College Composition Course Structure

REVISION SKILLS: 40%

Measures revision skills in the context of works in progress/early draft of essay:

• Organization
• Evaluation of evidence
• Awareness of audience, tone, and purpose
• Level of detail
• Coherence between sentences and paragraphs
• Sentence variety and structure
• The main idea, thesis statements, and topic sentences
• Rhetorical effects and emphasis
• Use of language
• Evaluation of the author’s authority and appeal
• Evaluation of reasoning
• Consistency of point of view
• Transitions
• Sentence-level errors primarily relating to the conventions of standard written English

ABILITY TO USE SOURCE MATERIALS: 25%

Measures familiarity with elements of the following basic reference and research skills, which are tested primarily in sets but may also be tested through stand-alone questions:

• Use of reference materials
• Evaluation of sources
• Integration of resource material
• Documentation of sources (including, but not limited to, MLA, APA, and Chicago manuals of style)

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS: 25%

Measures ability to analyze writing. This skill is tested primarily in passage-based questions pertaining to critical thinking, style, purpose, audience and situation:

• Appeals
• Tone
• Organization/structure
• Rhetorical effects
• Use of language
• Evaluation of evidence