The Writing Proficiency Exam (WPE) was, for many years, a university-mandated graduation requirement at the University. The requirement stipulated that students compose an essay during a timed exam. That essay was then evaluated by writing instructors. Students could not graduate until they had earned an “S” indicating a satisfactory performance on the WPE (English 3300).

In May 2015, The University Senate voted to replace the Writing Proficiency Exam (WPE) with a Writing Proficiency Assessment (WPA), which requires only that students submit a sample of writing before graduation. 

This sample is submitted by enrolling in ENGL 3300, which is an online course.

Instead of being graded, the writing that students submit will be used to assess the quality of writing instruction on campus. As long as a student submits a sufficient sample of writing, that student will receive an “S” for satisfying the university requirement. While not feeling the stress of having to “pass” the WPE should be a relief for many students, there are still things to do to fulfill this graduation requirement. Juniors and Seniors should read the information on this page carefully to ensure that their graduation is not delayed.

Link to this page: http://bit.ly/WPAatNewHaven

You say I need to submit a sufficient sample of writing to graduate. What makes a writing sample sufficient?

The sample meets the following 6 requirements

The sample is at least 500 words.
The sample was submitted for a grade. 
You are the sole author of the piece (no collaboratively written work)
You wrote the piece for a course at the University of New Haven AFTER completing your first-year writing requirement.
This sample of writing IS NOT from a first-year writing course (English 1103, 1104, 1105, 1106, or 1110)
The University professor who assigned the piece of writing can be reached by email.

***NOTE: Please do note that the university’s academic integrity policy applies to this process. Submitting writing that is not your own or misrepresenting where and when the writing was previously submitted will result in university sanctions.***

I’ve already passed the WPE. What do I need to do?

Nothing. You have already completed your graduation requirement.

So I don’t need to take a timed exam?

No. Instead of an exam that will be evaluated, we are asking you to submit a sample of your writing. What you write will not be graded–once you have submitted it correctly, you will have completed the requirement.

If we submit a piece from a course we have previously taken and has been graded, can the piece be edited before submitting it for the wpa?

Please do not edit your writing before submitting it for the WPA. We want an accurate assessment of the writing being submitted for a grade at the University, so we want to see exactly what you submitted to your professor. Please note that as long as you meet the requirements for a sufficient sample of writing, you will have fulfilled the requirement. Your submission is not graded, it is just checked to ensure it meets the minimum requirements.

You say that the piece must have been written for “a course at the University of New Haven after completing your First-Year Writing Requirement.” Just for clarification, does that mean any course? I just want to make sure a piece I have written for a psychology course would work. The piece is a journal review.

A journal review for a psychology course would work well. We want to get a sense for the many different types of writing being composed on campus, and so we have not included “type” in our list of requirements for a sufficient sample of writing.

So the sample doesn’t need to come from an English course?

Correct. The sample can come from any University course so long as it meets the requirements listed above.

The assignment I want to submit is a position paper that requires a few empirical sources. One of the established standards for WPA is to be the sole author of the essay. In my position paper, I have a few quotes from studies and articles because that is the requirement for my professor. I just wanted to make sure that is okay. 

You are still the sole author of your paper when you quote other authors. The position paper you have in mind should be fine so long as you’ve made it clear that you were citing other authors.

Where will I submit this sample of writing?

If you want to submit a sample of writing instead of writing an essay during a timed section of English 3300, make sure you are enrolled in the online section of English 3300. There is no cap on the number of students who can enroll in this section. The blackboard page for this section will have complete instructions on submitting your writing sample, so make sure to check the Blackboard page at the start of the semester.

If I have a writing sample ready for submission, do I send it in the day I am registered to take the exam or before?

The only way for you to submit a writing sample is to enroll in the online section of English 3300. Once you’re enrolled in the online section, you’ll see instructions on how to submit your writing sample in the Blackboard site for that section. You can submit the material anytime, but the deadline to have it all submitted is about one month after the start of the semester.

The piece I’m planning on submitting was written for a professor who is no longer with the University as of this semester. I wanted to verify that I could still use this piece even though she is no longer a professor here. 

This should be fine. You just want to be sure you have a current email address for the professor. 

If a piece is submitted and does not pass the requirements, what are the options for completing this requirement?

By the start of classes, the blackboard site for the online section of English 3300 will have detailed instructions and deadlines for submitting your sample of writing. We will be checking to ensure that samples meet our requirements quickly, so any students whose sample is not sufficient will have time to resubmit something that meets the requirements.

I wrote something that would fulfill this requirement but I can’t find an electronic copy of it. What should I do?

Check Blackboard to see if you uploaded the paper to your course website (you still have access to these courses even after the semester is over and you might be able to download it there).If it’s not on Blackboard, please find another sample. DO NOT ask your instructor to find a copy of the paper you submitted to him/her.  

Can I submit writing from a course I am taking in the upcoming semester?

Yes, so long as you will have completed the assignment one month after the semester begins.

I have lots of things that would work as a sample. Which should I use? 

Select something that you think is an accurate demonstration of your writing ability (this does not mean it has to be written for a course in your major)

Are there any costs associated with registering for English 3300?  

No. 

What if I don’t have a sample to submit?

You should register for a writing-intensive course, which will give you an opportunity to produce a paper that will meet the requirements.

Before the end of add/drop: Register for English 3300 (contact Campus Access Services if you require reasonable accommodations).

At the start of the semester: Log into Blackboard and follow the instructions there to submit your writing sample.

Please send any questions about the WPA to wpa@newhaven.edu