English class meant regurgitating information that I'd heard or read. And all the things I learned from my teachers about how to write a better English paper stayed within the walls of my English classrooms. Somehow, varying my sentence structure or using descriptive language didn't seem applicable to my history or psychology papers. And it certainly didn't seem to have anything to do with my biology labs.
Fast forward all these years and it's still the same conflict at the heart of it all. FSU requires all freshmen to take First Year Composition, not because anyone expects everyone to become an English major, go into journalism, or write creatively on a full time basis, but because these skills are supposed to transfer over to the "real world."
For a teacher of any composition course, transfer is something we think about all the time. In pedagogical terms, transfer can be defined as knowledge, skills, and tools being moved from one context to another (read more about it here). In other words, how can what you learn in our FYC class apply to the rest of your studies and to your life-- not just in theory, but in practice?
So, my question for all of you is: how do you think, hope, or foresee this class fitting into the rest of your life? Or, maybe you don't see it being applicable at all?
If you do think FYC will play a role, how can we make sure the transfer actually takes place?
If you don't, what can be done to change that? Or are we all just wasting our time?
I hope this class benefits me for the rest of my life and I think it will based on the concept of transfer. For me, english classes have not been my strong point in school. I think this could help me to write better papers and to help me engage more of a personal style of writing along with improving my writing skills.
ReplyDeleteIn order to make sure that the transfer actually takes place, I think that it would be helpful to discuss and show examples and ways in order to incorporate the creativity into formal writing and vice versa.
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ReplyDeleteI wrote a huge response to this. A well thought out interpretation of everything. But I scrolled up to see what was under the link you posted above and lost everything. So I'm going to try again, but I care much less now. Note to classmates: Don't type out responses in the comment box….ever. Do it in word or something else first.
ReplyDeleteAs an english major, this class may appear more important to me than to others. I'm willing to argue every class matters an equal amount, even if that means saying a physics class is just as important to me. Everything one does, thinks, feels, derives from what one has experienced, whether those experiences were lessons taught by your parents, seeing a movie, playing the guitar, or the lesson you learn in class today. All of these experiences affect your view of the world and how you interact with it.
In light of this, let's say I was a business major walking into todays english class. After seeing all the extensive writing required, I might find the class a bit ridiculous. I know that because I used to hate english. Not long ago, if you were to ask me what my favorite subject was, I would have told you math. Then around ninth grade, that started to change. Before then, every day I went to english I thought it was such a waste of time. Why do I need to learn in-depth analogies within a plot line? I want to own a business.
But as I mentioned before, everything is connected. Learning about the evolution of media, and how recently distinctions between certain mediums have been blurred, could also peek the interest of a business major. That could determine the difference between profit and failure.
I have never like English, and honestly I don’t think I ever will. If it were up to me I would make college a place where you would strictly study your particular field of interest and cut around all the “required” bologna. I’m not planning on becoming an English major and I don’t understand the people who are. Because of my dislike of the subject, it will be harder for me to grasp concepts and follow along, but that won’t stop me from doing my best. College is no joke so every class I enroll in is a big deal to me.
ReplyDeleteI foresee this class benefitting me for my future job. Communicative disorders is a field where you need to be able to talk to people and relate to them in order to help them learn how to speak normally. Research-based writing will help me come up with logical diagnostics of people’s problems and present a way to correct the problem in a professional manor. Writing will develop my vocabulary to fit my older professional self.
English has always been a weak spot for me. all the english classes that i have taken over the years have not helped me to become a better writer. i feel as though i have always been the same writer and always will be. some people just have it and others don't.i am open to the possibility that this class will help my writing, but from past experience I'm not expecting much.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about how English and writing could possibly help me with my major since it is mostly Music education and choral conducting. The only real writing we usually do is writing sheet music for our class projects or writing scales. Mostly practical stuff to write, and even then we don't see much of the English language in music. Choral studies usually reflect on Baroque and Romantic period music (but other genres as well)which was of a more European influence hence most of choral arranged music is in German or Latin. There are songs in English but you wouldn't sing it a you speak it necessarily.
ReplyDeleteTo this day I still don't see how music and English fit perfectly but I do know it is required to know your own language before you can understand others. For me I have to learn four different languages before I graduate in 2015 so having English now is better than not having it at all.
I believe that this class might help me in a very small amount. However, I have always felt like I am seeing the same material in every one of my English classes. It seems like all of my teachers are repeating the same rules and skills over and over. I just look at my english classes as opportunities to practice my writing and keep the skills fresh in my mind.
ReplyDeleteEnglish has always been a class that was never a bother for me. It, to me, is just another requirement that I have to fulfill. I am not particularly fond of the class but I do understand how it will benefit me in the future. I do believe that taking freshman composition is beneficial because it is a well rounded course with both creative writing and research based writing. Regardless of what I am planning to do in the future there is going to be something in which I will have to write some sort of formal paper, and these basic english classes will help me to do so.
ReplyDeleteEnglish has always been my weakest subject growing up. I wish I was good at writing because it is so easy, all you have to do is write and maybe put some quotes in here or there. However, I see myself as a average/poor writer.
ReplyDeleteI think this class will be like any other english class I have ever taken. I don't seem to learn anything new, and I feel like my writing isn't getting better. English class just feels redundant, because every english class I have been enrolled in, I learn the same material.
So I guess I see this class as just more just as a practice of writing, however, I don't think I'll improve much.
I see this class helping me tremendously in the future. What I learn in this class will hopefully, and most likely, help me with my major and career. I’m studying political science and philosophy with the intention of going to law school. If I cannot write a paper or present my argument in a clear and coherent way then I will never become the successful lawyer I plan on becoming. Even though I do not plan on being an English major or professor nor do I plan on writing novels I do need the skills to write amazing papers and arguments with thesis that can change a policy or the mind of a jury.
ReplyDeleteIn order to make the transfer of FYC happen professors and advisors have to show students the connection between FYC and their major or career. Some students say their careers will not require them to write a report or a five page paper on anything. What those students need to realize is that in their jobs they may not have to write one but they most likely will have to read one. And what better way to understand something than knowing how it is done?
Growing up, I also was always writing creatively, coming up with stories, and doodling short poems in my school notebooks. After I learned the core concepts of grammar, sentence structure, and formal essay writing, I tried as best I could to apply those concepts to my writing. I took what I learned to heart, and I began priding myself on my stellar grammar and intricate sentences. To this day I still believe I am a fairly good writer. However, I just got off the phone with my mother, and she seems to think, “no, you’re a great writer, sweetie, but your grammar sucks; you might want to think about letting me proof-read your s*** for that class!” I guess, we’ll see…
ReplyDeleteAnyway, regardless of the fact that English does not directly tie into my major, minor, or my goals for the future, I believe that what we learn in this class will still impact my future in some way. Being able to frame proper sentences, participate in group discussions, offer valuable opinions, be respectful and courteous to others, create rough drafts, and create final pieces, are all lessons that can be applied to anything in one’s life.
I think it will be applicable to my life because in these type of classes, we learn about real world things and philosophical ideas, ideas of thing I can't learn in my chemistry or other science classes.
ReplyDeleteI have always been weak in english. I am more of a logical, numbers person. Its been hard for me to interpet what is said by the author. I am not a big fan of english and any sort of writing. It doesn't tie into my major really. But i hope from this class I will gain better understanding of the english language. I may struggle but thats life. There will be many obstacles but I will conquer and get through it.
ReplyDeleteI hope I will gain knowledge on how to write more professional, since I am majoring in Business. Throughout my life I have struggled to maintain steady flow while writing and I am hoping that my writing will be critiqued in this class.
ReplyDeleteEnglish has never been my strong point and I hope that in this class i can learn how to better my writing and grammar skills. Writing papers is used in almost every class and in this english class I hope to be taught the steps and tricks to writing papers. In previous classes it was just you got a grade and that was it. There was no going over the paper or anything, like you had talked about doing. That will be great!
ReplyDeleteEnglish was fun in high school. I learned rhetorical analysis and participated in socratic seminars weekly. I will always want to be a better writer, but not from a career standpoint. I do not want to appear dimwitted and unable to write good prose, so more practice means better writing. Better writing will help me with papers in other classes I am taking or the occasional business letter, but as far as the rest of my life after college I do not see English as being of utmost importance. I am a music major and unfortunately the only writing we do is on staff paper.
ReplyDeleteI'm an IT major and I am usually more comfortable with technology and math courses. Even though English has never been my favorite subject, I really do not dislike it by any means. My senior year of high school I took AP Literature. It was then that I realized that my writing skills tend to be superior when I put in the effort. I remember getting 8's and 9's on AP essays while the majority of my classmates were bombarded with 4's and 5's. This class will hopefully enhance my writing skills and make them more formal and professional, which is essential for IT since it is a very broad field that requires many tasks that are not computer based. Transfer of these skills I feel is cumulative and almost subconscious. You learn to implement them into your writing as you become more comfortable and familiar with what makes an acceptable paper or essay.
ReplyDeleteBecause my chosen career is in dance, I don't really see much writing in my future. As a dancer the only writing one would have to do is writing a grant proposal. I have never been strong in English because I always felt very detached from the subject that I was writing on. When It came time for personal experiences/stories, that is something that flowed very easily on to paper. When writing a grant proposal you are convincing another why you think your idea is worth spending money on; in other words something that truly 100% interests you. I am very excited to hear that this class is more about personal interests, opinions, or ideas. It will surely help in any of my future writing.
ReplyDeleteI have always had an issue with research papers, and writing in general. I have tried my hardest to learn different ways to make my papers more interesting. Honestly it took me until last semester to feel really confident about my writing.
ReplyDeleteI think that this class has the potential to help me in the future. But I won't know until afterwards. Being able to apply all of our knowledge about writing into different styles of papers is difficult.I just hope that I learn the things I need to know so that I can write every paper successfully.
Learning correct composition should help anyone no matter their major or profession. When writing papers, one learns the best ways to organize the structure of their sentences and their thoughts throughout the paper. If not that, then one will at least have the capability to organize their research papers for other classes.
ReplyDeleteNot only does it help with writing, but with also with one's analytical skills. It forces one to think for themselves for various topics then teaches them the best way to share their thoughts. They may not know it at the time, but these skills may come in handy later.
Anyone attending college will most likely apply for a job, and most jobs require the applicant to participate in an interview. With the help of composition classes, one will be able to provide quick answers after some thought that are both organized intelligently and well thought.
With that said, this class will greatly assist me throughout college and the business world. I plan to enter medical school where I will write extensive papers on brain numbing subjects. After that, I will have to interview with hospitals for internships and go through countless interviews. Sitting through these, I will need to quickly compose educated answers and provide them intelligently.
I must say that I adore English as a subject and a class. It offers a large array of writing, facts, and literature in order to shape the student for the real world. Since it is also a powerful language, taking this class will improve upon the ways to speak and write. And because of this, it is a definite thing that FYC will come into play. In all honesty, I believe the “transfer” will happen more often than not, since this class is really a continuation of the previous.
ReplyDeleteAs an international student I never had to take class in English, so naturally there wasn’t a lot of focus of writing in English. That is why when I came to the US last semester I had to get a little bit used to it. At the end of the semester I noticed that I made a lot of progression compared to when the semester started. I hope to get better in writing this year because I know that this will help me in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe research paper we wrote last semester was the hardest paper i had ever written due not understanding how to put the research into the paper. English has always been my worst subject with the exception of foreign language. This class will help me for the next couple years of college when I have to write papers, but past college I don't think I will use it but maybe once or twice a year. But that is only due to my occupation that i am pursuing and will stop at nothing to get to. Being a professional engine builder and machinist there isn't a lot of writing needed at all. Other than filling out paperwork, work orders, and receipts I probably wont be writing at all. Other than emails, but those don't apply to this class in my opinion. So anything past college I more than likely won't be using the skills that i learn in this class very often at all. To make sure the change takes place we must use the essays we write in class to apply the transferring techniques. This should teach us all how to use the transferring techniques in a way that we all understand them thoroughly.
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ReplyDeleteIn high school, everything was easy. An ‘A’ was a given on almost every paper I wrote. College composition classes were a bit of a shock receiving multiple grades much less than what I earned in High school working ten times harder. After actually incorporating the techniques taught by my enc1101 teacher, my papers began to improve and I got nearly perfect scores on papers assigned in my other classes. The skills I learned I also used when emailing teachers and students questions relating to a certain class. The way you come across in an email, text, letter, or other form of writing can give the recipient either a positive or negative impression. Speaking and/or writing correctly, in my mind, is one way to stand out from the rest and be noticed in a positive way at work, school, or just a casual conversation.
ReplyDeleteSince I have never liked english I see this class as an opportunity to further my writing ability and grow as a writer. The required course is here for a reason, to help us and for the skills we will learn to over flow into our other classes. To ensure that the transfer takes place you have to be willing to become involved in the class and to keep us with the course.
ReplyDeleteEnglish has always been a strong point of mine. When it comes to sitting down and actually writing my essays, it takes me a while to figure out exactly what I have to put throughout the paper. Even though it is a long process, I enjoy every aspect of writing my papers. On the first day of class, Professor Ahmed said her classroom was going to be based on a lot of personal experience, which is something I do enjoy writing about. I look forward to what this class has to offer and it will definitely benefit me in the future. This class is very important to me since my major is currently Communications and I am thinking about having a minor in Journalism. Therefore, everything in this class will be helpful to me one way or another whether it’s to better my writing skills or just reading. I foresee this class benefiting me in so many ways. I feel as though it will help me write different types of papers that I haven't been introduced to yet. I am always striving to be a better writer.
ReplyDeleteI never enjoyed the structured form of writing papers. The idea of someone telling me how to display my own ideas is agitating. I enjoy reading things that aren't as structured and formal. As for this class, hopefully it will help me break my pattern of wanting to always throw away the structure, and to help me adapt the structure to my own ideas. If this class can teach me to embrace the structure, and still be able to get my point across, then I believe that I will be a better writer.
ReplyDeleteThroughout my student career I have been told that I write well in all my English classes. However, my biggest problem was research papers. I did not like the whole process of reading millions of pages of information and then trying to form it into my own paper. I feel overwhelmed with the information and the paper begins to sound choppy. What I hope to accomplish in this class is to get better at writing research based papers and applying all the tools I have learned in the past and in the class to them. One of the things I am really looking forward to in this class is that we will be writing our papers around personal experience. This is an interesting way to meet new people and get really get creative with our work.
ReplyDeleteThis ENC Class will be beneficial to me not only through college but for the rest of my life. I hope to one day graduate from FSU with a degree in Business Management, to get there I must know how to network with other people and communicate effectively both vocally and on paper. Management is about leadership and to do this you must first be able to successfully communicate your goals and ideas to those of which you are managing. Applying what I learn in this class to other aspects in my life will not be difficult. Good sentence structure, and proper writing skills can be applied almost anywhere in the management field. Therefore, this class will not be a waste of my time, instead it will encourage me to become a better writer.
ReplyDeleteEnglish has never been my strongest subject but it hasn't been my weakest either. I feel that this class will be able to help my writing skills simply because my prior English classes focused more on literature rather than writing. I feel like this class will have good interaction as well and that will also help us by sharing each others knowledge on writing with one another.
ReplyDeleteI feel like ENC1102 will have a positive impact in not only my college career but also in life because it helps students see what they are struggling with as writers. ENC1102 isn't only useful in the aspect of writing it is also useful in expressing yourself and communicating without having to speak for 30 minutes. I hope to achieve certain grammar and style skills that I have not been able to learn well enough.
ReplyDeleteI have found in the past that my teachers and professors pay just as much, if not more attention to my grammar, sentence structure and writing style than my English teahers do. Being able to not only write, but think and speak in a way that is complete in purpose and with correct English helps in school, work and everyday life. Those who can write and speak well are generally perceived as more intelligent than those who cannot fully express their ideas through good vocabulary, clarity of purpose and in proper terms. It is very important to be able to write and then as result, speak in a way that will help you be clear and correct, these skills can be learned in ENC1102.
ReplyDeleteI am a biology major but I also love art, and I believe that English, just like any other language, is an art as well. I read and analyzed how this class will fit into the rest of my life, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it will play a huge role throughout my entire career. I also believe that it will play important roles in everybody else’s careers, regardless of what it is. In my case, if I become a research biologist, I will have to write a plethora of papers that hopefully will be published. That means that many other people will be reading my papers, which means they must be error-free, and professional. Even art or even culinary majors will hugely depend on the skills learned in ENC 1102. An example of why is the following: let’s say that a chef wants to write his own recipe; well he will need all the writing skills he learned in college. The artist will also need the skills to creatively name his art and so on.
ReplyDeleteMany people hate English, and it’s not the language they hate, what they hate is having to read and write. And I think that’s because they are not writing or reading about what they’re passionate about. But from what I have seen so far, this class will give us the freedom to choose our topics. Hopefully, that will make reading and writing more interesting and easy. Liking our topics will definitely allow us to learn and hopefully transfer and carry with us our learning for the rest of our lives.
I’ve always liked to read and write and it was always really easy for me to get my thoughts down on paper. The hard part came when I had to write research papers and I couldn’t us “I”. I was able to write my point of view, but I couldn’t just spout facts like an encyclopedia without plagiarizing. Luckily I had two really good teachers my senior year of high school. My literature teacher and my history teacher taught the classes that I wrote the most in. I wrote more in those classes than in all my other three years combined. My English teacher was really good at teaching us how to write papers from our perspective, mostly interpretations of books and plays. My history teacher, on the other hand, wanted papers the way most professors want them now; like they’ve just tapped into the Fountain of Knowledge. I wasn’t accustomed to writing these types of papers and I kept getting “C’s” on all my history papers and “A’s” on all my English ones. Finally I talked to both of my teachers at the same time and they took the time to teacher my exactly how to write both types of papers: personal and academic. Soon I was getting “A’s” in both classes and everything was getting better. Our final essay for my history class was to look at our family tree and how it changed through American history. This was the perfect combination between personal and academic and with the help of my teachers, I was able to get an “A” on that paper. Now that I’ve learned how to write both types of papers, I find that classes are much easier for me.
ReplyDeleteLuckily for me, I learned how to write and to write properly. My sister on the other hand knew she was going into science from the beginning and she didn’t care for English or anything that had to do with reading and writing. Then the time came for her to write research papers and Gordon Rule paper and she was stuck. She complained a lot about having to do “English work” when she was a science major. My dad overheard her talking and told her that he’s a science major too and he write more in his job than anything else. It wasn’t until that revelation dawned upon her that my sister learned how important it is to learn how to write, even though she still hates it and grumbles under her breath about writing. At least, at this point, she does know how to write a paper properly, even if she believes that she will never use it again.
Learning how to write well wasn’t a big deal for me when I thought I was going to be an English major. However, when I switched my major to science, things changed a lot for me. I had to recall all that information on how to write an academic paper instead of a personal one. Even though it took some time and a few obstacles to get over, I still managed to retrieve the information. Every time I retrieve that information, I gets easier and easier to write. I figured out exactly where I wanted to be ten years down the road, and it wasn’t writing books and essays. However, when I went and talked to some people who were working in the department I wanted to be in, they said that a good amount of their time is writing: whether it’s evidence for cases or background information on a case or books about their career, writing is still a big part of it, just like it is to every major, no matter how hard it is for us to admit.
Personally this class will help me a tremendous amount in the long run. Ever since grammar school I’ve been enticed by math and sciences and always put English last. I spoke English, why would I ever need to learn more about it? Clearly that attitude was counter-productive and I continued the struggle in my English class. After taking ENC1101 I realize the importance of being able to express yourself through writing and speaking and how this can be transferred into the real world. There’s only one thing that will ensure these skills stay with us and impact our lives positively, and that’s practice. Not having a strong affinity to writing, before last semester I had never wrote a draft, had peer review, or really revised my own work for that matter. Writing is a skill that causes you to constantly check your work and piece together your thoughts to make a meaningful piece of work. With enough practice these skills will come second nature and the will be expressed through your work and everyday conversation, both of which are key to making it in the real world.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the FYC requirement for FSU students is in theory a good idea. English is the one class that can be applied to every class, there is no class you could take where you could say you never used writing to get your point across. I think that FSU requires this courses because if everyone is required to take the course then the campus as a whole will become a more english strong campus.
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