First-Year English
Welcome to the First-Year English Program website. Our office coordinates all sections of English 101 and 102, the only academic courses that every undergraduate student must complete before graduation. Each semester, we offer more than 125 sections of English 101 and 102, taught by approximately 100 instructors, serving more than 3000 students—making ours the largest academic courses on campus. We emphasize small class sizes, interactive teaching, and challenging curricula. Our goal is to help students develop the strong writing, critical thinking, research, and analytical skills they’ll need to succeed in future college coursework and beyond.
Since our program is large, we’ve designed this site to answer basic questions about how English 101 and 102 work. We encourage students, parents, and high-school teachers to browse—we are confident most of your questions can be answered here!
FYE News
Writing Center's Busiest Year Ever
The Writing Center had a record-breaking year in 2011-2012, serving more than 4000 students in individual tutoring sessions and small-group workshops. This represents an increase of more than 1000 students over last year. Congratulations to the writing center staff, and thanks for all their hard work in helping our students improve their writing!
FYE Instructors Win University Fellowships
Congratulations to First-Year English instructors Ali Arant, Steve Bellomy, and Wendy Ralph, who have been awarded Dean’s Dissertation Fellowships for 2012-2013 by the College of Arts and Sciences. We also congratulate Bailey Lewis, who has been selected to receive a Dean’s M.F.A. Fellowship for 2012-2013. In addition, we would like to congratulate instructors Mary Fratini and Mark Shaukowitch, who have been awarded USC Presidential Teaching Fellowships in Social Advocacy and Ethical Life for 2012-2013.
2012 Micheal Montgomery Award Winner
The Writing Center is pleased to announce that Brandi Ballard is the recipient of the 2012 Michael Montgomery Award for Outstanding Writing Tutor. The Montgomery Award honors Professor Emeritus Michael Montgomery, who founded USC’s original Writer’s Hotline during the 1970s. Brandi is an M.F.A. Candidate in Creative Writing who has just completed her first year as a consultant in the Writing Center. Congratulations, Brandi!
2012 Irene D. Elliot Award Winners
First-Year English is proud to announce the recipients of the 2012 Irene D. Elliot Awards for Outstanding Teaching: Betsy Breen and Grace Hagood. The Elliott Awards recognize outstanding instructors of English 101 and 102 based on nominations from their peers and program administrators. Grace is a Ph.D student in Composition and Rhetoric who has been teaching First-Year English at USC for two years; Betsy is an M.F.A. Candidate in Creative Writing who has just completed her first year of teaching in our program. Congratulations to both these excellent teachers!
2012 Cile Moise Award Winner
First-Year English is proud to announce our 2012 Cile Moise Award winner, Robbie Baden. The Cile Moise award is given to an outstanding teacher of English 101 or 102 based solely on student nominations. Robbie is an M.F.A Candidate in Creative Writing who has been teaching First-Year English for two years. Congratulations!