Writing Center

Writing Proficiency Exam (sample) Spring 2009

Your response to the following Sample WPE Question should reflect your ability as an academic writer. Do your best to develop your essay clearly and thoughtfully. You will be given a different question to answer on the day of the exam based on the same article.

The Preparation:

The article “Universities Spending on Student-Athletes is up Sharply, Survey Shows” discusses the ongoing controversy over universities providing special services for varsity athletes. The author, Chris Talbott states that an increasing amount of time, money and resources support these students in passing their classes. Talbott gives an example of a college football player who says, “I haven’t struggled a bit in college. It’s been a breeze.” Because of this special support, many teachers believe student-athletes get so much help that they never learn the lessons of personal responsibility.

Sample Writing Assignment:

Write a three to four page essay explaining your opinion on the topic below. Use relevant reasons and/or examples for support.
The article states that because of special academic support, many student-athletes never learn the lessons of personal responsibility such as studying, time management, and honesty. Do you agree or disagree?

Note: The topic will be different the day of the exam. The topic stated above is just for practice. However, the topic will be based on the same article.

In order to develop your essay, you will need to include clear support for your argument. Your examples should be detailed and should reflect your understanding of the topic. In addition, the essay should be effectively organized and easy to follow.

Evaluation Criteria: The readers will use the following criteria in order to evaluate your essay

1. Content – Does the essay answer the question in the prompt and make sense as a whole? Does the essay make points that are logical? Are those points adequately developed?
2. Organization – Does the essay have a clear pattern of arrangement and maintain organizational clarity at lower levels of text as well as paragraph to paragraph?
3. Style – Does the essay contain sentences that are clear, readable, and idiomatic? Is the tone appropriate for an academic reader?
4. Mechanics – Does the essay maintain a suitable level of control over conventions of punctuation, spelling, grammar, and usage?