We offer four First-Year Writing courses. Each course is process-oriented and workshop-based. This means you can expect to write several drafts of your projects, to reflect on your writing as it develops, and to receive feedback both from peers and your instructors. By the end of the semester, you will have generated four polished projects of 4-7 pages each, amounting to 6000-7000 words of writing (not including drafts and informal writing). You will also design at least one writing portfolio.
Below are brief descriptions of our four courses. Please note that ENGL1111 and ENGL1102 fulfill Northeastern’s core requirement for First-Year Writing, while ENGL1110 and ENGL1101 do not; students who take the latter will go on to take either ENGL1111 or ENGL1102.
ENGL1111 College Writing
Students complete a series of sequenced writing assignments in which they engage with complex texts and ideas. While the primary focus of the course is academic writing, students can expect to write in multiple genres (and perhaps media). They will also conduct library research when appropriate, to reflect critically on their own and their peers’ writing, to revise and edit their writing, to work with and document sources, and to compile a portfolio of their writing. ENGL1111 fulfills NU’s first-year writing requirement.
ENGL1102 College Writing—Speakers of Other Languages
This course, which parallels ENGL1111, is designed for students whose first or strongest language is not English. Many English Language Learners (ELLs) succeed in ENGL1111, but some desire a course with more attention to the specific issues and concerns of ELLs. ENGL1102 is identical to ENGL1111 in goals, procedures, and standards, except that it provides focused ELL instruction. ENGL1102 fulfills NU’s first-year writing requirement.
ENGL1110 Introductory Writing
This course introduces students to writing processes. In a workshop setting, students learn to respond to texts written by others, to write expository prose, and to gain control of the conventions of standard edited written English. Most students who complete this course go on take ENGL1111. Usually, this course, by itself, does not satisfy NU’s first-year writing requirement. However, a student who excels in ENGL1110 and receives support from her/his instructor may petition the Writing Program Director for exemption from taking ENGL1111.
ENGL1101 Introductory Writing—Speakers of Other Languages
This course, which parallels ENGL1110, is designed for students whose first or strongest language is not English and who may benefit from an extra semester of writing practice and instruction or may not be prepared for the rigors of ENGL1111 or ENGL1102. This course is identical to ENGL1110 in goals, procedures, and standards, except that it provides focused, intensive ELL instruction. Students who complete ENGL1101 typically go on to take ENGL1102. ENGL1101 alone does not fulfill NUs first-year writing requirement.