CompFAQ

From Gerald R. Lucas

Go To FAQ From Reading to Writing
A Composition FAQ Textbook

What began as a Composition FAQ to address difficulties that many new college writers have with mechanics, style, content, and structure has metamorphosed into a no-cost, online textbook for first- and second-year college students that takes the idea that better readers make better writers as its guiding premise. The book is divided into sections that address the various stages of early college composition: ENGL 1101 (the first version should be ready by fall 2023) introduces students to the fundamentals of college writing; ENGL 1102 (Spring 2024) acts as an introduction to literature; “Lit Survey” (2024) develops more advanced writing skills for sophomore humanities courses; and “WritDM” (2024) teaches the composition skills for writing in digital platforms. Each of these sections of the book will use the CompFAQ as its content.

Start Here

The CompFAQ is hypertextual and is divided into the sections I outlined above via tabs at the top of the page. You might begin by clicking on the tab that corresponds with your course or interest. You can also see all of the questions available on the FAQ in the index, or do a keyword search below.

Each tab contains an approach to the composition skills most pertinent to that course. ENGL 1101 and ENGL 1102 are for the first and second courses, respectively, in first-year composition. The former highlights general reading and writing skills needed for college while the latter focuses on the analysis, interpretation, and writing about literature. Choose Literature Survey if you are in a sophomore literature survey course, like ENGL 2111. The Digital Writing tab contains content relevant for advanced writing, humanities, or literature courses that have a digital writing component.

If you’re new to the FAQ, you might begin with the questions in the “Start Here” box on the right to get oriented, check the index for an overview of all content, or search below.

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 note: This FAQ is a work-in-progress, so links in red have yet to be written. I anticipate that it should be complete, or in version 1, by the fall of 2023.

Permalink: https://grlu.us/compfaq

Written: 2002, 2022; Revised: 06-2-2023; Version: Beta 0.7 💬