If you are an incoming student and have not met the Basic Writing Proficiency requirement (either through prior coursework or Advanced Placement testing), then your application essay will be evaluated as a writing sample. If the application form that you use does not specify an application essay, you can submit a separate essay using the directions below. Your essay will be reviewed by staff in the Communication Across the Curriculum (CAC) program to assess your writing skills, including your ability to achieve the following goals:

  • A clear focus on a topic or basic claim
  • Two or three well-developed points to explain or give evidence in support of the topic
  • Flow of ideas (clear connections between each main point)
  • Effective sentence structure, punctuation, and word choice
  • Conformance with standard usage

Directions

Write an essay about one of the following topics:

  • Is there an influential person in your life? If so, describe this person and give two or three reasons for their importance to you—that is, explain two or three ways in which this person has had an impact on you.
  • Have you had a significant personal experience? If so, describe this experience and give two or three reasons for its significance in your life—that is, explain two or three ways in which this experience has had an impact on you.
  • What do you regard as the most important modern invention? Describe this invention and give two or three reasons why it is important.

Requirements

The essay should be about 500 words and respond to one of the prompts above. The essay should be addressed to an adult reader and should be self-contained (the author should assume that the reader has not read these instructions).

Essay Assessment

Criteria

Essays are assessed on the following criteria: 

Usability

The document is well-designed to meet the needs of a particular audience or type of audience. For example, ideas are organized appropriately to help the document’s user perform a task; visuals are appropriate.

Development

The ideas in the document are developed (explained or illustrated) in consistent and appropriate levels of detail and generalization.

Cohesion

The principle of organization and the connections between elements of the document are clearly signaled.

Style

Sentences have a clear structure that can be easily understood by the intended audience, with good focus (discrimination between key ideas and various levels of supporting ideas). Sentence length and variety are appropriate, common errors of style are avoided, and word choice is appropriate.

Usage

The document conforms to the accepted usage of college-educated professionals in written documents (e.g., noun/verb agreement, pronoun reference, and spelling).

 

Scoring and Placement

The rubric below is used to score essay submissions and determine placement. Students who receive a 4 or 5 will have met the basic writing requirement, and are not required to take COM 101 or COM 111. Students receiving a 3 or below will need to take COM 101 or COM 111 in order to meet the basic writing requirement. 

Score

Characteristics

Placement

5

The essay successfully achieves the five goals of usability, development, cohesion, style, and usage.

Meets basic writing requirement

4

The essay generally achieves the goals of usability, development, and cohesion, but exhibits some deficiencies in style and/or usage.

Meets basic writing requirement

3

The samples achieve the goals of usability and development, but exhibit deficiencies in cohesion, style, and/or usage.

COM 101 or COM 111 required

2

The samples exhibit significant problems in the areas of usability, organization, development, cohesion, style, and/or usage.

COM 101 or COM 111 required

1

The work exhibits substantial problems in the areas of usability, organization, development, cohesion, style, and/or usage.

COM 101 or COM 111 required