Ecocomposition in the esl classroom: The campus space compare and contrast assignment

Abstract

This essay showcases a place-based compare–contrast assignment originally designed for first-year ESL composition courses at a U.S. university. This ecocomposition assignment prompts students to research and compare the technological design and visual rhetoric embodied in two spaces or buildings in their learning community. Based on my experience using this assignment for three consecutive semesters in 2017–2018, this essay discusses the grounding of the campus space compare–contrast assignment in theories of content-based instruction and place-based ecocomposition, and argues for its suitability in intermediate and advanced language learning contexts.