Chapter 4: Dangerous Education: Teaching College Writing Using Nonfiction Graphic Novels

The University of Tennessee at Martin first-year composition courses are one component of the university’s general education requirement in Communication, along with an introductory public speaking course. According to the university’s 2022–2023 online catalog, the goal for the 9-credit hour communications requirement is “to prepare students to communicate information, thoughts, and viewpoints effectively through oral and written forms of expression.” Four “outcomes” measure that goal: “1. Students will evaluate oral and/or written expression by listening and reading critically for elements that reflect situation, audience, purpose, and diverse points of view. 2. Students will organize research to develop logical discourse in support of a central idea. 3. Students will develop written and/or oral presentations employing correct diction, syntax, usage, grammar, and mechanics. 4. Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills through the appropriate use of opinions, facts, and inferences in in rhetorical strategies” (“General Requirements,” n.d.). Composition instructors are expected to fulfill these outcomes through the lessons they teach students about writing, the reading and writing they assign to students, and their assessment of student writing. While I, as composition coordinator, provide “recommended” readers and book-length suggestions—fiction and nonfiction—faculty have significant freedom to select readings and create assignments they believe will meet the overall goals and fulfill the outcomes for the two composition courses.