Expos Myths

You've probably heard all sorts of rumors about this course. After all, so many people have taken Expos 101 that myths were bound to emerge. And they have. Well, here's your chance to find out what's true and what's not.

MYTH: The first-day writing sample doesn't mean anything, so you can blow it off.
FACT: Actually, if you believe this, you could be shooting yourself in the foot. One of the main functions of the writing sample is to verify your placement and make sure you haven't been placed into the wrong course. If you don't take the sample seriously, your teacher may end up approaching one of the Assistant Directors about moving you into a lower course. Several students have been faced with a change in placement and have had to take the writing sample again (and seriously) to demonstrate that they belonged where they were to begin with. But the sample does more than just "police" our classes—it also prepares you for your first writing assignment. It gives your instructor a sense of where the class is as a whole in terms of writing ability, and it often introduces the issues you'll be working with in the first paper.

MYTH: The course is graded on improvement, so you just need to improve to pass.
FACT: This is one of the biggest myths, or, actually, misconceptions. It's true that when determining the final grade for the course we look at your entire folder of writing rather than just averaging your grades. That means that if you started with NP's but ended the semester getting B's, you'll get a B for the course. BUT, this is not the same as saying that we grade on improvement. Think about it: imagine you started the semester getting B+'s and ended the semester getting A's while another student started with NP's and ended with B's. You didn't improve a lot, so you should get what, a C? The student who moved from an NP to a B improved a lot more, and so they should get an A, right? Clearly, that's not a fair way to grade. In the end, though we take into consideration the progress you've made as a writer, there are still definite criteria for our grading. What's more, we look at the sustained level of achievement. It's not enough to get a B on the last paper and expect a B in the class. Instead, as the course description states, "Your final grade for the course will reflect on the level of achievement you can sustain (over at least two papers) at the end of the term." Check out the Gradatorium for detailed information on how we grade and tips on how to improve your own grades.

MYTH: You should blow off the first three papers since only the last three count.
FACT: This is a variation of the "grade on improvement" myth. The idea is that if you blow off the first three papers and then suddenly do well on the last three papers, you'll be rewarded with a better grade, or that we only pay attention to the last three papers when determining the final grade, so those are the only ones you really need to work on. But there are some problems with this line of thinking. First of all, it's not easy to pass a 101 paper, as you probably know. You need every paper to help you learn the skills you'll use to do well on subsequent papers. And if you're not giving it your all on every paper then chances are you won't do well on any of them. Additionally, instructors spend a lot of time grading papers: if the first three didn't count, you better believe we wouldn't be wasting our time grading them. Instead, with each grade, we're also leaving comments directed towards helping you do better. Often these comments will focus on what you're doing well and what you still need to work on: they identify your strengths and weaknesses. If you're not taking the paper seriously, then your instructor won't be able to help you identify the skills you have as well as the ones you still need to acquire. Finally, the final grade is not based on just the last three papers: we pay attention to your entire folder of writing. So, in every sense, every paper counts.

MYTH: Teachers are told to fail students on the first three papers.
FACT: Not at all! The Writing Program has absolutely no quota for grades: we don't tell teachers how many students should pass or fail or get a C or an A. Grades are always determined by the same grading criteria, and even the first set of papers will have several passing papers. So grading is determined not by the time of year, but simply by your performance. Of course, it may seem like this is a Writing Program policy in most classes, more and more students will earn higher grades as the semester progresses. But this isn't because of any policy decision: it's not that we increasingly pass more students with each paper; rather, it's that students do better with each paper, earning more and more passing grades. This progression also reflects the difficulty of the project of 101: it takes a lot of work—maybe even three papers worth—to move into solidly passing work. That's not a policy, just a fact.

MYTH: There's one right answer to any paper.
FACT: Actually, any argument can pass a paper. Passing has nothing to do with getting the "right" answer; instead, it has everything to do with your ability to argue convincingly for the answer you want to make. If your argument is strong, the paper will pass—even if we don't agree with your argument. Oftentimes, it may seem that your instructor's assignment is pointing you to a single answer, but it's more likely that the instructor is, in fact, trying to help you by giving you a start on the assignment, a place to start thinking about the issues of the essays so that you don't feel lost when you go to get started on your paper. But instructors are not looking for a single right answer; in fact, often the paper with an argument you never expected at all is the one that is moving towards an A, precisely because it thinks beyond the obvious answers to the question.

MYTH: A paper is really your opinion, and everyone's entitled to their own opinion, so every paper is right.
FACT: Well, that would be true, IF papers were based on opinions. But they're not. They're based on arguments. Our grading focuses on critical thinking, after all, and it doesn't take a lot of thinking to have an opinion—everyone has one more or less automatically. Instead, you might think about an argument as an opinion that you prove. You need to actually "argue" for this opinion, and you need to do that by working with the texts, making connections, using quotations, and building all of that into a single focused argument. So, yes, we all have our opinions. But you need to prove it through working with the texts in order for that opinion to turn into an argument, and from there into a passing paper.

MYTH: Livingston 101 is the easiest to pass and College Ave 101 is the hardest.
FACT: Actually, all sections of 101 are equally easy or equally hard to pass. No distinction is made by campus and, in fact, it's entirely possible that one teacher will teach one section on Livingston and one on College Ave in the same semester.  In any case, all teachers use the same grading criteria, and the Directors of the Writing Program meet with instructors twice a semester to make sure that these criteria are followed no matter what instructor, class, or campus.

MYTH: 101 teachers are expected to flunk a certain percentage of students each term.
FACT: Not really: we work hard to make sure every student passes.  That's why we have three writing centers, all the resources you find on this website, a thorough orientation for new teachers, and twice a semester Folder Review.  If we expected a certain number of students to fail, then why would we spend so much time trying to keep students from failing?  In the end, we keep a very close eye on the failure rate in 101, and we do everything we can to make that rate as low as possible.

These are only some of the myths surrounding 101. Have you heard others? Wonder if they're true or not? Send an email to Michael Goeller, Director of Instructional Technology, at michael.goeller@rutgers.edu with whatever you've heard about 101. We'll share your myth and the truth behind it (or lack thereof) right here on this page.