Hi There!

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Contact us at firstyearwriting@citytech.cuny.eduĀ 

Co-directors:

  • Dr. Carrie Hall
  • Dr. Rebecca Mazumdar

Office Hours:Ā 

  • Tuesdays 10 AM
  • Thursdays 4 PMĀ 

(Note: see your email for zoom address!)Ā 

News:Ā 

  • We have a lot of it! Take a look at our first newsletter of the year for the updates
  • We’ll be having a Q&A for new faculty on Aug 24 and for all faculty on Sept 1. Please check your email for the Zoom link!
  • Take a look at our page on “Utility Value Interventions,” the writing exercise we did last year. This is an easy motivational strategy (with a lot of research to back it up) that you can incorporate in your classes!
  • Please remember the Dept. of English requires you use syllabus templates for all FYW courses. Read more about the templates HERE.Ā 

Last year, we did a survey of over 700 students in First Year Writing Classes here at City Tech and over 50% of them reported either procrastination or time management (or both) as potential barriers to graduation. With this in mind, we’ve created the “Procrastination Station” Website, which has readings and exercises for students to deal with these issues, as well as in-class activities and information on the antecedents of procrastination for our faculty. Click the photo above to check it out!Ā Ā 

Please also share the Ā first year writing skills website with your students. This site has countless assignments and resources to help students not only with sentence-level and paper-wide skills, but also the skills necessary for student success. Now updated with exercises to discuss Chat GPT in the classroom!Ā 

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We’ve updated the model courses to integrate the work on procrastination and Chat GPT. We’ve also integrated more work on critical thinking and we’ve set aside time for in-class conferencing. Remember that the model courses are not required, but they do fulfill the departmental learning outcomes (which are required) as well as the new unit guidelines. Feel free to contact the office of FYW if you have any questions about the model courses!Ā  To access the FYW Courses and support materials, click the image above.Ā 

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In the summer of 2023, we started work on an English Department faculty handbook, which can be found online (or by clicking the image above). If you have anything you’d like to add or amend, or if you have any questions, please contact FYW directors or Dept Chair Suzanne Miller.Ā