WritePlacer case studies
WritePlacer · Put your knowledge to work in context.
WritePlacer is the essay component of the ACCUPLACER placement suite, the set of assessments that colleges use to decide which first-year writing course a newly admitted student should enter. Instead of selecting answers from options, a candidate receives a short prompt and produces an original piece of writing in response, so that readers can see how the student handles an idea from start to finish: stating a position, organizing support, and controlling language under pressure. The WritePlacer case studies are 5 cases and about 2,674 words.
1The Buried Thesis
A student has 50 minutes to write a 650-word placement essay on this prompt: 'Some colleges require first-year students to live on campus. Do you agree?' The draft opens with 180 words narrating move-in day and a roommate meeting.
623 words, about 3 min2Six Paragraphs, No Map
A 900-word draft argues that community college tuition should be free. It has six paragraphs.
555 words, about 3 min3Three Sources, One Weak Claim
A student writes a 700-word essay arguing that 'online courses are not as good as face-to-face classes.' The draft relies on one anecdote about a boring Zoom lecture and the claim that 'everyone knows online classes are easier.' The student has a source packet with three items. Study A followed 1,200 students at one university and found no significant difference in final exam scores between online and in-person sections; it was peer-reviewed.
529 words, about 3 min4Eight Choppy Sentences
A student submits this paragraph in a timed essay: 'Students need good time management. Students have many distractions.
477 words, about 2 min5Food Trucks and a Confounded Report
A student argues in a 600-word essay that the city should ban food trucks from downtown. The argument rests on two claims: 'Food trucks take customers from restaurants' and 'A restaurant owner told me business is down 30%.' The student also cites a city report showing that downtown restaurant revenue fell 4% overall in the same year that 12 new food trucks opened.
490 words, about 2 min