The cornerstone of University Composition Program, the Seminar in Composition (ENGL110), prepares students to develop and refine the writing and textual-design skills that are crucial to their success both here at UD and well into their careers. To these ends, ENGL110 challenges students to read and think more critically; trains them to conduct research in an increasingly global information market; and guides them to develop the rhetorical flexibility to address a range of audiences effectively. ENGL 110 also helps students to improve their writing through an iterative process that includes critical response to drafts, and opportunities to revise extensively. These goals are achieved in a unique, lab-based seminar that focuses on carefully orchestrated hands-on writing scenarios that represent the range of university-level writing situations and demands.

As the only required class of all University of Delaware students, the Seminar in Composition occupies an important place in a UD’s student college experience. Our classes emphasize writing in a community of other college writers, drafting in and outside of the classroom setting, conferencing one-on-one with seasoned college instructors, and revising to deepen thinking and achieve a more lucid articulation of complex ideas. Students work with their undergraduate peers and their instructors to expand thinking, reflect on their own ideas, and revise rigorously—skills that are vital to today’s scholars and citizens. The design of ENGL 110 underscores the reality that being present and engaged in the process and labor of thinking and writing are key to developing the habits of mind required in an increasingly mediated world.