructors are strongly encouraged to give students guidance in developing effective speaking and discussion skills. This includes offering their own ideas and listening and responding in class to the ideas of others. It may also include more formal practice, such as preparing and making an oral presentation.