STATEMENT OF EXPECTATIONS

Freshman Writing

On August 11, 1995, instructors of freshman writing, representative of Maryland’s two- and four-year public institutions, met to formulate a statement regarding English composition. The following statement was developed in order to clarify the English component of the Chief Academic Officers’ response to the Maryland Higher Education Commission’s guidelines for statewide general education. This was the third meeting held, and it followed a review of freshman writing syllabi from the two- and four-year campuses.

  1. Each institution will develop a freshman writing program, which may include a sequence of courses, consistent with the needs of its student population and its mission. However, the freshman writing course (or an equivalent course) designated by the institution as completing the general education freshman composition requirement should:
  1. Students who complete the designated composition course should write well-organized and balanced expository prose. They should be able to:
  1. To achieve these goals for students, the designated composition course should be designed to promote students’ ability to: