I am dissatisfied with my placement results from the Writing Placement Essay--what should I do now?:

            If this is your first semester at Goucher, and if you are a strong writer, experienced in doing scholarly research and in using the results in properly documented academic papers, you could use samples of your writing to persuade the Writing Program to raise your placement by submitting a 3-paper portfolio.  Before you assume that you are correct and we are in error, however, please consult the College Writing Proficiency criteria which your prose must meet before you can graduate.  If you do not understand clearly the terms it uses to describe proficient writing, you may not understand how academic prose operates at the level required by Goucher faculty.  Experienced writers know that, when they change audiences, they sometimes must write more articulately and use more carefully crafted arguments in order to persuade their new readers.  If your only sense of your writing quality comes from comments on your papers in one high school or at a previous undergraduate institution, you must accept the possibility that Goucher's standards of writing quality may be higher than those of the instructors who wrote those comments.  Learn who we are by studying what we want from your writing.  If you still believe your prose can meet those criteria, please send us a portfolio according to the instructions on the Writing Portfolio web page.  We will respond as quickly as possible.  If you are a new student during Fall Orientation or the Add/Drop period, we may make exceptions to the number of papers required if you can provide us with at least one sizeable sample of your academic prose.

I didn't get CWP in English 105, or I was not at Goucher for my first year of college--what should I do now?

If you took English 105 at Goucher, your English 105 instructor should have filed a Comment Card for you at the end of the year, and your copy of it should tell you what you need to work on and what course of action seems best.  Generally, there are three options for a returning student or transfer student. 

1. If you are a strong writer, experienced in doing scholarly research and in using the results in properly documented academic papers, you could use samples of your writing to persuade the Writing Program that you meet the CWP criteria by submitting a 3-paper portfolio. 

2. If you think your writing is adequate for college but you are unsure whether you are ready for scholarly research writing, you might be able to learn what you need by taking a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) course, a current list of which may be found in the Course Offering booklet prepared each semester by Student Administrative Services.  Consult the WAC Course Contract for a description of the basic requirements for you and for the course.

3. If you know your writing needs more devoted attention to prepare you to write for college, you should register for English 201, multiple sections of which are offered every semester.  If no seats are available in the existing sections, contact SAS and the Writing Program Director--we'll make room for you even if we have to start a new section.

Whatever you do, do not put off this requirement!  Especially if writing is difficult for you, it may take more than one semester to learn what you need to know in order to graduate.  More importantly, since most upper division courses at Goucher require significant amounts of writing no matter what your major is, your GPA will be needlessly lowered by writing problems until you solve them.  Take the time now to learn to write academic prose and set your best ideas free on paper!

When I looked in the Course Offering booklet from SAS, I saw sections of English 105 being offered in the fall--why can't I just enroll in one of those sections?:

Fall Semester English 105 sections are "advanced placement," limited to very best incoming freshmen writers in hopes they will be able to progress toward CWP rapidly and move toward courses in their major at an accelerated rate.  These sections are extremely competitive, and seats in them are limited.  If you are not an extremely talented writer, you would not do well in them, and even if you are, but are not a first-semester freshman, you would be taking one of those seats from someone who needs them.  Please consider your three alternatives (above) and talk with the Writing Program Director if you have any questions.

I think my writing is good enough for the Writing Portfolio option, or I would like to try a WAC course but I'm a little uncertain whether my writing is good enough--is there any other support for writers trying to achieve CWP?

Yes!  The Writing Center is staffed by the best student writers at Goucher, people who were nominated by their instructors, passed an interview and writing sample, and successfully took a 3-credit course to teach them how to tutor (English 221).  Their services are free to Goucher students, staff, and faculty, and they are open (usually) from 10 AM until 10 PM from Sunday through Thursday, and from noon to 4 PM on Friday.  You can drop in at the Center in the Froelicher Hall lobby, or to make sure you have a tutor, you can make an appointment by calling ahead at 410-337-6551.  The schedule is updated every semester after the Center opens, and you also can get a list of tutors and their majors/interests at the Writing Center web site.

                    Tutors can help advanced writers prepare their portfolios for submission (we encourage you to revise them!), and they can help writers in 201 and WAC courses satisfy the particular CWP criteria they need to work on.  Please be aware that tutoring is a very personal matter, rather like choosing a doctor.  If you don't hit it off with the first tutor you try, you should pick another until you find someone with whom you feel comfortable.