Skip to main content Skip to navigation
WRITING TRANSFER IN ENGINEERING

First Year Writing Course Instructional Module


Module 2-1 First-Year Composition (FYC) Materials Overview

This module component identifies the fundamentals of academic writing, with an emphasis on rhetorical knowledge as the content of first-year writing courses. References on rhetorical theory, WID, and writing transfer are included.

Module 2-2 Rhetorical Analysis of Academic Writing

The contents of this module component identify the role of rhetorical awareness in composing for all academic majors and introduces students to key rhetorical concepts, such as the “rhetorical triangle” (writer, purpose, and audience) and rhetorical appeals. This module also includes a rhetorical analysis essay assignment.

Module 2-3 Teaching for Transfer Activities

These teaching for transfer activities focus on genre and reflection. The activities are designed to highlight for students how an understanding of rhetorical awareness and genre will assist them in responding to writing assignments that they encounter in other courses and other majors, including lab reports in engineering courses.

Module 2-4 Assessment

Rubrics identify criteria and levels of performance for student work. Holistic rubrics describe the written work by applying all the criteria simultaneously and enabling an overall judgment about the quality of the work. Rubrics also assist instructors in clarifying expectations and assisting students by making expectations explicit. The rubric that we designed corresponds with the WPA Outcomes Statement 3.0, which focuses on rhetorical knowledge, critical thinking/reading/composing, writing processes, and knowledge of conventions. The rubric also complements our project’s engineering lab report rubric by using the same categories and similar language in describing criteria.

Module 2-5 Samples

This module component supplies samples of various genres in STEM disciplines, including engineering lab reports.