Exemption from English 101 and 105
Over three quarters of W&L freshmen
fulfill the composition requirement (FDR FW) by taking
English 101 or English 105 during the freshman
year. Exemption is uncommon.
Students with reported scores of 5 on the AP
English examination will be automatically
exempted from the Foundation FW
requirement after their scores have been reported
to the University Registrar. Students who have
taken college composition courses before
enrolling at Washington and Lee will not
be awarded major or FDR credit. Those
students, and all others hoping to exempt
themselves from the FDR FW courses, may take the
placement exam. In all cases, students should
make sure that their test scores or college
transcripts are forwarded to Washington and Lee
in advance of their arrival on campus. If
appropriate scores have not arrived at the time
of the placement exam, the student may be
required to take the Composition Placement exam
during freshman orientation, though their
exemption may later be confirmed.
Some freshman must take the English
Composition Placement exam. For this group,
including international students, the test is
mandatory. For some in-coming freshmen, the test
is optional. Students receive notification of
their status—optional or mandatory—via
email and/or from dorm counselors. If a student
receives notice via email or from a dorm
counsellor that she or he has been put on the
"optional" list, then the test may be
skipped. Skipping the test results in an
automatic placement in English 105.
Taking the test gives the "optional" student the chance to exempt from the composition
(FDR FW) course. Several students each year receive
exemption on the basis of the placement test.
However, taking the placement test may also
result in placement in English
101, Expository Writing.
A very few students will be exempted from the
composition requirement on the basis of their
placement essay. Freshman advisors will be
informed of students' placement.
FW Objectives
The ability to write clearly, persuasively, and elegantly is a skill necessary for all college-level academic work. In the writing courses, students
*are introduced to rhetorical conventions governing appropriateness and persuasiveness in writing;
*learn the conventions of standard English;
*learn to choose words more precisely, to write clear sentences and effective paragraphs;
*argue a workable thesis;
*integrate the work of others into their own work through proper citation techniques; and
*increase their confidence with written language.
The English Department assesses the proficiency of entering students by a placement examination. The most proficient are exempt from the writing requirement. Successful completion of either of the following courses satisfies this requirement.
Advice for
Exempted Freshmen
Be sure to exercise your good writing skills
by taking courses that require writing
(especially formal essays). These courses
can be found in most departments. Consider
fulfilling your Humanities Literature (HL)
distribution requirement with a 200-level literature course in English
or in Literature in Translation.
Advice for
Sophomores, Transfer Students, and Others
who have not
fulfilled the Composition Requirement. You
are unlikely to be exempted from the
requirement. When you register for a
section of the composition course in which you
were originally placed (101 or 105), you will be
placed on the waitlist because you are not a
freshman. Please see the head of the
English Department immediately in order to gain
admission to the composition section of your
choice.
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