New Writing Proficiency Assessment (WPA) Exam To Debut

Effective January 2006, the format of the Writing Proficiency Assessment (WPA) exam will change. The current WPA requires you to write an essay about your major or another part of your education, some aspect of modern society, or an event from your own experience.

The new WPA will ask you to write an essay analyzing a written argument. You will be given a short reading selection in the form of an argument and asked to write an essay answering a series of questions that relate directly to the reading selection. The questions you will be asked to address in the essay will focus specifically on analysis of the argument presented in the reading rather than a personal response. For instance, you may be asked to assess the argument’s strengths and/or weaknesses, or to explain how the author is using language to persuade an audience, or to evaluate (using evidence from the reading itself) how convincing the argument is. Extensive personal writing (your opinions, your experiences) will not be called for in the new exam.

The basic scoring system and course placement based on WPA scores will remain the same. Another important change is that the time allotted for the new format of the exam will be 90 minutes. All WPA strategy workshops scheduled for this semester will include discussion of the new WPA format.

All students are required to take the WPA during the semester they reach 60 units or the semester after. Transfer students are required to take the WPA during their first semester at SDSU.

For further explanation of the new format or to see a sample of the new WPA, go to the Test Office Website

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