Program Overview

English First-Year Composition Program

The English First-Year Composition Program at SUNY Plattsburgh is designed to provide students with a strong foundation in writing and communication skills. The program consists of a two-course sequence, ENG 100 and ENG 101, which teaches students to use writing as a powerful tool for making evidence-based arguments.

What Will I Learn?

Students who successfully complete the first-year composition program courses will learn to:

• Research a topic, develop an argument, and organize supporting details
• Demonstrate coherent college-level communication (written and oral) that informs, persuades, or otherwise engages with an audience
• Evaluate communication for substance, bias, and intended effect
• Demonstrate the ability to revise and improve written and oral communication

What Is Unique About Our Program?

The FYC program at SUNY Plattsburgh is focused on making academic writing inclusive and meaningful. The program's core product is a research project that asks students to create an autoethnography, or self-culture writing. This approach enables writers, speakers, and filmmakers to address gaps in public understanding.

What Are My Career Opportunities?

Today, writing is essential to every area of study and nearly every profession. Students who complete the FYC program will be well-prepared to pursue careers in a variety of fields, including engineering, social work, teaching, nursing, and accounting.

Publish Your Work

Students in the FYC program have the opportunity to create award-winning, published work. Recent examples of student publications include:

• Brenna Strickland's "The Right Teacher Can Make a Difference: How School Music Communities Create Better Socioeconomic Opportunities for Students in Need" (Al Mihalek Composition Prize, 2021)
• Maura Beale's "COVID vs. Family Dinners" (Published in North Star, Plattsburgh's Undergraduate Multimodal Literary Arts Journal, 2022)
• Summer Tierney's "Exploring Inequality in Music Education" (North Star, 2022)
• Keller McGowan's "An Explanation, Not a Condescension" (Mihalek Prize, 2023)

English at SUNY Plattsburgh

The English program at SUNY Plattsburgh stresses the acquisition of useful, marketable skills that will serve students well in their academic and professional pursuits.

Additional Information

The FYC program offers two courses, College Writing I (ENG 100) and College Writing II (ENG 101), which provide students with the opportunity to grow as evidence-based writers within workshop environments.

About Courses Offered in the First-Year Composition Program

• ENG 100 has smaller sections and assignments, allowing for individualized instruction and a focus on common readings and multimodal writing.
• ENG 101 emphasizes independent inquiry, with larger sections, self-selected readings, and a research project and presentation.

Placement Procedure

Entering students without ENG 101 credit have two placement options:

• Placement by high school GPA
• Directed self-placement (DSP)

Tutoring

The Learning Center offers one-to-one support for writing from a knowledgeable peer.

Mission of the First-Year Composition Program

The mission of the FYC program is to train students to ethically and effectively understand, critique, and produce evidence-based arguments. The program aims to make academic writing at SUNY Plattsburgh a robust and inclusive living tradition.

Additional Degrees in English

The English department offers a range of degree options, including:

• English Major
• English Minor
• Film Minor
• Professional Writing Certificate
• 5-Year Combined Bachelor's and Master's Program in Adolescence Education Grades 7-12 B.A./M.S.T.