Why do we teach First Year Writing? What should we be teaching in this course? Why?

Writing “well” is a key to collegial and professional prosperity. I think, that is why composition is taught at first year college. There is no better place to work on professional writing other than university. First, college teachers are specialized in writing so one would think they are best to guide students towards improving their skills. Besides, students will need writing in almost every course they take. That they masters writing, especially the academic one, will help them deliver their information/knowledge and help teachers grade as they expect a certain level of formality and style. Teaching writing is neither arbitrary, nor easy, if some people think so.
From my modest teaching experience in the United States and North-African Tunisia, I noticed that there are two important things to be considered: grammar and practice. US students do not deal with their language grammar because colloquial and academic discourses are, somehow, close to each other (grammatically and semantically speaking). When faced with grammatical concepts, these students struggle to think over them, understand what they are dealing with and make the right choice of words. The writing task, although in their native language, becomes challenging. On their way to produce a piece of writing, students will have to check different grammar/writing books before they could put down a sentence. As students are used to a faster, computer-driven life style, students find writing slow and boring. On the other hand, in Tunisia, students do a lot of grammar but for some reason, they do not practice except on limited occasions and end up with poor writing. They think grammatical correctness and short sentences can help getting good grade. However, the Tunisian educational system focuses on style/rhetoric.
I think, from my stand point, writing relies on grammar and practice. These two points should be considered to produce more fun and more efficient writing. Grammar does not have to be taught in the same class as writing but it can be separate. In today’s communicative teaching approach, trans-curricular learning is a bonus as it reinforces learning and memorization. Activities should be varied and, if possible, address objectives indirectly.

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