Passing the Writing Proficiency Exam is a graduation requirement for all daytime students, and it is also required of all Evening and Graduate students who began their studies after the Spring of 2005 or who re-entered the program after that semester following an extended hiatus. Evening and Graduate students who are uncertain about whether they need to take the exam should check with the School of Evening and Graduate Studies.

taking the exam

All students will have up to two hours to complete the exam.

The exam will be administered in the Corriher-Linn-Black Library's Instruction Lab. All exams will be Word Processed.

All Catawba juniors and seniors who who have not passed the competency exam and who plan to graduate in December or May should take the exam this spring.

Sign-up sheets for the exam will be posted on the wall outside of ADM 211. You may reserve your exam spot by signing up in person.

If you have any questions about the exam, or if your schedule conflicts with the exam times, please contact Dr. Grant at gagrant@catawba.edu.

Exam Details

The exam will consist of reading a short essay, writing a summary of the main points of that essay, and writing an essay of your own in response to the author's point of view. You do not need to bring anything to the exam. This Writing Proficiency Exam Overview and Guidelines document explains the exam format and the criteria we use to evaluate the exam.

You should take the exam if you have completed all of your required composition courses (ENGL 1101 and 1102, or ENGL 1103 and ENGL 2111) or if you are a junior or a senior. Students are strongly encouraged to take the exam as soon as they have completed their required composition courses. If you have taken the exam in a previous semester and did not pass it, you cannot retake the exam; instead, you must sign up for English 0103 to complete this requirement. Seniors in their last semester must enroll in English 0103 if they have not yet taken the writing proficiency exam.