Writing & Rhetoric Center

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English Placement

College Readiness

First-year composition placement at Cal Poly is based on multiple measures of academic proficiency including high school English course grades, high school grade point averages, grades in collegiate courses, ACT scores, SAT scores, Advanced Placement scores, International Baccalaureate scores, SAT subject tests and Smarter Balanced Assessment/Early Assessment Program scores.  

Any first-time, first-year student deemed not ready for college-level English coursework based on multiple pre-college measures will be required to enroll in the CSU Early Start English program and will be required to complete the English Department's first-year composition stretch program, which consists of two quarters of composition coursework taken as a cohort with the same instructor.

 

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Upcoming Events

Writing Consultations 

Jan. 7 - March 20

Spring Quarter WPE Dates 

April 9, 10, 27

*Click here for WPE preparatory resources.

Writing Consultations

The University Writing & Rhetoric Center offers free writing consultations to all Cal Poly students. Students may visit one of three locations and work with a consultant for thirty or sixty minutes.  *Note: the center is no longer located in Building 10, Room 138; the center's main location is now in Kennedy Library, Room 111C. Click here for more information.

English Placement

The CSU determines four levels of English placement based on multiple measures of students' pre-college performance. Students placed in both Category III and Category IV are required to complete a two-quarter stretch sequence of English composition. Category IV students are also required to complete Early Start English prior to enrolling in the two-quarter stretch sequence. More information is available here.

Graduation Writing Requirement

The GWR must be fulfilled by all Cal Poly students who are seeking a degree, including a Master's degree or teaching credential.  Undergraduate students must complete 90 units before they can fulfill the requirement and should fulfill the requirement before the senior year.  Visit the GWR page for more information. 

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