should a composition course be required of all first-year college students

Importance of Composition courses for First Year Students

23rd March , 2009

An important aspect of education is to enable students to read , write and think critically , so that they develop these vital skills . There is substantial debate over composition courses for first year students and the overall purpose of these courses . Proponents argue that these courses are essential to engage students in academic discussions and to facilitate the practice of close and critical reading among them (Lindemann , 1993 . Lindemann (1993 ) asserts the importance of composition course stating that these courses enable students

to become aware of their own development as ' so that they can learn to write effectively to benefit their careers and lives

Writing courses expose students to a variety of writings by different and this in turn helps students to choose the best writing styles so that they can use it in future . Through these courses students are exposed to different writings and products which will provide meaningful examples concerning the writing process . It is also believed that first year students need substantial support and help from their peers and teachers since learning to write is not an individual task (Pinter , 1995 . The development of voice ' is one of the important outcomes of writing course in the first year which occurs when teachers provide students with diverse and plentiful writing exercises and experiences ' to express themselves in the best possible manner in a variety of settings , academic as well as nonacademic (Pinter , 1995 Thus , writing courses...