​Actually, it’s crucial that you read your email every day. If your professors ask you via e-mail to prepare something for class, you’ll be expected to know that information. Also, don’t underestimate the power of a well-written e-mail to your professor. Often, an e-mail exchange is the easiest way to really understand a difficult point.​

Saying that you "didn't check your email" is not a viable excuse for missing pertinent information given to you from your professor. It is your personal responsibility to always check your email, maybe 3-4 times per day. You never know when you might receive a crucical email. 

Rule of thumb: check your email as much as you check your Facebook and you'll be okay. 

​The answer depends in part on your assignment, of course, but it also hinges on your definition of opinion. Yes, you should usually include an informed decision about the topic that is based on your research and your analytical thinking—and that could be called an opinion, I suppose. But no, you shouldn’t feel the need to write, “I think” in every sentence, and all opinions that you include should be relevant to the essay at hand.​

The very question asked shows an uneducated position about writing. If you were taught that writing is either objective or subjective, then it's time to get that out of your mind. A rhetorical understanding of writing reveals that nothing is completely objective and that even the quotes or stats you choose to cite are part of your own crafting of a particular position. 

A more pertinent question would be, "Can I use 'I' in my papers?" Some writing calls for the complete avoidance of "I," such as journalistic or scientific pieces of writing. It's always a good rule of thumb to avoid it whenever possible but simply putting the "I" in a paper does not decrease the objectivity of it. In terms of FYC assignments, you will most likely find that some assignments call for it, while some don't. Once you understand that there is no set rule but rather conventions or guidelines about such writing, you are all set. 

I was always told that you should expect you grade average in college to be one grade level lower than it was in high school. A-average students in high school are B-average students in college; B-average students in high school are C-level students in college. Quiet frankly, this is just a reality of life. You are entering into a much more difficult, condensed, pressured atmosphere where the work is more difficult and the time you have to do it is limited. For the first year or two, there is an adjustment period which causes students' typical expectations for grades to decrease. 

​In college, it’s commonly understood that an average, mid-level grade is a C. You can earn a B by showing deeper-than-average thinking, organization, and style skills. A’s are reserved for the most excellent, insightful, sophisticated, and engaging writing.​ Getting As is not impossible, but it does require a lot of sacrifice, time, and effort. 

​You’re right that it can be confusing about when you’re allowed to let someone’s ideas and suggestions influence your writing and when you’re not. In general, if you received minor suggestions from friends in peer review, it’s kind to add a footnote at the beginning of your essay acknowledging the help they gave you. If their help was more substantial, you’ll want to cite your conversations with them just as you would any source. Your instructor can help you identify where that line is.​

Side note: peer review helps your writing. But it will only do so if you take seriously the words of others and genuinely try to incorporate them into your own. 

Side note numero deux: there is an awesome plagiarism resource to help you understand the topic on this very site. Go there​ and learn!

​ENC 1101 and 1102 are not lecture classes that consist of hundreds of people; the instructors do not lecture to you about the content but rather engage you in it; and more times than not the class notes are not posted online. For all of these reasons, attendance is a vital part to your success in composition courses. The cap on each course is 22 students for this very reason: writing is not something to be taught lecture-style, but rather is an art that needs to be engaged in in small group settings. Instructors will know your name and will tailor the way they teach under the assumption that you are in class. 

Beside from these larger reasons, the fact of the matter is that the attendance policy in the FYC program is hard-core. Really. Below are the most amount of classes you can miss (excused absences not included):

MWF classes: 3 absences

TR/MW classes: 2 absences

Once a week classes: 1 absence

Also, two lates is equivalent to one absence. Basically, if you miss more than one week of class (2.5 hours) your grade will be affected. For each absence after the allowed limit above, one-third of a letter grade will be taken off. For example, if you are in a TR section and you have 3 absences, your final grade will go down from a B to a B-. Hard-core, right? But, it's for a reason: it is to communicate to you the student how important attendance is in your journey to becoming a better writer. 

Office hours are crucial to understanding assignments and thus getting a good grade in the course. Each week your instructor must set aside 3 hours of time in which their office door is open and they are ready and waiting to talk to you! 

Instructors often feel that students underutilize the office hours that they set up as times when students can drop by to chat. Imagine all the misunderstandings that can be cleared up in a casual, one-on- one discussion: misunderstandings about grades, comments on essays, conversations in class, and almost anything else.​

Don't be intimidated. The instructors are there waiting for you. Use them to your advantage. 

​Yes, you’re allowed to adapt old essays that you wrote, as long as you discuss it with your instructor and take care to make sure it fits the current assignment. Scholars often write on similar topics in different contexts, sometimes publishing very similar work in different journals.​

This does assume that you know the difference between "adapt" and "copy" or "resubmit." An adaption of a paper means that while the main ideas might be similar, the way you are communicating them is changing for the situation. Think of film adaptations of books or of real life events. "Based on a true story," while grabbing the main idea, still changes a great deal of the way the story is being communicated. Think of it like this.  

​In most college classrooms at most universities, it’s a standard practice to open up a notebook right away so that you’re ready to take notes in case something important is said. Some days you might fill up the whole book, and some days you might not write anything, but honestly, it makes you look bad if you don’t even try. Class time is crucial, by the way, especially on days when you do peer review or other group work; not showing up will hurt.​

There have been correlations drawn between the speed at which your hand is moving and the speed at which your brain is moving. The more you write, the more you think. The more you think, the more you are likely to absorb the information being communicated in class. Sitting in class passively does nothing for your cognitive activity. 

Also: if you are trying to impress you teacher and show that you want a good grade in the course, does sitting there without a pen in your hand really communicate this point?

​In some ways the courses will be similar, but the focus here will always be on writing, while high school English classes often teach a much wider set of skills. The biggest differences may be that in college 1) you will have to choose to show up, study hard, and initiate conversations with your professor, and 2) you will regularly be challenged to consider other points of view and to try new things (like computer technologies) that you might not be familiar or comfortable with.​

In high school strong writing was equated with correct grammar and clear prose. Not that those things are not important, but in your university-level writing course much more emphasis will be placed on critical thinking, attention to style and genre, and focus and organization (just look at the My Reviewers page​ to find out!). High school prepared you by making sure you know the basics and attention to detail. Now, you will be challenged to think more broadly about your writing.