The completion of first-year English courses is required for all programs at Memorial University. These courses are taught by all members of the English Department, including both senior professors and our most recently appointed scholars and teaching fellows.

These courses introduce students to the study of imaginative literature at the University level and to the fundamentals of composition: discovering the points they want to make, planning, drafting, and editing. Students learn to read a variety of texts critically, to appreciate the nuances of language, and to write accurate and clear essays.

Students write a minimum of four essays per semester, at least one of which is composed out of class. Students are also required to write two essays in their final examination at the end of the semester.