ENGL 102 and WRIT 101 Courses

First-year English students take part in the library’s Information Literacy [IL] Foundations Program, which is a blended model of instruction, where they receive a mixture of asynchronous and synchronous components, with active learning being the focus of much of the synchronous time. While the model outlined below is for synchronous courses, it is also adaptable for asynchronous classes.

Within the IL Foundation Program, students receive four points of contact during their first-year English course as follows:

  • Library Introduction: a short, 15-minute, synchronous visit where students are introduced to the library and various ways of getting research help. Here they also receive guidance on how to self-enroll in an online tutorial the library has developed called SearchPath.
  • SearchPath: students work through the SearchPath tutorial on their own time. It gives them a brief overview of things that they'll need to know when conducting research, such as understanding keywords, navigating filters in the library search, and accessing digital and physical resources. Students receive a certificate of completion when they get 50% or higher on the SearchPath quiz and their quiz grade can be embedded in mêskanâs gradebooks. More information can be found on the English Subject Guide.
  • Evaluating Sources: a 30-minute synchronous workshop where students work in groups to evaluate sources based on an example topic and report back on their findings of whether the example sources are reliable and/or relevant. 
  • Research Essentials: an optional 50-minute synchronous workshop where students work through taking a paper topic and turning it into a search strategy. Basics of using the library's search and tips for narrowing results are also given. Then students have time to work through their own research topics and receive help finding applicable resources that they can then evaluate. These workshops can be booked during class time or are also offered as drop-in workshops (students receive proof of attendance for the drop-in workshops).

Contact the English Librarians if you have any questions or to book a session.

All other English, Comparative Literature, Linguistics, Creative Writing, and Film Courses

Literacy instruction can be tailored to your course content and student needs.

Examples of purpose-built instruction session topics include:

  • Navigating generativeAI
  • Navigating specific databases or database tools
  • Understanding how to search for literary topics
  • Tips on how to meaningfully include sources in a paper
  • Inequities and bias in peer-reviewed content

Contact the English Librarians if you have any questions or to book a session.