First-Year Writing Placement Guidance

Welcome to college writing at Michigan Tech! The college writing courses you enroll in are intended to help you develop your writing, reading, research, and thinking skills that both prepare you for success in college and lay a foundation for writing in your major–as well as your path after graduation. Your pathway through the Composition and Communication-Intensive curriculum will depend on your previous writing experiences and multiple metrics that will help ensure you are in the course that is best aligned with your learning needs. 

Several criteria are used to recommend a college writing course start and pathway for students.

UN 1014: College Writing and Reading

UN 1014 is for students who:

  • Do not have AP credit or concurrent enrollment credit for an “English 101” or Composition I course.
  • Took a language arts/composition course recently but did not have a college composition or advanced writing course during high school.
  • Would benefit from a foundational experience managing multi-stage, source-based writing projects
  • Meet benchmarks in ACT and SAT tests, if taken
  •  

UN 1015: College Writing, Reading, and Research

UN 1015 is a good place to start for for students who:

  • Have taken advanced (honors, AP, IB, dual enrolled college credit) writing/English classes in the last two years.
  • Have completed multi-stage writing projects in other classes.
  • Feel confident in their writing skills and are self-motivated academic writers 

 All students must have six credits of Composition and Communication-Intensive coursework. If you have taken a Comp 1/Comp 2 sequence as a dual credit/concurrent enrollment student, you have likely already completed this degree requirement.

Placement Credit Reference Chart

To determine which course is the best starting place for you and how credit is determine, review this chart. For an in-depth recommendation, complete this First-Year Writing Placement Survey.

   UN 1014: College Writing and Reading   UN 1015: College Writing, Reading, and Research  Communication-Intensive Course

AP Language and Composition Score of 3 or higher

 You will receive credit for 1014.   You should enroll in UN 1015  You need to take an additional course only if it is required by your major or minor (for example, some programs of study require a technical writing or speech course in addition to first-year writing). 
 AP Research score of 3, 4 or 5  Exempt from UN 1014  Credit for UN 1015  You need to take an additional course only if it is required by your major or minor (for example, some programs of study require a technical writing or speech course in addition to first-year writing). 
 A concurrent enrollment or dual credit course titled “Composition 1” or “English 101”   You receive credit for UN 1014  You should enroll in UN 1015  You need to take an additional course only if it is required by your major or minor (for example, some programs of study require a technical writing or speech course in addition to first-year writing). 
 A concurrent enrollment or dual credit course title Composition 2 or English 102  You receive credit for this course if you have also taken Comp 1/Eng 101  You will receive credit for this course  You need to take an additional course only if it is required by your major or minor (for example, some programs of study require a technical writing or speech course in addition to first-year writing).