First-Year Composition: Wats So Great Bout Dat?

Knowledge would be rendered useless if not for a language in which to express and communicate it accurately and effectively. Composition is a vital factor to the success of every student studying in any discipline. All students entering the University of Ottawa should be required to take a first-year composition course; it would develop each student’s ability to communicate clearly and concisely at a university level, making knowledge gained in their chosen discipline usable. Students enter undergraduate studies at a wide range of levels and abilities, depending on the balance of emphasis placed upon composition and understanding in their secondary school education. Understanding is only one part of the learning process; the remaining portion is the ability to effectively communicate these ideas clearly and concisely. Not only is composition a vital part of the learning process but it is also an invaluable skill upon entering the world of work once a student has completed their degree. After all every student hopes to be an articulate, well-spoken, and intelligent adult at the end of their academic career and composition plays a necessary and vital component of a well-rounded university education.

A compulsory first-year composition course would act as an orientation on university expectations in regards to the required writing ability and expectations that need to be met in order to succeed in this environment. Every year freshman students enter introductory composition classes, not only with varying degrees of skill and enthusiasm, but also with a number of false assumptions about the craft of writing (Bradstreet 305). Students enter a broad variety of different faculties upon arrival at the University of Ottawa, but what they all share is a need for basic composition skills. Students must be prepared to write in their chosen discipline competently, otherwise suffering infractions relating to breakdowns in meaning and syntax (Cosgrove & Barta Smith 5). Strong composition abilities will enable students to fulfill the requirements of every course where they are required to produce a written assignment. Students in different fields of study need to develop different composition skills to excel at writing in their chosen discipline, for example, advanced engineering students place an emphasis on clarity, objectivity, and brevity (Bowers 6). A multi-disciplinary approach would be an effective strategy to boost student’s communications abilities, even in faculties that do not see composition as a necessary tool for advancement within their field. Second or third year composition courses specialized in certain faculties may also be helpful to further develop composition abilities in regards to a student’s chosen field of study (ex. English composition for the Sciences, Humanities, or Management etc.) First-year composition would benefit every student’s ability to execute written assignments in any course with a greater degree of clarity, direction, and understanding.

Knowledge and understanding is only one part of the learning process; you must know how to effectively communicate this information in order to make any use of it. Language is the instrument that allows you to form knowledge and make it useable and composition is the tool that allows you to modify language to present exactly what it is you want to say. No matter how many kinds of intelligence, and how many areas of specialized knowledge and ways to apply them there are, they all “live” in one body (Cosgrove 5). Regardless of what discipline a student is studying there is always a need to communicate through language, and the quality of the composition is as important as what is being stated.

It would have been nearer truth to say that no man can be eloquent on a subject that he does not understand; and that, if he understands a subject ever so well, but is ignorant how to form and polish his speech, he can not express himself eloquently even about what he does understand. - Cicero (De Oratore, Book I, xiv)

This quote from Cicero illustrates the importance of developed composition in becoming truly knowledgeable on a subject; writing like an expert is a pivotal act in learning to think and act like one. “Not only must the learners become knowledge experts in the discourse community but also their ability to communicate as experts in the community is a fundamental part of belonging to the community” (Bowman 48). A student’s ability or inability to articulate information at a high caliber either proves to be a challenging hurdle or a fundamental part of their complete acceptance and belonging within a discipline. Teaching the literacy skills required to master the principles of academic communication provides the channel by which these students can participate within the academic community (Bowman 23). Clear writing skills contribute to every student’s learning process as well as prepares them