English Placement Exam

All students at the Brooklyn Campus are required to take at least three credits in the Writing Program before going on to take Core Seminar.

Based on their performance on the English Placement Exam, students are placed into either English 13 (three credits), English 14 (three credits), or English 16 (three credits).

Students for whom English is a second language may be placed into 13X (three credits), 14X (three credits), or 16X (three credits). Please note that these courses are equivalent to the non-X sections and that they fully satisfy the writing requirement. It is not necessary for students placed into X sections to take non-X sections also before going on.

The English Placement Exam, which is read by faculty from the Writing Program, combines both reading and writing (students are asked to respond in writing to a 500-word editorial) and is scored holistically using a scoring rubric designed specifically for the Writing Program.  Each exam is read by two trained readers (and by a third in case of disagreements).  When the student's response to the essay prompt is particularly weak and/or insufficient for the reader to make a determination as to placement, the student may be asked to retake the exam. Students whose writing samples demonstrate insufficient English language proficiency to merit placement in ENG 13X may be directed to the English Language Institute, where they can pay to take courses to develop their English language skills.

Instructors are required, in the first week of class, to administer a diagnostic exam for the purpose of verifying each student's original placement.  This is important for at least three reasons. First, sometimes students "freeze up" on the Placement Exam. Second, a particular essay may not be representative of a student's actual writing abilities. Finally, sometimes students themselves feel inadequately prepared for the courses into which they have been placed. (Such students occasionally choose to take a lower level course when they feel the need for more preparation.) The diagnostic exam, read carefully by each instructor in the first week, is an important check and balance for students and instructors.

Students who are placed into English 13 or English 13X and do exceptionally well in the course may, upon the recommendation of their instructors, take the English 14 Exemption Exam at the end of the semester.  Otherwise, students can only progress through the writing sequence by earning a grade of D or higher in each successive course. 

Students are not allowed to take two writing courses simultaneously, and English 16 is a prerequisite for Core Seminar 50.

Note: A transfer student may receive transfer credit for one or more writing courses taken at another institution. If the course is deemed equivalent to English 16, and if the student received a grade of C or higher, the student will be awarded credit, will be exempt from the Writing Program requirement, and may go on to take Core Seminar 50. The student will not be required to take the English Placement Exam.

For further information about the English Placement Exam or to make arrangements to take the exam, contact the Brooklyn Campus Testing Center (Pratt Building, Room 110) at 718-488-1019.