Writing Placement Exam

By Dawn Terrick, Director of Developmental Writing and Placement

Writing Placement Exam Schedule

Summer 2008

Please Note: Dates and Times are subject to change.

August 18, 2008

Time: 7:00 a.m. Location: Spratt 205

Note: The Writing Placement Exam will be given only on the days/times listed above. There will be no additional or make-up sessions. In addition, the Writing Placement Exam will not be given once classes begin.

All students will be placed in a composition course based on ACT English subscore. If you wish to challenge this placement, you can take the WPE, Writing Placement Exam.

18 or lower - ENG 100
19 or higher - ENG 104
27 or higher - ENG 112

ENG 100 Introduction to College Writing,
ENG 104 College Writing and Rhetoric, or
ENG 112 Honors Composition.

The WPE is administered prior to registration for the fall and spring semesters.

If you need to have your placement determined or have any questions, contact the Director of Writing Placement at 271-4313.

The WPE is an essay written on the assigned topic during a 45-minute period. You will be given a test folder containing the topic and a supply of lined paper. Please bring a black ink pen with you. You may prepare for the WPE as much as you wish, but you may not bring any notes or written materials with you.

Your essay will be scored by trained and expert readers. It will be read and scored:

to see how well you limit and shape the general topic,
to evaluate how well you control the essay form, and
to judge how well you select and develop supporting detail.

Each evaluator will score your paper using a scale of 1 (weak) to 6 (extremely strong), using the criteria set out below. The scores will be averaged to give a range of scores from 1 (lowest) to 6 (highest).

If you are already eligible for English 104 and seek placement in English 112, you will be offered an alternative version of the WPE. Brochures for this alternative version are available in the EFLJ Department office, SS/C 222. The topics are listed below. Students who wish to test into English 112 should make a point of getting one of our new brochures.

After your test has been scored, you will receive a placement card listing your WPE score and your placement in ENG 100, 104, or 112. We will also place a record of your test results in your electronic registration file so that you will be able to register for the right course.

Placement in ENG 100 Introduction to College Writing:

If your score is below our cut-off, you will enroll in ENG 100 Introduction to College Writing. This is a three-credit course which counts toward graduation in all two-year and four-year programs. You must also complete ENG 104 and, if you are a four-year degree seeking student, ENG 108 in order to satisfy the General Studies requirement.

When you enroll in ENG 100, you will register for a class that meets three days a week and for a Writer's Workshop that meets two days a week. In Writer's Workshop you will meet with other ENG 100 students and a trained Student Assistant for small-group tutorials.

Placement in ENG 104 College Writing and Rhetoric:

If your score is above our cut-off, you will enroll in ENG 104 College Writing and Rhetoric. ENG 104 counts toward graduation, fulfilling the General Studies composition requirement for a two-year degree. For a four-year degree, you will also need to take ENG 108 College Writing and Research.

Placement in ENG 112 Honors Composition:

Students who have an adjusted score of 4 on the English 112 version of the WPE may enter ENG112. Students who have an adjusted score of 6 on the regular WPE may also enter ENG112. Students who successfully complete ENG112 fulfill the General Studies composition requirement in just one three-credit course. If they do not already have ENG104 credit, students who pass ENG112 also receive three additional hours of credit toward graduation.

Time: 45 Minutes. Do not waste time recopying; make changes on the draft. The readers will assume that you have used the entire time to complete and polish your writing.

Topics

English 104

Writing Assignment

We expect college writers to be able to critically read a text and write in response to that text. Please read the following article. Then, write an essay in which you describe and explain why you agree or disagree with the author's argument. You must offer reasons and support those reasons with your own experiences as well as with the author's expreiences and claims. For this essay, you must have a balance between information from your own life and from the text. If you only write about your own experiences, you will not pass this placement exam. Furthermore, if you do not accurately assess and explain the author's points, you will not pass this placement exam.

Time: 45 minutes. Do not wate time recopying; make changes on the draft. You will be informed when you have 5 minutes left to write. The readers will assume that you have used the entire time to complete and polish your writing.

Goals for Successful Essays

Length: The essays should be long enough to completely address the topic as well as to demonstrate all of your abilities. For most writers, that has proven to be about 3 handwritten pages.

Purpose: Your essay must show proof that you have understood the author's article/argument and made connections to the article/argument.

Focus: The essay should clearly focus on the assigned topic.

Thesis: The essay should support one main idea, and that idea should be clearly identified. The thesis should include the author's thesis as well as your connection (agreement or disagreement) to the text. More interesting and challenging ideas will earn higher ratings.

Detail and Support: The essay should be full of facts, examples and explanations from the article as well as your own opinions and experiences that support the main idea.

Order: The essay should use an effective order that is easy to follow.

Clarity: The paragraphs, sentences, and words should make sense to readers without too much effort.

Essay Scores and Placements

Your essays will be scored by expert readers. Those scores will result in the following placements and reflect the following judgements:

Score	Course	Judgment
1	English 100	The writer also needs additional assistance to pass English 100.
2	English 100	The writer will be strongly challenged by English 100.
3	English 100	The writer would struggle in English 104 but should do well in English 100.
4	English 104	The writer should be able to pass English 104 with a C or higher.
5	English 104	The writer might consider taking the exam for English 112.
6	English 112	The writer clearly