The WPA’s “Outcomes for First-Year Composition” attempts to provide a document which regulates the type of outcomes the should be expected from first year composition classrooms. It provides both a list of expectations of what students should know by the end of their first year composition course, as well as suggestions on how students can build these skills. The expectations and suggestions include:
- Rhetorical Knowledge: know how to focus on a purpose; write to a specific audience; respond to different rhetorical situations; etc. Suggestion: teach writing applicable to students’ fields
- Critical thinking, reading, and writing: be able to integrate the the individual’s and others’ ideas; understand the relationship between language, power, and knowledge; understanding writing as a process; etc. Suggestion: use writing as a critical thinking tool
- Processes: work through multiple drafts; use flexable writing plans and processes; be able to critique self and others’ works; etc. Suggestion: working in stages to achieve final results
- Knowledge of conventions: learn documentation, formatting, genre conventions, and surface features; etc. Suggestion: teach conventions applicable to students’ fields
- Composing in electronic environments: write in electronic environments; use and critique electronic research sources; understand rhetorical strategies from electronic texts; etc. Suggestions: engage in electronic writing, research, and dissemination of work
