First-Year Writing (FYW) courses are 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.
Most students will place themselves into one of these courses:
Offers students the opportunity to study and practice writing in a workshop setting. Students read a range of texts in order to describe and evaluate the choices writers make and apply that knowledge to their own writing; learn to conduct research using primary and secondary sources; explore how writing functions in a range of academic, professional, and public contexts; and write for various purposes and audiences in multiple genres and media. Throughout the course, students give and receive feedback, revise their work, and reflect on their growth as writers.
Parallels ENGW 1111 but also offers service-learning opportunities, such as community volunteering, community activism, and so on which will complement course outcomes.
Why might a student choose a service learning version of ENGW 1111?
ENGW 1111-SL:
- offers opportunities to explore and engage with the local community;
- provides hands-on experience to complement and provide reasons for your practice of writing;
- places you in a class with other students who are interested in volunteering, activism, and/or community engagement.
Learn more about Northeastern Service Learning Courses here.
Designed for students whose first or strongest language is not English. Parallels ENGW 1111 but focuses on the concerns of multilingual writers.
Why might a multilingual student choose ENGW 1102 instead of ENGW 1111?
ENGW 1102:
- offers more one-on-one attention because of smaller class size (15 students in 1102 vs. 19 students in 1111);
- offers a community in which multilingual students often feel more comfortable participating in class;
- offers pacing designed to meet the needs of multilingual writers;
- often includes cultural introductions to pop-culture, humor, and contemporary events;
- often provides closer attention to specific language use and vocabulary.
Students may also earn credit in one of these ways:
If you have questions about transfer credit, please review the registrar’s guidelines on Transfer Credit and speak to your advisor.
If questions remain, please contact the Director of the Writing Program.
Note: All course placement into ENGW 1111 Honors is done by the Honors Program and advisors.
The university offers a limited number of honors sections. Students are placed into honors sections by their advisors. Learning goals are the same as ENGW 1111, but students may tackle more complex readings on composition and rhetoric.
Note: All course placement into ENGW 1110 is done through General Studies.
Designed for students who would benefit from an extra semester of writing instruction before taking ENGW 1111. Offers students the opportunity to study and practice writing in a workshop setting. Introduces students to college-level writing, reading, and research. Throughout the course, students give and receive feedback, revise their work, and reflect on their growth as writers.
Learn more about the courses by reading:
- Official Course Descriptions on Northeastern’s Course Catalog
- The Writing Program Learning Goals
All students enrolled in a FYW course will need to complete the Guided Self-Placement process which involves a brief writing assignment due on the first day of class.