Comp Notes
Comp Notes is a podcast for college students in first-year writing courses. We'll cover the concepts you'll discuss in class, giving you a chance to reinforce or grow your understanding of them.
Episodes
36 episodes
Summer Break 2026
Most colleges and universities are moving into Summer, and many students take a break from their studies at that time. Comp Notes is doing the same. This episode outlines where I see the podcast going once I return in two to three m...
Multimodality
This episode looks at the characteristics of multimodality, as well as some strategies for creating multimodal texts.Transcript available here
Style
This episode looks at some of the choices writers can make that affect our writing style.Transcript available hereAdditional infor...
Peer Review or Workshopping
This episode focuses on strategies for acting as a good peer reviewer for your classmates when you offer feedback on their writing.Transcript av...
Feedback
This episode discuss what instructor feedback is and presents some strategies for working with that feedback to improve your writing ability.Tra...
Reflection
This episode describes and shares some strategies for reflecting on your writing.Transcript here.Additional Resources:
Research: Citing Sources
The last in our series on research, this episode discusses why and when we should cite, as well as some strategies for making citation easier.Tr...
Research: Integrating Sources
Fifth in our series on research, this episode focuses on strategies for integrating outside sources into our own writing, including quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.
Research: Evaluating Sources
Fourth in this series on research, this episode will focus on strategies for evaluating sources, with a particular focus on Mike Caulfield and Sam Wineburg's SIFT model.
Research: Locating Sources
Third in our research series, this episode will discuss strategies for locating sources, specifically keywords and search strings.Transcript her...
Research: Classifying Sources
The second in our research series, this episode discusses systems for classifying sources.Transcript hereAdditional Materials<...
Research: An Overview
This episode begins a series on research. It talks about what research is and shares strategies for choosing a research focus.Transcript h...
Arrangement
This episode discusses strategies for arrangement, or organizing your writing.Transcript here.Additional Materials:
Thesis Statements
This episode discusses the features of a thesis statement, along with some strategies for creating one.Transcript here.Additional ...
Conclusions
This episode discusses the rhetorical moves needed to create an effective conclusion.Transcript hereAdditional materials:
Introductions
This episode discusses the moves needed to make an effective introduction in a piece of writing.Transcript hereAdditional material...
Ethos
This episode discusses the rhetorical appeal of ethos, which focuses on the composer's credibility.Transcript here.Additional Ma...
Pathos
This episode discusses the rhetorical appeal pathos.Transcript here.Additional Resources:Silva Rhetoricae's "
Logos
This episode focuses on the rhetorical appeal of logos.Transcript here.Additional Resources:Silva Rhetoricae's "...
Artistic Proofs: An Overview
This episode provides an overview of the three artistic proofs: ethos, logos, and pathos. We define each one and talk about how they can be used to construct a piece of communication.
Analysis
This episode looks at the genre of analysis.Transcript available here.Additional Materials: Laura Bolin Ca...
Argument
This episode focuses on the genre of argument. It discusses how to use Stephen Toulmin's model to make an argument.Transcript available h...
Genre
This episode focuses on the rhetorical concept of genre.Transcript available here.Additional Materials: "<...