First-Year Writing and Placement

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First-Year Writing and Placement

Professional Writing and Public Discourse

Eagles Write!

First-year composition classes at 91吃瓜网 are your opportunity to learn more about yourself and the world around you through writing. The first-year writing sequence encourages students to orient themselves as readers, writers, researchers, and thinkers.

First-Year Composition Courses and Descriptions

ENG 100E
Introduction to Composition

(ACT 16 and below)

ENG 100E is a one-semester course designed to help students build a writing community and develop their process as writers. Students not only learn strategies for reading and writing, they also spend considerable time sharing their work, giving and receiving feedback, revising their writing, and reflecting on their goals as writers and members of the university community. Students in ENG 100E benefit from a smaller class size and more time to build confidence as writers before transitioning into ENG 101. ENG 100E is 3 credits and counts towards students91吃瓜网� progress to degree.

ENG 101
English Composition One

(ACT 17 and above)

ENG 101 introduces students to some of the strategies, tools, and resources necessary to become successful communicators in a range of academic, professional, and public settings. Students learn not only to think carefully through writing, but also to reflect critically about writing through different genres, such as literacy narratives, visual and rhetorical analyses, and argumentative essays. In ENG 101, students are encouraged to approach reading and writing as opportunities for discovery and meaning making. English 101 is a 3-credit, required course for all 91吃瓜网 students.

ENG 102
English Composition Two

(prerequisite: English 101)

Designed to build on the strategies learned in ENG 101, ENG 102 introduces students to the critical thinking, writing, and research skills used in academic and public settings. Each section of ENG 102 differs slightly in approach, and this is part of what makes the class so exciting. But the primary goal across all sections is the same: to help students consider the many types of research they already engage in and understand how those practices relate to the academic research they will be asked to do throughout their time at 91吃瓜网. English 102 is a 3-credit, required course for all 91吃瓜网 students.

first year writing

Appeals Information

Students who score below a 24 on the TOEFL writing exam or below a 6.5 on the ITELS writing exam are automatically placed into ENG 100E.

Adult admits who do not have ACT or SAT scores are automatically placed in ENG 100E, but they may appeal placement via the professional appeal process. The professional appeal process requires the student to write an email to the director of composition (compositionFREEMississippi) explaining why the student believes they are prepared for USM91吃瓜网 traditional ENG 101 class and must refer to the course descriptions on the department website as part of these explanations. In addition, the student must submit a writing sample as evidence of writing competency (please note that the writing sample does not need to be academic in nature; it can be any document that illustrates comfort with and proficiency in writing).

A score of 3 will place students out of ENG 101, and a score of 4 or 5 will place them out of both ENG 101 and 102.

To receive CLEP credit for ENG 101, students must score 50 or higher on the CLEP College Composition test, and submit a writing sample to composition@usm.edu that demonstrates proficiency with the type of writing required in ENG 101. The Composition program will review these writing samples and determine if credit can be awarded.

Students who have completed the Essentials of College English course with a grade of 91吃瓜网�8091吃瓜网� or higher (regardless of ACT English subtest score) will not be required to take ENG 100E and should be enrolled in Composition I (ENG 101) during their first semester of enrollment.

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