“I Realize Writing Is a Part of My Daily Life Now”: A Case Study of Writing Knowledge Transfer in One Section of ESL Writing

Abstract

Most college and university students must complete first-year composition (FYC), including English as a second language (ESL) students. Many researchers in the field of composition and rhetoric question, though, whether FYC prepares beginning undergraduate students for courses they will take later in their academic careers. The question of FYC’s effectiveness is heightened when considering its effect on ESL students, who must grapple with learning to write in a second language as they try to transfer their writing knowledge from FYC to their other courses. This paper examines the components of a successful FYC course for ESL students and whether students in a specific section of FYC for ESL students can transfer their writing knowledge from FYC to other courses they are taking the same semester.