WP003: The 75-Hour Writing Proficiency Examination

WP003 is a two-part essay examination that is the initial step in fulfilling the University's writing proficiency graduation requirement.  It is offered on-campus twice each semester on Saturday mornings and once during the summer on the Monday morning before the beginning of the 8-week session.  It is also offered several times each semester at off-campus locations.  One-hour review seminars are held in the Writing Lab before each on-campus examination.

Students should enroll in WP003 in the semester after they have completed their 75th credit hour towards graduation, following the same procedure as enrolling in any other course at Southeast.  WP003 carries no credit hours and hence does not incur any fees.  Students are strongly urged not to delay taking WP003: if a student has not fulfilled the writing proficiency requirement, he or she will not receive a diploma.  Further, under certain circumstances, that student will not be allowed to participate in commencement.

What to bring: Please come about 15 minutes early for your exam, and be sure to bring two forms of photo identification and a pen or pencil with you.

WP003 Test Dates and Locations for Fall 2009

Review seminars for WP 003 will be held in Kent Library 412 (Center For Writing Excellence) on the Cape Campus:

Wednesday, October 28 -- 9 am or 1 pm

Thursday, October 29 -- 2 pm or 7 pm

All seminars are identical and each will last approximately one hour.  No registration is required.

Students with disabilities: Students with documented learning disabilities who require special testing accommodations should contact Testing Services as early in the semester as possible.

Description: WP003 takes approximately two hours.  The first part of the examination is a 50-minute expository essay on a general knowledge topic.  The second part of the examination is a 70-minute argumentative essay on a topic related to the part one topic.  In part two, the student is provided with source material and asked to incorporate those sources into his or her essays.  Sample topics are available here.

Scoring:  The WP003 exams are scored by trained faculty from across the campus on the Saturday following the examination.  Each part of the exam is scored holistically on a scale of 0-6; thus, the examination score ranges from 0-12.  In order to fulfill the writing proficiency requirement, a student must score at least a 7.

If you fail:  If a student does not receive a score of 7 or greater on WP003, he or she will meet with a faculty member from the Writing Outcomes Program, who will explain the following options:

1. The student can retake WP003.  WP003 can be retaken any number of times; however, a student can take the exam only once each semester.

2. The student can appeal the score.  A student can choose to write an appeal letter requesting that the exam be scored again and explaining on what basis the student feels the rescoring is justified.  This option is appropriate for students who receive a score of 6.5.

3. The student can complete an Option A portfolio.  The Option A portfolio consists of three timed essays: the parts 1 and 2 of WP003 and an additional source-based argumentative essay; please note that the first two parts will be a different topic than the regular WP003 exams.  The student has up to three hours to complete each essay.  The Option A portfolio is offered on three consecutive afternoons twice each semester.  This option is appropriate for students who, because of text anxiety, learning disability, etc., require additional time to write their essays.

4. The student can complete an Option C portfolio.  The Option C portfolio is a semester-long project consisting of five essays the student writes and/or revises under the supervision of faculty from the Writing Outcomes Program.  A student completing this portfolio must meet with the supervising faculty member at least 8 times during the semester.  Because the Option C portfolio is time-consuming and labor-intensive, it should be chosen only as a last resort.