ENGL 1010: Expository Writing
25 1010: Sample Writing Projects
Below you will find sample ENGL1010 writing projects–from a range of course modalities (in-person or online) and classifactions (Honors, Engage, Dual Enrollment). When deciding on assignment design, consider the purpose of each project. The unit breakdown and subsequent sample projects provided are also meant to be open to adaptation. You may design and organize the units as relevant for your course. Typically, there are 4-5 major projects throughout the semester, and the examples provided follow that structure. Please refer back to the 1010: Course Objectives & Curriculum Summary page to incorporate the corresponding TBC objectives to your specific assignments.
Also, it is important to keep in mind that the True Blue Core program requires that all faculty incorporate one “Signature Assignment (or Assessable Assignment)” that meets all of the course objectives for assessment purposes. There must be one assignment (usually out of the suggested four projects) that is designed in a manner that shows evidence of all the True Blue Core objectives being reached. This assessment is done periodically outside of our department by the True Blue Core Program. Instructors will be notified by email with instructions about this process.
Project 1: Personal Literacy
The purpose of this assignment is to draw students’ attention to themselves as literate individuals, writers, and rhetors who have made many informed decisions about composition throughout their lives. Through building metacognitive awareness, this project introduces students to each other, to you, the university, and – broadly – writing at the university level. It also helps them see discourse as constructed and rhetorical, key components of the course, and later success as flexible, strategic writers. Because this assignment asks students to draw on their past experiences, they must also use “I” – an experience that some students feel uncomfortable about initially, though many find it liberating and enjoyable. This is also a great tone-setting assignment in which you can encourage students to experiment, challenge themselves, and find joy in writing.
Project 2: External Literacy
In this project, students begin to look outside themselves, bringing their burgeoning rhetorical awareness and literacy understanding to primary research opportunities. Adopting primary research methods such as interviews, surveys, and observations, students draw on their findings to craft a window into someone else’s literacy experiences.
Project 3: Networked Literacies
In this project, students draw on their literacy learning in Projects 1 and 2 to guide their exploration of how literacy functions more broadly, in communities. In particular, they examine genres rhetorically, considering how community literacies are expressed through genre. Genres function like cultural artifacts, demonstrating their needs, values, and expectations through discourse. Students might focus on one genre in particular, or they might examine myriad genres of a specific community, such as that of a particular university community or those in their major discipline.
Project 4: Intergrated Literacy Reflection
In this project, students are asked to thoughtfully and mindfully reflect on their work from across the semester and develop an attendant reflection on their learning. In addition to giving students the opportunity to articulate their understandings of course material, the presentational aspect of the project invites students to share their learning with each other, prime their work for ENGL1020, and integrate lessons learned across their coursework.
True Blue Core Signature (Assessable) Assignment
Each ENGL 1010 course must include one “Assessable Assignment” featuring all True Blue Core course objectives (copied below for reference). The assignments here were crafted specifically to meet all of the True Blue Core objectives; however, keep in mind that all the above sample projects can all be configured in a way that meets the criteria of a Signature Assignment.
Objectives:
- Examine multimodal literacies across contexts, cultures, and communities, including academic disciplines and public audiences (Reading processes)
- Reflect on literacy in student lives and across learning experiences (Integrative Thinking)
- Compose writing tasks that demonstrate understanding of the rhetorical situation (Rhetorical Knowledge)
- Revise writing assignments based on iterative feedback and make appropriate decisions about content, form, and presentation (Composing Processes)
- Demonstrate understanding of ethical primary research practices (Genre Conventions)
- Practice genre analysis of various types of text—print, digital, and audio (Information Literacy)
