Composition

The ability to write clearly and skillfully is among the most fundamental of academic skills, and a foundation for most advanced work. It is also a subject never fully mastered, and even students who arrive at college with adequate writing skills benefit from improving them.

What Will They Learn?™ gives schools credit for Composition if they require an introductory college writing class focusing on grammar, clarity, argument, and appropriate expository style. Remedial courses and SAT/ACT scores may not be used to satisfy a composition requirement. University-administered exams or portfolios are acceptable only when they are used to determine exceptional pre-college preparation for students. Writing-intensive courses, "writing across the curriculum" seminars, and writing for a discipline are not acceptable unless there is an indication of clear provisions for multiple writing assignments, instructor feedback, revision and resubmission of student writing, and explicit language concerning the mechanics of formal writing.

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