Washington and Lee University
There is no longer an English Composition Placement exam during orientation week. Students place themselves in sections of Writing Seminar for First-Years (WRIT 100). Each has a distinct topic. Sufficient spaces in WRIT 100 sections are always offered each fall and winter to guarantee each first-year student who needs one a place; however, scheduling conflicts do arise from time to time. Students and advisers should not postpone WRIT 100 for the sophomore year. Students other than first-years get last choice in the winter.
Guidance for ESOL students: ESOL students should look for sections taught by Profs. Smout or Crowley.
Guidance for one-year visitors: One-year visitors hoping to take WRIT 100 must wait until first-year students here for the full four years have been accommodated. One-year visitors are encouraged to contact the professor teaching WRIT 100 directly or to enroll in English 201 in the winter term.
Guidance for sophomores and transfer students who have not taken college writing: You are unlikely to be exempted from the requirement without a college writing course. When you register for a section of the Writing Seminar for First-Years (WRIT 100), you will be placed on the waitlist because you are not a first-year student. Please see the head of the English Department immediately in order to gain admission to a First-Year Writing Seminar section. You may have to wait until winter term.
Purpose of the Foundation Requirement FDR (FW):
Students will receive extensive practice in critical reading and writing; will be introduced to conventions governing appropriateness and persuasiveness in writing; learn the conventions of standard English; learn to choose words more precisely, to write clearer sentences and more effective paragraphs, to argue a workable thesis, to use an effective voice, and to integrate the work of others into their own work properly; and, overall, learn to increase precision, fluency, and confidence with written language.