The Tutoring Book - California State University, Sacramento

The Writing Center and the WPJ
133
Leslie Freeland
Spring 2009
Becoming a Junior at Sac State comes with its own right of passage: the WPJ. The WPJ (Writing
Placement for Juniors) exam is a placement test that will allow the student to be placed in the English
class that will help them the most. Students taking the test will either be placed directly into their Writing
Intensive (WI) class that they need to graduate, or they may be required to take one or two additional
English classes before they take their WI requirement. This is to ensure each student maximum success
when they finally do take the WI course.
However, since not all students excel at timed writing tests, or may even feel that they could really benefit
from a foundational writing course, there is another option. Students do not have to take the WPJ.
Students can choose to take the English 109M (for multilingual students) or the English 109W course that
will serve the same purpose as the WPJ placement test. Instead of a timed writing test, this choice allows
students to enroll in a semester-long course where they will write several essays. At the end of the
semester, the students in these courses will turn in a portfolio containing the essays and a cover letter that
shows how they improved. Much like the WPJ, after students finish the 109M or 109W course, they will
then be placed into the next English course that is the best fit for them.
How will each student know which choice is best for him or her? This is where the tutors at the Writing
Center come in. Our job, as tutors, is to explain this choice to the students/writers and help them decide
which option may be the best for them. We can do this by discussing their current reading and writing
habits. Ultimately, it is up to the students to decide what is best for them. Our focus as tutors should be to
help them work through this difficult choice.
Choosing the WPJ
If the students/writers read frequently, feel they have a lot of previous college writing experience, feel
confidant that their writing will earn them a good grade in their classes, feel comfortable writing in an
academic style, are comfortable and confidant in timed-writing situations, and are confidant as editors and
revisers of their own work, then these students/writers are good candidates for the WPJ.
Understanding the WPJ:
• Students will take the WPJ only once
• The WPJ has two parts:
o the student will be presented with 4-5 mini texts, such as a cartoon, a map, an
advertisement, a written excerpt, a table, etc; the student will then figure out an
issue that relates to all of the presented texts, take a position on this issue, and
write a short argumentative essay
� students will be given one hour to complete this portion of the test
o the student will then write a separate, critical, self-reflection essay about their
writing process: how they write and why they write
� students will be given 30 minutes to complete this portion of the test
• Once the test is complete, students will be placed into the writing course that fits their
level of writing best:
o some students will be able to take their WI class next (3 unit placement)
o some students can enroll in the WI course along with the 1 unit, group tutoring,
109X course (4 unit placement)