Second Blog Prompt

For your second blog post this week, you will reflect on the reading for Thursday's class.  In chapter one of Hjortshoj's The Transition to College Writing, he explains that college is a transformative experience and high schools can only prepare students to get admitted to college, not for the challenges they will face being a student in college. Since college experiences can be so different and college instructors vary significantly, Hjortshoj argues that to be successful, college students need to be both alert and flexible.  Use your first semester of college to discuss Hjortshoj's ideas. What was the transition to college like for you? Do you agree with Hjortshoj? Why or why not? Besides alertness and flexibility, what other skills do you think successful college students should have.


In Hjortshoj's second chapter, "Language and Learning." he explains that specific uses of language determine the kind of learning that will take place in all of your courses. So you will need to develop effective listening, reading, and writing skills as you approach the learning you do in class.  How do you see these three processes (listening, reading, and writing) connected and why do you need all three to be an effective communicator? What do you think is the role of the first year writing course in college?