Welcome to First-Year Composition at JCU

Welcome to the First-Year Composition Program at John Carroll University. Our program is committed to University-wide writing excellence, a commitment that is reflected in the makeup of the English department, in its programs, and in the implementation of writing-intensive courses in John Carroll's Core Curriculum. The first-year composition course sequence is one of the requirements of the University's Core Curriculum in the Liberal Arts .

Our program is informed by process-based pedagogies, by social constructionist principles, and by cross-curricular writing instruction. The program draws on the ideas that best serve students' learning and development as thinkers, readers and writers. “Speaking, listening, reading, and writing,” says educator Ann Berthoff, “are acts of mind by which we make meaning.”

This site has information on our staff and our program philosophy. In addition, composition instructors will find helpful resources, such as sample syllabi and other materials. Faculty across the University will also find resources to help them integrate writing more successfully in their courses. We've also linked related sites, such as the JCU Writing Center and various on-line resources for writers and writing teachers.