Self-Placement Guide for English 10600 and English 10800

The Purdue Admissions Office develops an English Composite score, which your advisor will use in helping you decide whether to take English 10600 or English 10800. Most students will enroll in English 10600 in either fall or spring of their first year. However, the following guidelines may help you in determining the appropriate composition placement for you.

You should consider enrolling in English 10600 (4 credits) if:

• Your English Composite Score is 53 or below;
• Your SAT verbal score is below 670;
• You think you would benefit from having frequent individual conferences in which you discuss your writing projects with your writing instructor;
• You think you would prefer being enrolled in a smaller writing class (20 students in English 106 vs. 25 in English 108);
• You would welcome the chance to develop your writing and internet research skills in a computer lab classroom;
• Establishing a solid academic foundation for college work is important to you.

You should consider enrolling in English 10800 (3 credits) if:

• Your English Composite Score is 54 or above;
• Your SAT verbal score is 670 or above;
• You usually try to exceed your instructor’s expectations;
• You enjoy the challenge of an accelerated course;
• You have fluent control of discourse conventions such as sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, and mechanics;
• You usually understand a teacher’s instructions the first time and rarely need for them to be repeated or explained;
• You will seek out help on your own—such as visiting the Writing Lab--when you need it
• You believe you are better prepared for college work than most first-year students.

In the first week of class, all students in all sections of composition write sample essays, which their instructors review to confirm that the composition placement is appropriate. Instructors will notify students who should consider a change of course enrollment.

Prepared by Professor Shirley Rose, Director of Composition, March 2003; updated
May 2005