Skip to main content
Loading

Student Guide to First Year Composition (FYC)

Registration: Adding a Writing Course to Your Schedule

During the first week of the semester, you may add or drop any class that has space available using the registration workflow. Writing courses have strict course limits, and instructors will not sign you into their classes during the first week.

During the second and subsequent weeks of the semester, instructors will not sign you into their classes. It is against English Department policy for them to do so.

Composition Credit Policies

There is no test-out for First-Year Composition.

If you took the English Language and Composition Advanced Placement (AP) Exam and received a score of 4 or 5, you should already have credit for English 10600.

If you took the English Literature and Composition AP Exam and received a score of 4 or 5, you’ll have credit for ENGL 23100. 

Attendance & Participation

In most in-person composition classes, you are expected to be present every day your class is scheduled, and you can expect your instructor to be present for every class meeting that is listed on your course schedule.

If your instructor must cancel class, they will contact you through email or will post a message on the course website.  If your class is meeting somewhere else temporarily (e.g the library), you should be notified through email and the new venue will be listed on your course website.

In both in-person and online courses, instructors often assign grades for participation. See your syllabus to learn more about these expectations.

Conflicts and Complaints

If you are having a problem in your composition class, you should first try to talk with your instructor. But if you are having a conflict with your instructor, you have a complaint about your class or your instructor, or if you have a concern about your writing course, please contact the Director of Writing, Bradley Dilger (dilger@purdue.edu). 

Grade Reviews and Appeals

If you believe that you received an inappropriate semester grade, you must first talk with your instructor. If you are unsatisfied with the result of that conversation, you may request a grade review from the Department of English. If that is unsatisfactory, you may proceed to Purdue’s university-level grade appeal.

An “inappropriate grade” is defined as one given as a result of prejudice, caprice, or other improper conditions such as mechanical error, or assignment of a grade inconsistent with those assigned other students in your class. Additionally, you may challenge the reduction of a grade for alleged academic dishonesty. See the Office of the Dean of Students for the complete grade appeal process.

Grades and Writing Feedback

You can expect to receive specific assignment guidelines and evaluation criteria in your writing courses, and you can expect to receive feedback and grades on your assignments based on these criteria in a timely manner. Instructors are required to provide you with feedback by the seventh week of the course — but we expect they will do it much earlier.

You will receive feedback from your instructor in the form of written and/or verbal comments on your work that will help you revise and improve your writing and composing. Initial feedback is not always accompanied by a grade for the assignment or activity, but at some point, your instructor will assign a grade to your work.

Department of English Policy on Responsiveness

The Department of English expects instructors to respond to in-class questions, emails, Brightspace posts, and other communication within a reasonable amount of time (two business days). We also expect that instructors will return writing assignments with comments and grades before the next assignment is due. Please report any possible issues by using this web form: https://cla.purdue.edu/academic/english/query/.

Guide to Success in First-Year Composition

  1. Communicate with your instructor early and often.
  2. When emailing your instructor or peers, or posting on discussion boards, take a few moments to re-read your message to ensure you provide needed context.
  3. Start work on your writing projects far in advance of the due date.
  4. Get help from your instructor (during their office hours), your peers, and/or the Writing Lab.
  5. During in-person classes, don't let digital devices become a distraction for you or others.