College Writing Program

Criteria for satisfying the primary writing requirement
with a course other than WRT 105

Please note: WRT 105 was formerly CAS 105.

(A) Essay Features

The essay includes
a clear question or problem,
a clear thesis,
successful organization, including an effective introduction and conclusion, well- structured paragraphs, topic clarity, logical flow, transitions within and between paragraphs,
a balance of summary and critical analysis, and
appropriate attribution and citation of source material.

(B) Strength of Argument

The essay
identifies an interesting question or problem,
engages a debatable thesis,
evaluates sources and supports an argument with appropriate evidence,
engages sources in a dialogue and differentiates between the writer’s and sources’ ideas,
demonstrates awareness of other perspectives and engages those perspectives, while ensuring the writer’s perspective guides the text,
uses paragraphs to advance the argument (as opposed to reiterating ideas).

(C) Language Use

uses standard American edited English appropriate to the genre of academic writing,
and makes sentence-level choices appropriate for the essay's audience and purpose: this would include, for example, choices about vocabulary, sentence structure, sentence length, and degree of concision.

(D) Critical Awareness of One’s Own Writing

The student demonstrates awareness of his/her strengths and weaknesses as a writer.
The student articulates and provides a rationale for writing choices and/or revision.