First Year Composition
About
UT has received the Writing Program Certificate of Excellence, a national award from the Conference on College Composition and Communication. Learn more about our First-Year Composition program and the Writing Center in our video, the Writing Program at the University of Tennessee.
First-Year Composition, a two-semester sequence of courses, is required of all UT students. In order to be useful to students of all majors and interests, these courses strive to provide tools for critical thinking, reading, and writing that are applicable to courses beyond the first year.
First-Year Composition addresses the many different ways we use language, including the new “languages” that comprise our multimedia forms of communication. Its aim is to prepare students to communicate and create new knowledge in the many different communities—academic, business, personal, and international—in which they will live and work.
First-Year Composition largely explores rhetoric: how we use language as a social tool to communicate effectively and responsibly with diverse audiences. A primary goal of English 101 and 102 is to teach students to recognize and accept responsibility for the effects their words have on others, a particularly important skill to have as people increasingly “talk” through electronic media and not face-to-face.
Students will learn how communication takes place within rhetorical situations and how it is shaped by the purpose, audience, and context in which the communication occurs. Focus is also placed on how these factors shape the inquiry of a topic, the development of research questions, and the development of well-constructed arguments.
The primary goal of First-Year Composition is not to create a body of knowledge, but to develop and refine a process of thinking with language. Because we engage in communication daily, studying our language not only helps students succeed in college and in their careers, but also it can help students become better informed, more active members of our society and our world.
Satisfying First-Year English Requirement
Effective Fall 2023, students may satisfy the First-Year Composition requirement in the following ways (see FYC Sequences and Placement for more information). Students who entered before Fall 2023, follow the policies for their catalog year.
Standard Pathway
English 101 + English 102. Students may not take English 102 before passing English 101. All students are also encouraged to take English 103 (alongside English 101) and English 104 (alongside 102).
Intensive Pathway
English 101 and English 103 for students with ACT Composite score at or below 23 or SAT Composite score at or below 1130, followed by English 102 and English 104.
Advanced Pathway
English 112 for students with AP score of 3 on AP Language & Composition and either ACT at or above 29 English and 29 Composite or SAT at or above 680 Verbal and 1280 Composite. All students are also encouraged to take English 104 alongside English 112.
Honors Pathway
English 101 + English 298*; students admitted to an Honors Program are eligible to enroll in English 298* once they have successfully completed English 101 or have earned credit through Dual Enrollment, IB, or AP (score of 4 or 5 on the AP exam in Literature & Composition or Language & Composition or Seminar)
- Students not in an Honors Program may also enroll in English 298* if they have prior ENGL 101 credit through Dual Enrollment, IB, or AP (score of 4 or 5 on the AP exam in Literature & Composition or Language & Composition or Seminar) AND ACT at or above 29 English, 29 Composite or SAT at or above 680 Verbal, 1280 Composite.
*Students may enroll in ENGL 102 instead of ENGL 298 if they prefer.
All students are also encouraged to take English 104 alongside English 298.
AP Credit Sequence
Credit for English 101 through AP score of 4 or 5 on the AP exam in Literature & Composition or Language & Composition or Seminar. Credit for English 102 through AP score of 4 or 5 on the AP exam in Research.
NOTE: students who get credit for 102 through AP scores are still required to take English 101 or obtain credit for 101 by AP credit through another exam (e.g., Literature & Composition or Language & Composition or Seminar).
All students are encouraged to take a 1-credit Writing Workshop elective at the same time as their FYC course. Any student in English 101 or English 131 may take English 103. Any student in English 102, 112, 132, or 298 may take English 104.
Students who are taking an FYC course for a fourth time must take a 1-credit Writing Workshop.
Course Descriptions
101 English Composition I
(3 credit hours)
Intensive instruction in writing with a focus on analysis and argument. Strategies for reading critically, analyzing texts from diverse perspectives, developing substantive arguments through systematic revision, addressing specific audiences, integrating sources, and expressing ideas with clarity and correctness.
Satisfies General Education Requirement: (WC)
Grading Restriction: A, B, C, No Credit.
Comments: Students who want additional help with writing should also register for English 103.
102 English Composition II
(3 credit hours)
Advancing concepts introduced in English 101. Intensive writing instruction focused on inquiry and research. Strategies for formulating and investigating questions, locating and evaluating information, using varied sources and research methods, developing positions on intercultural and interdisciplinary issues from diverse texts (print, digital, and multimedia), and presenting research using appropriate rhetorical conventions.
Satisfies General Education Requirement: (WC)
Grading Restriction: A, B, C, No Credit.
(RE) Prerequisites: 101.
Comments: Students who want additional help with writing should also register for English 104.
See English 102 Special Topics Descriptions for information about the inquiry topic for each section each semester.
112 Advanced Writing and Research
(3 credit hours)
Recommended for advanced students who have met the minimum requirements and want to complete their FYC requirement with one course. This course is for advanced students who meet the minimum requirements, who want to complete the FYC pathway with one course, and who want a more individualized FYC experience. This new course offers assignments that include authentic problems that students can solve through their own critical thinking and research and are rhetorically contextualized to give them a clear purpose and audience. In other words, ENGL 112 uses problem-based learning to engage students with real-world writing situations to solve and assignments that may be based on problems from their own major or discipline. In ENGL 112, students will develop stronger connections between their own interests and their research and writing, and that will help them develop greater awareness of their choices and of themselves as researchers, writers, and learners.
Satisfies General Education Requirement: (WC)
Grading Restriction: A, B, C, No Credit.
Comments: For students to be eligible for ENGL 112, they should have the following test scores: a score of 3 on the AP Language and Composition exam AND at least ONE of the following test scores: a minimum ACT score of 29 English + 29 Composite, OR a minimum SAT score of 680 Verbal + 1280 Composite.
131 Composition for Non-Native Speakers of English I
(3 credit hours)
Intensive instruction in writing, focusing on analysis and argument. Strategies for developing substantive arguments through systematic revision, addressing specific audiences, integrating sources, and expressing ideas with clarity and correctness. Individual conferences.
Satisfies General Education Requirement: (WC)
Grading Restriction: A, B, C, No Credit grading.
Comments: Admission by English Placement Exam.
132 Composition for Non-Native Speakers of English II
(3 credit hours)
Advancing concepts introduced in English 131 or 101. Intensive writing instruction focused on inquiry and research. Strategies for formulating and investigating questions, locating and evaluating information, using varied sources and research methods, developing positions on intercultural and interdisciplinary issues from diverse texts (print, digital, and multimedia), and presenting research using appropriate rhetorical conventions. Individual conferences.
Satisfies General Education Requirement: (WC)
Grading Restriction: A, B, C, No Credit.
(RE) Prerequisites: 101, 131, or equivalent.
Comments: Admission by English Placement Exam.
298 Honors Writing and Research
(3 credit hours)
Recommended for students in Honors Programs who need a 102 equivalent and have met minimum requirements. This course is also recommended for non-Honors students who meet the minimum requirements and want an honors course. This course offers assignments that include authentic problems that students can solve through their own critical thinking and research and are rhetorically contextualized to give them a clear purpose and audience. In other words, ENGL 298 uses problem-based learning to engage students with real-world writing situations to solve and assignments that may be based on problems from their own major or discipline. In ENGL 298, students will develop stronger connections between their own interests and their research and writing, and that will help them develop greater awareness of their choices and of themselves as researchers, writers, and learners.
Satisfies General Education Requirement: (WC)
Grading Restriction: A, B, C, No Credit.
(RE) Prerequisites: 101.
Comments: Students admitted to an Honors Program are eligible to enroll in English 298 once they have successfully completed ENGL 101 or have earned credit through AP, IB, or Dual Enrollment. Students not in an Honors Program may also enroll if they have prior ENGL 101 credit AND ACT at or above 29 English, 29 composite or SAT at or above 680 Verbal, 1280 composite.
103 Writing Workshop I
Self-paced Writing Center tutorial for students wanting additional instruction while enrolled in English 101, 131, or having ACT English and composite scores at or below 18 (or SAT verbal/composite scores at or below 450/850). Individual instruction in mechanics, paragraph development, and essay structure.
Grading Restriction: Satisfactory/No Credit grading only.
Credit Restriction: To receive credit, students must participate at least two hours per week and must also pass the English 101 or 131 class in which they are currently enrolled.
(RE) Corequisite(s): English 101 or 131
104 Writing Workshop II
Self-paced Writing Center tutorial for students wanting additional instruction while enrolled in English 102, 112, 132, or 298 or students advised to enroll by their 102, 112, 132, or 298 instructors. Individual instruction in critical reading and in developing and documenting the research paper.
Grading Restriction: Satisfactory/No Credit grading only.
Credit Restriction: To receive credit, students must participate at least two hours per week and must also pass the English 102, 112, 132, or 298 class in which they are currently enrolled.
(RE) Corequisite(s): English 102, 112, 132, or 298
English 103 & 104
For students enrolled in First-Year Composition who would like continuous supplementary feedback on their writing, the following 1-credit courses are offered:
- Eng. 103: for students taking English 101 or 131
- Eng. 104: for students taking English 102, 112, 132, or 298
English 103 and 104 enable you to receive credit for the one-on-one tutoring you receive from the Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center (212 HSS, writingcenter@utk.edu) while writing papers for your First-Year Composition courses.
If your SAT Composite score was equal to or below 1130 or your ACT Composite score was equal to or below 23, you are required to take these courses and were probably advised to register for them already.
Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center
