FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT

THE WRITING REQUIREMENT AT

HOW DO I PASS THE WRITING REQUIREMENT?

There are three official options, one that applies before you're admitted, two that can be accomplished afterward:

1. If you score 710 or better on the SAT II Writing Test (or prior to the April 1995 administration of the test a score of 650 or better on the English Composition Achievement Test with essay) or by a score of 5 on the English Language/Composition or Literature/Composition Advanced Placement Examination, the Registrar's office should automatically record your completion of the Writing Requirement on your transcript.

2. You can pass the Writing Proficiency Exam given on campus by the Expository Writing Program each semester.

3. You can earn Writing Certification in at least two courses designated either Writing Certification or Writing Intensive, offered by two different departments.

WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON WAY TO COMPLETE THE WRITING REQUIREMENT AT OBERLIN?

For students who have not passed the Writing Requirement through their SAT II or Advanced Placement scores, earning certification in courses from two different departments is by far the most common way to complete the requirement.

CAN I USE WRITING COURSES I'VE TAKEN AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS TO COMPLETE MY WRITING REQUIREMENT AND IF SO HOW DO I DO THAT?

It is possible to have writing course credit earned at other colleges or universities count toward the Writing Requirement at Oberlin College. But it takes some time, so start as soon as possible. Contact Jan Cooper, the Director of the Expository Writing Program, to discuss the procedure (King 139, 775-8613, or by email: Jan.Cooper).

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WRITING CERTIFICATION AND WRITING INTENSIVE COURSES?

At Oberlin College WRITING CERTIFICATION courses (designated as "WR" in the course catalog) are those in which instructors require a substantial amount of writing but do not devote special attention to writing instruction. WRITING INTENSIVE COURSES (labeled "WRi" in the catalog) are a special category of WR courses in which instructors devote some attention to instructing students in the writing conventions of their discipline.

WHAT AMOUNTS AND KINDS OF WRITING ARE ASSIGNED IN WR AND WRi COURSES?

Students should expect to do a minimum of 15 pages of writing in a WR or WRi course. The 15 pages of writing may occur as one large paper or as several small papers and other writing assignments, such as book reviews, in-class writings, drafts of papers, or hypertext writing.

WR and WRi courses are expected to give students an opportunity to show that they can write analytical prose that fulfills a clearly defined purpose, with a strong sense of their audience's needs for clarity and the consistent use of such writing conventions as spelling, punctuation, grammar, form, and structure.

HOW ARE WRITING PROFICIENCY AND COURSE GRADES RELATED?

Writing Certification is not automatically dependent on a student's grade for a course. It is possible in some classes, for example, that a student may make a high grade without demonstrating writing proficiency, or vice versa. An instructor always has the right to make this judgment, and students should not assume that earning high grades entitles them to writing proficiency credit for a course.

In many cases, however, students' facility in writing for a class depends directly on their knowledge of the subject and reflects their understanding of the special language habits of a discipline. Students should ask the instructor of a Writing Certification or Writing Intensive course for more information about the relationship between Writing Certification and course grade in that particular class.

IN WHICH DEPARTMENT DOES A WRITING CERTIFICATION OR WRITING INTENSIVE COURSE COUNT IF IT'S CROSSLISTED IN MORE THAN ONE DEPARTMENT?

For cross-listed courses, writing proficiency credit is given through the home department of the course instructor. In the special case of courses cross-listed in the Expository Writing Program and the English Department, composition curriculum courses (EXWR/ENGL 101-103, EXWR 205/ENGL 105, EXWR 481/ENGL 399) are counted as writing proficiency credit in Expository Writing and therefore in a different department from literature curriculum courses in the English Department (ENGL 124 and above, except for ENGL 399).

HOW DO I FIND OUT ABOUT THE WRITING PROFICIENCY EXAM AND HOW EASY IS IT TO PASS?

Contact the Expository Writing Program office in King 139 (440/775-8616) for current information about the administration of the Writing Proficiency Exam.

The exam is a take-home essay that gives you at least two options for topics for your writing. Usually far more people pick up the exam packet than choose to submit an essay after reading the packet. Of those who do submit completed exams, often fewer than one half pass the exam. The Expository Writing Program finds that students with advanced college-level writing skills are most successful taking the Writing Proficiency Exam. In most cases the Program recommends that other students are better served by taking two Writing Certification or Writing Intensive courses (each in a different department) to complete the Requirement. Because of Distribution Requirements this ordinarily happens without undue effort in most students' course studies.