Welcome to the official textbook for ENGL 1020 at Nashville State Community College! As part of your ENGL 1020 course at NSCC, this textbook will introduce you to the discipline of writing in first-year composition. ENGL 1020 is the second class of a two-class sequence typically taken by most students at NSCC; however, some students may only be required to take ENGL 1020. While in ENGL 1010 students adopt the role of the writer, in ENGL 1020 (the second class of the two-course sequence for first-year writing at NSCC), students adopt the role of the researcher. In adopting the role of the researcher in ENGL 1020, you will learn the necessary tools needed to be a skillful writer and researcher at NSCC and beyond.
To aid in the process of becoming a skillful writer and researcher, you will find throughout this textbook a collection of information to help support the growth of your research and writing process. We encourage you to use the materials included here as a catalyst for your assignments and a reference tool for navigating writing assignments in ENGL 1020. While this textbook will not teach you everything you need to know about writing and research, it will inform you of how to navigate college-level writing and research assignments!
Like many students, you are most likely wondering, “why do I have to take this course and how is it even relevant to my major?!” First-year composition, regardless of the institution a student attends, is required of all students at universities and colleges across the U.S. Often viewed as part of the core curriculum for general education courses, first-year composition is historically a gateway to academic writing for students at colleges and universities.
Although faculty will often disagree about what first-year composition is, most of us can agree that it is a pivotal time for first- year students to learn new skills for academic writing. And while it may seem like ‘busy work’ in the beginning, every activity and assignment in ENGL 1020 will be relevant regardless of the major you anticipate studying. In fact, all professions require effective communication skills in both digital communication and in-person communication, and ENGL 1020 will help you in that endeavor.
For more on these ideas regarding why first-year composition is often required in college, please see John Warner’s “What is First-Year Composition?” featured in Inside Higher Ed: What Is First-Year Composition?
We have organized this textbook around the four course modules already established by the ENGL 1020 master course. Each module will feature the various course outcomes presented throughout the textbook. The modules will also be accompanied by sample student assignments and essays written by scholars in rhetoric and composition studies.
Thank you for choosing this textbook for your course at NSCC! Although this textbook is the official course textbook for ENGL 1020 classes at Nashville State, faculty members are free to choose how to use this textbook as well as any supplemental materials they find necessary for helping their students navigate writing and learning at NSCC. And per NSCC’s policy on Academic Freedom , faculty members are “entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing his or her subject, being careful not to introduce into the teaching unrelated subject matter.”