Discovering the Student, Discovering the Self: Essays from ENG 100 Students

The essays that appear in this publication were selected by the English 100 Committee from submissions from English 100 students from the Fall 2006 semester. The criteria used to evaluate and select these essays included content, originality, a sense of discovery and insight on the part of the student writer, control of form, language and sentence construction and representation of the various types of assignments students are engaged in while in this course. ENG 100, Introduction to College Writing, is a developmental composition course designed for students who show signs of needing additional work on their college-level writing before starting the regular general education composition classes. In this course, students learn about and refine their writing process with a strong focus on the act of revision, engage in critical reading, thinking and writing and write both personal and text-based essays. ENG 100 prepares students for the rigors of college-level writing and introduces them to college expectations.

It is our hope that these student essays reflect the struggle and the joy, the hard work and the rewards that these students have experienced both in their lives and in the classroom. Furthermore, these essays reflect the diversity of our English 100 students and the uniqueness of this course. Our students are entering college straight out of high school and are returning to the classroom after years of work and family, come from urban and rural areas, and represent different races and cultures. And this work is truly their work -- the committee has not made any revisions or corrections to the essays. And as you read, we hope that you will discover the same things that the students have discovered: during their first semester in college they are discovering themselves, realizing that they are part of many communities and defining themselves as individuals, students, scholars and citizens.

Click here to read the 2011 student essays.

Click here to read the 2010 student essays.

Click here to read the 2009 student essays.

Click here to read the 2008 student essays.

Click here to read the 2007 student essays.

On Wednesday, April 25, 2007, Dawn Terrick, the Director of Developmental Writing, unveiled the first annual ENG 100 student publication Discovering the Student, Discovering the Self. The following pictures are from this celebration. Students, family, friends, faculty and staff were all present to honor these students' accomplishments and hear them read their work.

Student authors included Brett Dreas, Amanda Forbach, James Harnett, Jeremy Hoffman, Cara Judd, Michaela Lindsey, Jarod Powell, Heather Seever, David A. Shaw, Jr., Brett A. Spitzer, Paul Summerville, Joshua Temple, and Sean Whiters.

ENG 100 Committee members:  Dawn Terrick, Director of Developmental Writing, Cynthia Bartels, Bill Church, Corla Dawson, Steve Frogge, Meredith Katchen, Joe Marmaud, Tom Pankiewicz.