First-Year Writing

English 150 and English 150H

Course Description: English 150 is designed to introduce students to college-level writing, reading, and research with an emphasis on argumentation and rhetorical analysis. English 150 pays particular attention to the ways arguments work within discourse communities. Individual sections are structured around a focused topic area (e.g., globalization, mass media, religion in America, the environment) and require extensive writing, reading, and research in the topic area. For more information on this course, click here for a Word document.

As different sections have different focus topics, if you go to the English Department website and click on English Courses, you will be able to see not only the theme for particular sections but also the textbooks that the section is using. Furthermore, some instructors have links to their syllabi.

For other first-year writing courses, check also Honrs 150 and Phil 150 . These also fulfill the GE First-Year Writing requirement. International students may also want to contact the Linguistics Department that offers a course, ELang 105 that is a first-year writing course designed specifically for second-language students. Enrollment in this course is limited as very few sections are offered so check early during the registration period.

Freshman Academy sections of Engl 150, Engl 150H are offered in Fall Semester, a few in Winter semester and Summer Term. See Freshman Academy for more information on this program.

Composition Links

• First-Year Writing
• Advanced Writing
• Employment
• Composition Journal

First-Year Writing Links

• Freshman Academy
• Honors 150
• Phil 150


• General Education
• English Department
• Harold B. Lee Library