My English Class Matters: Unveiling the Hidden Value

The Relevance of English Composition for Freshmen

English Composition class seems pointless to an incoming freshman who is majoring in something other than English itself. They say, “When will I ever need to know how to write an essay or ever use this in real life?’. Well, it may not be that pointless after all. Taking an English composition course is required for any incoming freshman, regardless of their major. Those students who are not in an English-concentrated major find it irrelevant, but that is not the case at all.

Taking an English composition course as an incoming freshman can make all the difference in the world for when they are still in college and their future occupations, regardless of what it may be. While I acknowledge there are reasons why it may not be extremely necessary, there are reasons why it is necessary to have taken it as an incoming freshman. The class will help strengthen their writing skills, how to properly compose any type of writing, and how to properly and clearly get their point across.

Enhancing Writing Skills in College

English composition classes make way for necessary improvements in a student’s writing. Madison Filen, a Mcneese Alumni, says, “They [the class]take what you learned from high school and go a step further, showing you how to use it in the real world.” Filen’s statement proves that the class is taking previous knowledge and advancing it to be able to help raise the student to a better level of writing, as well as making improvements in areas the student may be struggling or needs a little work on. Writing is a big thing that, as you’re going through university courses, is a necessity. As well as not being equipped with the right knowledge can be detrimental to your advancement through these stages. This class is necessary for teaching a student to be able to compose a variety of papers for future courses and how to compose them properly.

English Class Beyond the Literature Degree

All incoming freshmen are required to take an English composition class regardless of their major. Tori Oglesby, a freshman nursing major at McNeese, says, “They are very informative. It prepares you for future classes”. Oglesby’s statement shows how the class will help them advance through their upper-level classes, regardless of whether it is an English class or not. For example, I am a history major, and for some of my future classes, I will have to research topics and compose essays and or papers about a specific topic. While I’m not an English major, I will have to use what I have learned from this class for future courses that can determine if I pass the class or not. It is necessary so that I can know how to properly construct a paper and everything that goes along with it.

Writing Skills for Career Advancement

An English composition class taken as a freshman can be useful not only for college courses but also for a future occupations. Filen said ‘every workplace will require you to write something at all times”. Filens’ statement is true; the statement makes it known that writing will be an aspect of your life pretty much forever. In your job, regardless of what it may be, you will be required to write emails, memos, etc. Oglesby said, “As a nursing major, an English class will help me with my communication skills so I can appropriately… communicate with patients and doctors”. If, for example, she isn’t clear in her explanation of a patient’s problem, the doctor will not be able to appropriately diagnose a patient, which can mean the difference between a patient being alive or dead. Not saying your job will be that extreme, but not being able to write correctly can cause some issues when it comes to a time that you will have to write something. The course is necessary in creating the building blocks for any occupation.

Conclusion

These points are related to one another to prove how necessary the class is for many different reasons, more specifically, how it helps to strengthen your writing for things in the future. They prove the point of how it is important so they can apply their writing knowledge to things during and after college. Knowing how to properly write is such a major thing that any person should know how to do; regardless of how often you need to compose or how it may not seem necessary in your life, it can definitely be applied to your everyday life. What other classes do we deem as unnecessary but may actually be crucial to our futures?

References:

1. Filen, Madison. Personal Interview. McNeese State University Alumni. 

2. Oglesby, Tori. Personal Interview. Freshman Nursing Major at McNeese State University. 

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