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At UTEP, the First-Year Composition (FYC) program in the English department offers two first-year courses that are typically taken as a sequence, RWS 1301—Rhetoric & Composition 1 and RWS 1302—Rhetoric & Composition 2. These courses are intended to help students develop and reflect upon their rhetorical and writing knowledge including awareness of social and racial justice, and the implications of their language choices when they write, based on the understanding that language is never neutral. Therefore, we teach writing as a complex activity through which students are given guidance and often collaborate. Drawing on the rich scholarship of Rhetoric & Writing Studies, we have designed our courses to help students address the challenges of 21st century composing. In these courses, students are empowered to determine the most effective strategies, arrangements, and media to use in different rhetorical contexts.

Our courses are based on these Learning Outcomes:

• Students will reflect on and critically analyze their own language experiences.
• Students will synthesize information about racial and ethnic biases and other social justice issues and confront these issues in their writing.
• Students will demonstrate engagement with multiple media sources through their projects, including, but not limited to, digital resources.
• Students will identify relevant research sources and opportunities from their lived experiences, their campus interactions, and their engagement within their communities.
• Students will apply knowledge from local communities to research broader social issues, demonstrating their critical awareness.

Rhetoric & Composition 1 (RWS 1301) is designed to help students in all disciplines reach their academic and professional goals as writers. Course assignments invite students to explore cultural, political, linguistic, racial, and social issues through topics that appeal to their interests and sense of civic responsibility as members of various academic and non-academic communities.

Rhetoric & Composition 2 (RWS 1302) aims to develop further students’ rhetorical and critical thinking skills in order to facilitate effective written communication in educational, professional, and social contexts. Effective communication is based on awareness of and appreciation for diverse language practices as well as knowledge specific to subject matter, genre, rhetorical strategy, racial and social justice, and writing processes.

There are no overrides for FYC courses. If a class is filled to capacity, please enroll in another section. The instructor will not make an exception.

The last day to register for a FYC class is at the end of the first week of classes on the last date of late registration.