Academic Conversation : First Year College Writing

Academic Conversation: First Year College Writing invites students to not only hone their writing skills, but to participate in and contribute to timely academic conversations. Students learn how to effectively “listen” to others and “hear” their ideas through reading texts written for a variety of audiences. After thoughtfully considering diverse perspectives, students are encouraged to respond by writing academic essays. In doing so, they learn to add to scholarly debates—a skill that will be at the center of their college and university studies.

The book is divided into five subject areas that are both prevalent in academic conversations and important to students today: communication in the social media age, changes to the “model family,” living a good life, ethnic and cultural diversity, and differences in generational values. Each section provides a brief introduction to the topic, a set of essays expressing different points of view, and writing prompts that challenge students to express their views as informed by the readings.

Designed to help students develop key competencies that support growth in college and beyond, Academic Conversation is an ideal resource for first-year courses and programs, as well as introductory courses in composition or English.

Daniel de Roulet holds a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of California, Irvine. He is a professor of English at Irvine Valley College and the co-founder and co-director of the Student Caring Project. In his experience as a college professor and administrator, he has led faculty professional development programs and revisions to general education and first-year curricula. He has received undergraduate teaching awards and authored a plan for improving local education opportunities in southern Ethiopia. Professor de Roulet is the author of The Caring Professor: A Guide to Effective, Rewarding, and Rigorous Teaching and Finding Your Plot in a Plotless World: A Little Direction.