English First-Year Writing

Welcome! We hope that your first-year-writing courses plant seeds for your growth as writers and awaken you to the possibilities of writing. In our courses, you will practice an array of writing processes and strategies, read and write a variety of genres, analyze and use various argumentative strategies, and develop effective rhetorical skills.

Your first-year-writing instructors are knowledgeable educators and writers who hold graduate degrees in English with years of teaching experience.

Publishing and Internship Opportunities

We love to publish excellent First-Year Writing @ Clayton State students' essays in our textbook! If you'd like to have one of your essays considered for publication, please complete the Permission to Publish Form and return it, along with a copy of your paper in Microsoft Word, as an attachment to writing@clayton.edu by April 1 of each year for consideration for publication in the upcoming year's book.

If you are an English major looking for an internship related to publishing and editing, contact Dr. Sansbury about working with him on the textbook each spring semester. If you are seeking to publish your writing outside of Clayton State, consult Sites for Publishing Undergraduate Writing.

First-Year Writing ePortfolio

All students must complete an ePortfolio in English 1101 and 1102, which is is 25% of the course average. Your instructor will guide you through the course and provide you with multiple opportunities to produce products that illustrate your reading and writing abilities.

The ePortfolio should demonstrate your best work. Your Best Reading Artifact and Best Writing Artifact chosen from work that you developed in class should be revised, edited, polished, and saved, per your instructor's directions.

Your ePortfolio should also demonstrate that you have mastered course learning outcomes, as evidenced in a Reflection Essay where you will write about your experiences in writing and how you have specifically met the course learning outcomes.

Scanners are available for first-year writing students in G114, G221, and G211, for no charge. A SmartPrint scanner is available for students in the first floor of the library; use your Laker Card to scan to an email for $.10 per page.

Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about your English 1101 or 1102 class, please see your instructor during office hours (or e-mail to make an appointment). You may also contact Dr. Matthew Sansbury, Director of First-Year Writing, via email at MatthewSansbury@clayton.edu or by phone at (678) 466-4897.