Corequisite Composition

Because every student is a writer.

Seismic changes in approaches to teaching writing have reshaped many developmental English and first-year composition courses across the country. We know these changes continue to result in corequisite models that are as unique as the institutions and the students they serve.

No matter your local context or the shape and label of your corequisite implementation, our goal at Bedford/St. Martin’s remains the same: to help your student writers grow and succeed. To that end, our Achieve solution makes it easy–and affordable–to deliver instruction to your corequisite students.

Our Solutions

We believe that the best solutions are local. From listening to and learning from instructors of corequisite composition, we know that the student body in every class is unique, as are the characteristics you and your institution add to the shape of your course. So, rather than offer one solution to fit all corequisites, we have a number of flexible tools, publications, and offerings.

Below are a few of our products developed for and used in corequisite composition settings. Our digital learning system, Achieve, offers personalized instruction and targeted practice opportunities to meet and support corequisite students where they are, along with diagnostics to identify areas of strength and areas for improvement, and innovative writing tools to facilitate reflection and revision throughout the writing process.

Achieve is now enabled with multi-course access, meaning your students can enroll in their composition course and their support course at the same time, with no additional fee.

Browse all English Titles with Achieve

Our Student Companions complement our texts and provide students with the extra help they need to get or stay on-level, by delivering more in-depth coverage of topics in the text as well as additional practice and assignments. Student Companions are included in Achieve for their corresponding title, and can be packaged in print or e-book format at no additional cost. Contact your representative if you’d like to include a Student Companion with your adopted materials.

Find Your Rep

Corequisite Composition
Summer Camp

Corequisite Composition Summer Camp (CCSC) is a virtual professional learning event designed to foster community around the composition course model with corequisite support. During camp, instructors explore practical tools and strategies to use in the corequisite classroom. To date, more than 300 instructors have attended CCSC!

Our goal is to provide a space for instructors involved in corequisite courses to come together. Camp sessions are led by instructors from across the nation, as well as by Macmillan authors, and cover topics on timely themes.

Check our recordings and resources from the 2021 and 2022 Summer Camps, where you can read and hear ideas for what works in corequisite classes, different approaches and models, ideas for assignments, supporting students’ academic skills, and much more!

See all recordings & resources from 2022 camp

See all recordings & resources from 2021 camp

Don’t want to wait until summer to connect with colleagues teaching corequisite composition? Join the conversation now on the Macmillan Instructor Community. (If you already have an instructor account for www.macmillanlearning.com, you can use the same user credentials to log in to the Community. If you don’t, you’ll need to create a new account and be verified as an instructor. It’s quick!)

Join the Community discussions

Professional Learning

We offer a variety of Professional Development for Corequisite Composition. Our support of instructors achieve their goals and outcomes. Whether it's teaching workshops, symposia, author visits, or technology training, we continue to offer instructors the tools to transform their teaching. Use the links below to explore and learn more.

Visit the English Events and Engagement Page

Engage with corequisite topics on the English Community. If you already have an instructor account for www.macmillanlearning.com , you can use the same user credentials to log in to the Community. If you don’t, you’ll need to create a new account and be verified as an instructor. (It’s quick!)

Teaching in the age of Covid: Webinars and Resources

Professional Development Series: Engaging Students to Achieve More

Black History, Black Stories Contest

Coreq Near You:
State-Specific Information

Corequisite courses are all over the map—literally! They vary from state to state, school to school, and even classroom to classroom, and they range from ultra robust to ultra light from long-established to brand new.

The list below represents states in which legislation has been passed around increasing student success. We are sharing what we know, providing a few links to sanctioned websites, but it’s not meant to be exhaustive. Don’t see your state here or have information about your state? We’re working to keep up, and would love to hear from you. Use the button below to contact us.

Tell us about coreq in your state

Links

Not sure where to begin? Browse this collection of links to projects, groups, and nitty-gritty research articles about acceleration, redesign, and corequisite composition. Also included here are links to professional organizations where you can find articles, journals, research, conferences, and networking events.

All links are provided as a courtesy, and Bedford/St. Martin’s and Macmillan Learning are not affiliated with any of the organizations listed here.

General Links and Articles
- - Accelerated Learning Program \(ALP\) website.
  - The California Acceleration Project \(CAP\) website.
  - CCRC: Community College Research Center. The CCRC conducts research in all areas of developmental writing in order to assess and evaluate effectiveness.
  - Logue, Alexandra W. “The Extensive Evidence of Co-Requisite Remediation’s Effectiveness.” Inside Higher Ed, July 17, 2018.
  - Faculty Voices: Testimonials from the Frontlines of a Developmental Education Redesign. A publication from the Colorado Community College System.
  - Special Issue: Basic Writing e-Journal \(2016, Issue 14.1, “Accelerated Learning in Basic Writing: Investigating the Successes and Challenges of ALP models”\). This special issue provides significant information and background.
  - Special Issue: Corequisite Writing Courses: Equity and Access. Composition Studies. Volume 48, Number 2, Summer 2020.
  - American Association of Community Colleges. Empowering Community Colleges To Build the Nation's Future: An Implementation Guide. 2014.
Key Research Articles
- - Adams, Peter. “Basic Writing Reconsidered." Journal of Basic Writing, vol. 12, no. 1, Spring 1993, pp. 22–36.
  - Adams, Peter. “Giving Hope to the American Dream: Implementing a Corequisite Model of Developmental Writing.” Composition Studies, vol. 48, no. 2, Summer 2020, pp. 19–34.
  - Adams, Peter, et al. “The Accelerated Learning Program: Throwing Open the Gates.” Journal of Basic Writing, vol. 28, no. 2, Fall 2009, pp. 50–69.
  - Bartholomae, David. “The Tidy House: Basic Writing in the American Curriculum.” Journal of Basic Writing, vol. 12, no. 1, 1993, pp. 4–21.
  - Blaauw-Hara, Mark, et al. “Is a Writing-about-Writing Approach Appropriate for Community College Developmental Writers in a Corequisite Class?” Composition Studies, vol. 48, no. 2, Summer 2020, pp. 54–73.
  - Cho, Sung-Woo, et al. “New Evidence of Success for Community College Remedial English Students: Tracking the Outcomes of Students in the Accelerated Learning Program.” Community College Resource Center, Dec. 2012.
  - “Co-requisite Remediation: Spanning the Divide – Breakthrough Results Fulfilling the Promise of College Access for Underprepared Students.” Complete College America, Jan. 2016.
  - Daugherty, Lindsay. “The Case for Co-requisites: What Are the Ingredients of Success.” Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness, 22 May 2018.
  - Edgecombe, Nikki. “Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students Referred to Developmental Education.” Community College Research Center, Feb. 2011.
  - Inoue, Asao. Labor-Based Grading Contracts: Building Equity and Inclusion in the Compassionate Writing Classroom. WAC Clearinghouse; UP of Colorado, 2019.
  - Jenkins, Davis, et al. “A Model for Accelerating Academic Success of Community College Remedial English Students: Is the Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) Effective and Affordable?” Community College Research Center, Sept. 2010.
Organizations & Conferences
- - CADE: Conference on Acceleration in Developmental Education. A conference devoted entirely to accelerated developmental education.
  - CCCC: Conference on College Composition & Communication. Often offers helpful sessions about co-requisites and acceleration. The CCCC annual conference is a great networking event for faculty from two- and four-year institutions.
  - CCCC publishes a journal, College Composition and Communication. This journal includes a variety of topics related to writing and rhetoric. The journal is accessible through most academic libraries or if you are part of the professional organization one should have access to journals.
  - IWCA: International Writing Centers Association. IWCA is an affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English \(NCTE\) and supports writing center directors, tutors, and staff with professional activities, including events and publications.
  - TYCA: Two-Year College English Association. The Two-Year College Association is a professional organization that publishes its own journal \(Teaching English in the Two-Year College\) and hosts regional and a national conference. The journal and conference host a variety of topics, all of which are related to teaching at the two-year college.
  - NCPTW: National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing. Dedicated to promoting the teaching of writing through collaborative learning, NCPTW supports peer tutors with opportunities to contribute to the larger writing center community and forums to share and present research at national and international levels.
  - NOSS: National Organization for Student Success \(formerly NADE, National Association for Developmental Education\) hosts conferences and journals which provide information and research related to teaching developmental education.