How to Survive Freshman Composition

One of your first classes as a college student will probably be Freshman Composition. In some ways, Freshman Composition will be like English classes you took in high school. However, while your high school English classes featured reading and understanding literature, Freshman Composition will focus on the art of rhetoric, argumentation and critical reading and writing. Adjusting to your Freshman Composition class may seem like a shock to the system at first, but what you will learn here will serve you well in all of your college classes.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Course syllabus
• Course schedule
• Assigned textbooks
• Style guide/writing manual
• Word processor
• Notebook paper
• Pens or pencils
• Additional tools assigned by instructor
• Good attitude
• Willingness to learn

1. See if you can place out of Freshman Composition if you’re a confident writer who got high grades in high school English classes. Some schools require all freshmen to take Freshman Composition. However, other schools may place you out of the class if your high school grades are good enough. Other schools will require you to take a test. Based on your performance, you may be able to skip Freshman Composition or attend a more advanced writing class.
2. Become familiar with your instructor’s syllabus and course schedule. The following information can be found in the syllabus: a course summary, grading expectations, office hours and the types of assignments you’ll be expected to turn in. If you need more explanation about the way your instructor grades or his assignments, you can ask him at his office hours. However, you might consider asking these questions in class. There may be other students who have the same questions but are too shy or intimidated to ask.
3. Look over the style guide or writing manual. It will talk about a variety of subjects like fixing grammatical and punctuation errors, developing an essay, conducting research and properly documenting outside sources in papers. Once you start receiving graded papers, you can look up in the style guide the reoccurring problems your instructor mentions.
4. Stay on top of your readings and assignments. You don’t want to fall behind. Freshman Composition courses usually focus on specific things week by week. For example, the first week you’ll learn how to pick out an essay’s main argument and how to write a summary. The second week you’ll learn how to write a comparison essay. If you get behind a week, the class may have moved on to another subject. Sometimes it’s difficult to catch up. Since this is an English class, you’ll probably have more to read in Freshman Composition than in your other classes. Start on your reading assignments as soon as you can. You can even read ahead. Make sure you don’t start your writing assignments at the last minute.
5. Complete your assignments on a word processor unless your instructor tells you otherwise. Printed assignments are easier to read and neat copies make better impressions than hand-written essays. You can use a computer lab if you don’t own a computer.
6. See your instructor as a resource. Get involved with class discussions, ask questions and take notes. Go to your instructor’s office hours. Office hours are a great way to get one-on-one teaching. You can ask her questions about grammar and punctuation, upcoming assignments, what you’re learning that week and feedback you’ve received on graded papers. Seeing your instructor during office hours also gives you a great opportunity to show her drafts of upcoming assignments.
7. Use your instructor’s feedback to improve future writing assignments. This may seem like a no brainer, but many students don’t read their instructor’s comments. He will expect you to learn from paper to paper. He’ll want to see improvement in your work and will grade accordingly. You may not agree with his comments and think what you’ve written is okay. Try to understand why he’s finding problems in the paper. He’ll also point out the strengths in your writing. Try to improve on these, too. If you’re not getting enough feedback on your papers, you might want to attend your instructor’s office hours to ask about your writing’s strengths and weaknesses.
8. Let your instructor know as soon as possible when you can’t attend class. Sometimes you can’t let her know that day if you’re sick but send an email when you can. You may also have family situations come up. Instructors understand these things and they need to know where you are and why you can’t attend class. Some instructors include class participation as part of the overall grade. Missing a certain number of classes can get you docked a letter grade. However, if you have legitimate reasons for missing class, your instructor will understand and she can help you develop a timetable so you can get caught up.

Tips & Warnings

• Sometimes getting that first grade can be a shock to the system, especially if it’s not the grade you were expecting. Students who received straight A’s in high school English might get B’s and C’s on their first couple of Freshman Composition papers. It’s important not to become angry with your instructor or discouraged. It may take you a couple of weeks to get adjusted to a new class and instructor. Learn from the feedback you receive and try to apply it to the next assignment. If you’re don’t understand why you got a certain grade after you’ve read the comments, see your instructor at her office hours.
• A lot of students are not going to be English majors and they’re not interested in English or writing. If Freshman Composition is a required course for you and you don’t like English or writing, it’s important that you maintain a good attitude. Don’t see the class as a waste of time. Learning to be a better writer will improve all areas of your communication skills. You will also learn to become a better analytical reader. Analysis will be important in many of your classes.