Journal of First-Year Writing header with portraits of notable writers and educators

About the Journal

History & Mission

The Journal of First-Year Writing was founded in 1975 by Mina P. Shaughnessy, a pioneering educator who transformed how colleges approach teaching writing to underprepared students. Shaughnessy's groundbreaking work at the City University of New York (CUNY) during the Open Admissions era established first-year writing as a legitimate field of scholarly inquiry.

Published by Baruch College, CUNY, JFW has been at the forefront of research in writing pedagogy for five decades. The journal publishes peer-reviewed articles exploring issues of access, equity, and excellence in writing instruction.

Over its 43-volume history, JFW has published seminal works on error analysis, assessment, critical pedagogy, multilingual writing, and social justice in composition. The journal continues to be an essential resource for writing teachers, program administrators, and researchers worldwide.

Editorial Team

Editors

  • Lisa Blankenship, Baruch College, CUNY
  • Dominique Zino, LaGuardia Community College, CUNY

Associate Editors

  • Charissa Che, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
  • Mudiwa Pettus, Medgar Evers College

Consulting Editors

  • Hope Parisi, Kingsborough Community College
  • Cheryl C. Smith, Baruch College

Production Editor

  • Zach Muhlbauer, CUNY Graduate Center

Editorial Board

The Editorial Board provides guidance on journal direction and reviews submissions. Board members are leading scholars in first-year writing, composition studies, and related fields.

Notable Contributors

JFW has published work by many of the most influential scholars in composition studies, including:

  • Mina P. Shaughnessy (founder)
  • David Bartholomae
  • Patricia Bizzell
  • Min-Zhan Lu
  • Bruce Horner
  • Ira Shor
  • Mike Rose
  • Lynn Quitman Troyka
  • Marilyn Sternglass
  • Karen L. Greenberg

Publication Information

Publisher: Baruch College, CUNY
Frequency: Semi-annual (Spring and Fall)
ISSN: 0147-1635
Access: Open access with one-year embargo
Indexing: Available in ERIC, EBSCO's Communication and Mass Media Complete, and JSTOR (excluding the last two years)

Archive Information

Archiving Process: PDF files for volumes 1–22 were scanned as 600 pixels per inch color images, converted to grayscale where appropriate, and optimized for web viewing at 200 pixels per inch. Archival copies are preserved at 600 pixels per inch. More recent issues have been generated directly from InDesign files.
Accessibility Note: Because most early PDF documents were created by scanning print documents, they lack structural markup (headings, etc.). Screen readers will not be able to determine heading levels and other information that would ease the reading process.
Embargo Period: Each volume is made available on this site following a one-year embargo period.

Acknowledgments

The WAC Clearinghouse and JFW offer special thanks to Ann Schwalm, Mark Shelstad, and Clarissa Trapp of the Colorado State University Libraries and to Vince Darcangelo of the Colorado State University Testing Center for their work scanning early issues of the JFW archives. We also offer appreciation to Bonne August, Jim Cody, Theresa Enos, Karen Uehling, Shirley Rose, and Jessica Schreyer for contributing their personal copies of the journal to this project.

Related Resources

Contact

Mailing Address:
Department of English
Kingsborough Community College
City University of New York
2001 Oriental Blvd.
Brooklyn, NY 11235
WAC Clearinghouse: mike.palmquist@colostate.edu
Subscriptions:
P.O. Box 465
Hanover, PA 17331
Phone: (717) 632-3535
Fax: (717) 633-8920
Email: pubsvc.tsp@sheridan.com