Writing Assessment Office
Writing Placement Exam
The WSUV Writing Placement Exam requires students to write two essays that tackle the same kinds of writing tasks students will encounter in the English 101 program courses. Students will have two full hours to write their essays, with fifteen minutes of the exam session devoted to pre-writing. The exam requires students to write about a passage of text with college-level intellectual strategies. The passage is written at a level of sophistication common in college courses. Assessed by experienced writing instructors, the Writing Placement Exam is evaluated on how well students comprehend the passage as well as by how well they focus, organize, support, and proofread their writing.All students wishing to enroll in English 101, including international students and transfer students with no [W] credit, must take the exam. Placement results from other universities or testing centers are not accepted at WSUV.
Based on their written exams, students are placed into one of the following:
English 101: places students into the course that provides an introduction to academic writing at the university.
English 101 + 102: this placement means that students are mostly ready for the challenges of academic writing, but have demonstrated a need for additional assistance in at least two major areas of composition (focus, organization, support, style, mechanics, etc.). English 102 is a one-credit writing tutorial that helps students work on strategies to meet the requirements of English 101 courses. English 102 is taken concurrently with English 101.
Exempt: this placement means that students demonstrate a sophisticated knowledge of the conventions of academic writing. Students receive credit for taking English 101 based on their placement exam results.
There is no registration for the exam, so students wishing to take the exam should just show up at the scheduled exam time. Bring two pens and a photo ID to the exam site. Your student account will be charged $12.66.
For the current semester registration, the Writing Placement Exam is given on the following dates and times. Please arrive promptly at the beginning of the session.
Spring & Summer 2008
WRITING PLACEMENT EXAM SCHEDULE
DATE |
START TIME |
END TIME |
ROOM |
Tuesday, April 15 |
12:00 P.M. |
2:00 P.M. |
TBA |
Wednesday, May 21 |
9:00 A.M. |
11:00 A.M. |
TBA |
Monday, June 23 |
9:00 A.M. |
11:00 A.M. |
TBA |
Tuesday, June 24 |
12:00 P.M. |
2:00 P.M. |
TBA |
Monday, July 21 |
9:00 A.M. |
11:00 A.M. |
TBA |
Tuesday, July 22 |
12:00 P.M. |
2:00 P.M. |
TBA |
Wednesday, August 20 |
9:00 A.M. |
11:00 A.M. |
TBA |
Tuesday, August 26 |
12:00 P.M. |
2:00 P.M. |
TBA |
Questions about writing placement can be directed to Katherine Olson at 360-546-9260 or at writingassessment@vancouver.wsu.edu.