I believe that English 101 is used by WWU to help incoming students with the (sometimes) difficult transition that is the dichotomy existing between expectations for high school writers and expectations for collegiate writers. When I asked my students to write me a letter at the beginning of class touching upon their writing skills and if they would consider themselves a good writer, most cited their high school English classes as a problematic experience and that they were bad at writing. Then, after introducing Project Three to my students, I asked them to tell me about the last research paper they wrote. Many said that they really hadn’t ever written a paper longer than three pages, and that the only writing they’d been exposed to was the dreaded five-paragraph essay structure.

I believe that English 101 should help students (especially students like mine) to understand what is expected from them as an academic at Western Washington, and provide students with the tools to succeed later on in their courses at this institution. However, I think that some faculties or even the university itself have come to understand English 101 as a course that teaches students how to write well. I do not believe this is a fair or reasonable expectation to place upon the instructors of the course. While it should be the aim of the class to equip students with the information and practices that often lead to successful writing, the idea that we as instructors can turn each of these students into prolific writers is not realistic. To me, the class itself isn’t truly a “writing” class—it is more a class instructing upon the requirements for successful communication, and how students can best work within their passions to communicate their knowledge, opinions, or beliefs.

I also think that students coming into the course perceive it as yet another high school English class, and therefore I really enjoy having the chance to explain how writing and the foundational literacies we teach in this class can be implemented throughout the rest of the students’ time at WWU. As was mentioned in several of the last readings we did, it is baffling as to why writing and reading accrue such negative connotations. However, this class works against these unpleasant notions and demonstrates to students how they can succeed and implement skills from these subjects into the rest of their classes at WWU. Although this course might not be the traditional “writing course” or the usual “English class,” I think we are in the unique position of having the chance to still incorporate key elements of those classes within a curriculum focused upon teaching students to be literate in whatever field they are passionate about. Showing students that creative writing, “good” writing, and reading are literacies that can support academic growth within other fields is an exciting opportunity—and such skills will ultimately allow them to develop as successful academics.