Will R. writes, It’s all about engagement:

There is the palpable energy of a community of learners who are connecting around questions and answers to better understand their own practice and then share back that understanding with the community to further the conversation.

Absolutely.

I think ‘connecting around questions and answers’ is more important for digital literacy than writing a persuasive paper in isolation. Do persuasive papers have a place? Sure. I’m just not sure that we need to emphasize them in FYC. Or, maybe we need another course in digital literacy skills that preceeds FYC.