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New Honors English Course Adds Meaning to College Life

Legally Blonde, 22 Jump Street, Pitch Perfect--all movies that provide incoming college
students with fantasies about what the social aspect of college is like. They teach youth that
Greek life is everything, that academics mean nothing, and that parties all day and all night are
the norm. However, Dr. Wendy Williams, Texas Christian Universitys 2014 Honors Professor of
the Year, teaches her students that the four-year college experience is made up of so much more.
In an Intermediate Composition course that focuses on the different aspects of college life,
students learn about the importance of identity, academics, diversity, careers, and spirituality.

Williams and her undergraduate teaching assistant, Brandon Newman, worked together to create
this new English course for Honors students who are at least sophomore standing. They designed
the class to cover visual rhetoric and persuasive writing in the hopes that the work done here will
benefit the students writing for future courses at TCU. The course is very challenging, yet
important, and current students have produced excellent work. I feel like the course is a team
effort, said Williams. Brandon, the students, and I are on a semester-long journey to learn as
much as we can about composition and rhetoric.

Throughout the first half of the class, students read material on college life that covers topics like
generational identity, social life, academics and diversity. This material comes from two required
textbooks and additional readings that can be found on eCollege. The students then form groups
to present arguments in class that focus on a certain college topic. These are called visual rhetoric
presentations. The presentations always include an active learning strategy, which allows the rest
of the class to experience the material and participate in the argument presented.

In the second half of the course, the students turn to writing arguments rather than presenting
arguments. This is when the students learn the basics of persuasive writing, such as writing a
thesis statement, introduction, etc., through workshops led by Williams. All of the students
arguments focus on a topic related to college life. The course has five total writing assignments,
which may seem like a lot, but each assignment builds on itself to create the students final
research paper at the end of the semester. Students will present their research paper to the class.

Each student also composes an Identity ePortfolio, which consists of five entries that focus on
various aspects of college life. The entries are written as narratives and can aid students in
writing the narrative component of their research paper. The students seem to enjoy this course
because its different from other English courses offered. I like this class because its more than
just writing papers, said current student Natalie Means.

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