Programs: Writing Workshop

Students: The English Test

English Placement at Ohio State

As an initial step in the English placement process, you will need to determine which first-year writing course best suits your individual needs. To make that determination, Ohio State requires each new student to take a writing placement exam, the English Test. For more information on the English Test, look below.

Scheduling the English Test

To schedule your Autumn 2005 classes during your Orientation sessions, you will need to write the English Test before attending Orientation.

If it is impossible for you to write the English Test during your Orientation session, you may make arrangements to take a make up test during your Orientation program. You will not, however, be allowed to schedule a full set of courses until you complete the English Test.

Scheduling Your English Course

Your English Test will be scored during your Orientation session. When you meet with your advisor to schedule courses, he or she will have your test results to help you schedule the appropriate first-year writing course. Your advisor will also inform you which quarter you should enroll in a first-year writing course.

Once again, welcome to Ohio State! You're starting an exciting new time in your life, and the Department of English looks forward to starting it with you!

What is the English Test designed to determine?

The purpose of the English Test is to place you into the appropriate first-year writing course here at the Ohio State University. The test will help us determine your writing experience with particular writing tasks in a timed writing situation, and from this we will be able to match you with the best writing course(s) for your particular strengths. Based on our knowledge of successful college writing at OSU, we have designed the exam to show us which first-year writing course(s) will help you be a successful student here. The test is not designed to determine how many English classes you have taken or what those courses have included, nor will it indicate what type of course you might place into at another university.

In a timed situation, you will be asked to write an essay that demonstrates your ability to:

select from the topics a prompt that best demonstrates your writing strengths
develop your essay by using detail and description and by analyzing
organize your essay clearly and effectively

If your essay shows good control of all of the above writing skills, the likelihood of your being successful in English 110.01 or 110.02 is strong. If your writing process doesn't enable you to develop such an essay in the hour allotted, you will be better served in either English 110.03 or with a series of courses: English 109.01,109.02 and then English 110.01 or 110.02, all of which are 100-level, first-year writing courses, eligible in various Colleges for college credit.

Who needs to write the English Test?

At Ohio State, all first-year students are placed into the appropriate composition course(s) based on a writing sample (placement essay). Some students do that writing on the first day of a first-year writing course (English 110.01 and 110.02, 110C, H110), and others do the writing ahead of time, prior to registering for courses. If you score 18 or below on the English component of the ACT and/or 450 or below on the verbal component of the SAT, you will need to take the English Test before you register for classes. If you score 19 or above on the ACT and/or 460 or above on the SAT, then you will produce a writing sample on the first day of your first-year writing course. That essay will verify your placement.

Who reads the English Test?

A number of experienced instructors of our courses participate in special training sessions to prepare them to read and evaluate your essays. Their training and teaching experience combine to help them determine which placement is best for your progress as a student here at Ohio State.

How does the placement evaluation process work?

As we mentioned above, every first-year student must write an essay for placement into a first-year writing course. You will be placed in one of three courses, depending on the placement readers' assessment of that essay. After you write your essay, two readers will read it, analyzing how well it corresponds to the criteria listed above in "What is the exam designed to determine?" Two readers must agree on the essay's placement; if not, a third reader must read it to determine into which class you should be placed. In rare instances, a fourth reader must read before your placement can be determined. An essay is placed, then, based on the agreement of two trained readers, determining whether you will best be served in English 109, English 110.03, or English 110.01/.02.

What are the differences among the first-year writing courses?

If the placement readers place your essay into English 110.01/.02, this suggests that you can successfully meet the challenges of that course. English 110.01/.02 provides students with opportunities to think critically about forms of discourse and methods of problem solving, inquiry, and judgment. As in other first-year writing courses, you will have opportunities to practice and reflect on your writing, and you will work with others in your class in discussion and exploration of communication and literacy in institutional and cultural contexts.

If the readers agree that English 110.03, an intensive 7-hour version of English 110, would be the appropriate course for you, you will be in a class of only 15 students, allowing you closer contact with your classmates and your teacher. In 110.03, you'll work on developing your ideas in detail and on broadening your familiarity with a range of kinds of writing by writing and reading about literacy and community. The course meets four days a week, three of which are in a traditional classroom setting. In the fourth class meeting, students meet in small groups with undergraduate writing consultants to collaborate on individual and group projects that complement and expand on the work of the more traditional class meetings. In addition, every quarter, several sections of English 110.03 are service learning versions. In these classes, OSU students spend one class meeting a week tutoring students from Columbus City Elementary Schools.

If the placement readers place you into the English 109 series, that indicates they believe you would have the greatest chance of success in this two-quarter course. In this class, you will draw from your own experiences to develop your writing and critical thinking through a variety of assignments revolving around one subject or theme. You will learn more about developing ideas in detail, about incorporating material from a variety of sources (personal experience, observation, published work) into a text, and about building theories based on your reading, writing, and discussion. As in English 110.03, there are no more than 15 students per 109 class, allowing close contact among students, visiting tutors, and the teacher.

Studies show that a large number of students who place into English 109 and complete the English 109/110 series have good retention and graduation rates. For instance, of the students who began English 109.01in Autumn 1999, close to 70% are still enrolled at the University and in good standing. Those who completed the 109 series and enrolled in English 110 earned a B or better in that course, comparing favorably to overall grade averages for English 110. (English 110 averages Autumn 1999 and Winter 2000 quarters were 3.054 and 3.23, respectively.) These kinds of statistics show that the English 109 courses do a good job of helping students succeed in their future work at the University.

Where can students go with questions?

With all the research supporting our placement process, we are confident that the program will help you succeed in your writing courses and in your entire college program. We want you to be sure of that, too.

If you are dissatisfied with your performance, you may retake the test up to two more times. To reschedule an English Test, please call the Writing Workshop, (614) 292-8134, Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.