FULFILLING THE REQUIREMENT

There are many ways to fulfill the freshman writing proficiency requirement.

• If you earned a 4 or 5 on the AP English Language and Composition exam or the AP English Literature and Composition exam or a 5 on the IB exam, you will fulfill the proficiency requirement.
• You may also fulfill the proficiency requirement during your freshman year, by taking and passing either a Freshman Writing Seminar, offered in many departments and designated by the number 119, or by taking and passing ENLS 101 offered by the English Department.

DESCRIPTIONS OF FRESHMAN WRITING SEMINARS
AND ENGLISH 101

The Freshman Writing Seminars and the English 101 classes each carry four credits, meet for four contact hours a week, and are limited to an enrollment of 15. Each class demands the same amount of writing. Generally, you will be asked to write, at a minimum, four formal essays (a minimum 5,000 words)--including a researched essay that requires you to become familiar with our library, with various research techniques, and with the demands of academic honesty and the seriousness of the crime of plagiarism. You will be asked to write much more in terms of informal response papers, peer review analyses, in-class writing assignments, and examinations.

Both the Freshman Writing Seminars and the English 101 classes require a variety of writing, and both focus on the writing tasks commonly assigned in college-level courses: for example, your instructors will introduce discussions of the conventions of academic writing, the types and varieties of academic argumentation, and correct usage (including grammar, paragraphing, diction, and style.) Both require rewriting and revision as one component of the course.

Neither the Freshman Writing Seminar nor the English 101 class is a basic skills class. We assume that you are entering Tulane with some facility in writing. You will therefore be asked to write a diagnostic essay during the first days of class to determine that you are ready to take English 101 or a Freshman Writing Seminar.

FRESHMAN WRITING SEMINARS

The difference between the Freshman Writing Seminars and the English 101 classes is one of emphasis. The freshman seminars are offered through our departments, and thus the content of these courses will shape the writing assignments you are asked to complete. For instance, if you were to enroll in a class focused on the topic of the American Civil War, the various writing assignments would have as their subject matter the American Civil War.

ENGLISH 101

The content of the English 101 classes is individually determined for each section. Generally, however, the subject matter of 101 is academic argument, and thus most 101 courses are organized around rhetorical principles that shape the presentation of their content. For instance, if you were to enroll in an English 101 class that required you to produce an argument in the form of a definition, your subject matter for creating that kind of rhetorical argument would likely be determined by the various readings and topics presented in your particular section..

REMINDERS

• Both the Freshman Writing Seminars and the English 101 classes are limited to an enrollment of 15, and thus they fill rapidly. Before you begin to register, make a list of 5 or 6 freshman writing seminars and English 101 classes that you would be happy to take. If you are flexible in your choices, you are more likely to get a class that suits you.
• Finally, you may enroll in an English 101 class or a freshman writing seminar, but you may NOT enroll in both. You may NOT enroll in two freshman writing seminars or in two English 101 classes.