First-Year Composition
Write to Think
First-Year Composition (ENGL 1030), part of Clemson University’s general education core curriculum, helps undergraduate students learn how to analyze the rhetoric that surrounds them and compose effective arguments.
Students also learn how to conduct inquiry-based research driven by their own goals and curiosity, presenting the outcomes of that research in writing and other media to reach relevant communities.
Most broadly, ENGL 1030 teaches the writing process—invention and brainstorming, question-driven research, drafting, reflection and revision—as a mode of thinking, as a means of developing, honing, and challenging one’s own thoughts.
Contact Us
Director of First-Year Composition
Michelle Smith
Office: 806 Strode
Email: mcsmth@clemson.edu
General Education Learning Outcome: Communication
Students will demonstrate competence in communication through organization of a central message with supporting materials in the chosen medium.
Upon completing ENGL 1030, students will achieve the following learning objectives:
- Compose and analyze texts and artifacts rhetorically, considering audience, purpose, and context.
- Conduct inquiry-based research and ethically engage the ideas and work of others.
- Recognize and employ appropriate writing conventions for specific contexts and genres.
- Adapt and revise arguments for multiple audiences and media.
- Explore and reflect on the writing process as a means of thinking new thoughts.
The lab fees collected from ENGL 1031 (Writing Laboratory) are used for program enrichment and instructional support, as well as unlimited access to the Clemson Writing Lab for the duration of a student's time at Clemson.
For a full list of learning objectives for First-Year Composition, please see the WPA Outcomes Statement for First-Year Composition.
