| As one of the first classes typically taken in college, first year composition (FYC) serves as a gateway course for many students. When this class is moved into the online environment, questions of digital literacy, prior knowledge, and student differences grow more crucial when all coursework is mediated through technology and students are physically removed from their peers, their instructor, and the college community. These questions are compounded by the growing diversity of college students. Students who are labeled “nontraditional” are becoming the “new normal” at colleges across the country. With an increasingly diverse student body, accessibility and inclusivity are top priorities in the field of online writing instruction (OWI). As a gateway course, instructors of FYC can foster an inviting environment for students as they enter the academic community. One area in which instructors can foster inclusivity and accessibility is through their feedback on student writing. This direct and individualized interaction with students has the potential to empower them in their writing process, engage their existing literacies, and create an invitation into the college community. Alternatively, instructor feedback can rob students of their agency, devalue their differences, and reinforce institutional power structures of the college. When instructor feedback is mediated through the online course environment, additional considerations arise compared to the face to face class. The current research in the field of OWI places the focus on how instructors respond (frequency, timing, and mode) and the student response to the feedback. One missing piece of the scholarship is what language instructors use when they respond. This research project examines instructor feedback from two online FYC courses using critical discourse analysis. The data analysis exposes the micro and macro impacts of instructor feedback in creating inclusive and accessible online
viiiFYC courses. The result of this work is a reflection rubric for instructors to examine their language in feedback to student writing and how it can serve as an invitation into the college community for their students in online FYC. Key Words: online writing instruction, first year composition, computers and writing, basic writing, feedback on student writing |