Abstract
This chapter explores how civic engagement impacted students’ final research papers in a first semester composition course. Every Freshman English I student at our college is required to submit a final paper that integrates research. The topic for our course was immigration reform and because I was concerned that the students weren’t fully engaging with the topic, I designed a civic engagement project in which my students interviewed immigrant students participating in an intensive ESL program on our campus. This provided the ESL students with an opportunity to practice their English conversation skills, and allowed me to explore if this form of research would impact two of the departmental criteria for the final research papers: originality and voice. I found that interviewing an immigrant peer on campus had a positive impact on these two aspects of the final research papers on immigration reform as this form of civic engagement led to a deeper connection to the topic.
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