The Writing Placement Exam dictates the sequence of courses that students must enroll in to fulfill the WC core learning goal requirement.
Students will place into one of the following courses: EAP I (356:155), EAP II (356:156), College Writing (355:101), or College Writing Extended (355:104).
Directed Sequence of Writing Courses
Students will satisfy the WC core learning goal requirement through this single course!
Students will only receive credit for either 355:101, 103, or 104. Thus, students should only take ONE of these WC-certified courses across their entire university career.
Students who place into EAP I (356:155) must enroll in a three-semester sequence of writing courses to fulfill the WC core requirement.
EAPI students need to pass that course and EAP II (356:156) before taking College Writing (355:101) or College Writing Extended (355:104).
Students who place into EAP II (356:156) must enroll in a two-semester sequence of writing courses to fulfill the WC core requirement.
EAPII students need to pass that course before taking College Writing (355:101) or College Writing Extended (355:104).
Honors College students who place into College Writing (355:101) also have the option of fulfilling the WC core requirement through Exposition & Argument (355:103).
Frequently Asked Questions
The majority of students entering Rutgers will be asked to take a Placement Exam in English (Writing) and Math.
The Writing Placement Exam is timed and contains four components: (1) a questionnaire regarding language history; (2) a short essay; (3) a section on reading comprehension; (4) a section on sentence sense (i.e., proofreading, rhetorical devices, and paragraph structures).
A combination of these four data points and, if available, a student's SAT/ACT scores will determine that student's placement within the Writing Program's Directed Sequence of Writing Courses outlined above.
In almost all cases, the Writing Placement Exam is an accurate measure of students' writing, reading, and critical thinking abilities when matched with the expectations of instructors during the first month of class.
Placements do not guarantee that students meet the standards necessary to exit the course.
Students who feel that their placements are not accurate measures of their current (and NOT potential) writing and reading abilities should still attend the first meeting of the course for which they are registered and then reach out to
To take all Placement Exams, whether first-year or transfer tests, please visit: https://oirap.rutgers.edu/testplace.html
Students who do not have access to the exams they need to take should email
All Placement Exam results can be viewed in Degree Navigator via the “My Course List” tab on the left. Click the course/placement code hyperlink to get the full description.
If students have questions about the results of their Writing Placement Exam, want to learn more about the Directed Sequence of Writing Courses outlined above, or believe they are in an introductory writing course that is too difficult for them, then they must reach out to
Report any technical issues with the exam to the Placement Office, as they administer the exam:
The Placement Office can also provide further information about the test itself and the placement process.
See the Learning Center's page on exemptions.
Per SAS policy, students who have earned a 4 or higher on either of the English AP exams, or a 5 or higher on the International Baccalaureate's (IB) Higher Level exams, will receive credit for College Writing (355:101) and thus are considered to have completed their WC core learning goal requirement.
If you are transferring from another university and would like your courses evaluated for WC or other core writing requirement equivalencies, visit this page.