ACCUPLACER Writing case studies
ACCUPLACER Writing · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The ACCUPLACER Writing test is one part of the ACCUPLACER suite, a college placement system that, as the College Board describes it, "helps colleges and workforce training providers gauge student readiness for required coursework and identify areas where students may need additional support to succeed." It is typically taken by incoming college students, adult learners, and workforce trainees before or during enrollment, and the results are used by the receiving institution to decide which writing or English course a student should start in - not to admit or reject anyone. The writing test itself is multiple choice and computer-adaptive, and it samples three broad skill areas: sentence structure, usage, and punctuation and mechanics. The ACCUPLACER Writing case studies are 5 cases and about 2,944 words.
1The 250-Word Limit and the Comma Splice
A student is at 248 words in a 250-word scholarship essay and has nothing left to cut. One sentence reads: "The community garden began in 2019 with four raised beds, it now supplies 300 pounds of produce each season to the campus food pantry." A writing tutor circled the comma, but the student insists the sentence "sounds fine" and notes the essay already uses semicolons twice elsewhere.
629 words, about 3 min2Agreement Flags in a Chemistry Lab Report
The set of measurements from the second trial show a wider spread than the first. Neither the instructor nor the lab assistants was able to reproduce the outlier.
575 words, about 3 min3Newsletter Mechanics Under a One-Page Style Sheet
A student edits the Robotics Club newsletter, which must follow a one-page style sheet: (1) use the serial comma, (2) spell out numbers under ten, (3) set off nonessential clauses and appositives with commas on both sides. The editor may fix mechanics but is not allowed to reword sentences.
538 words, about 3 min4Dangling Modifier and Broken Parallelism in a Scholarship Essay
An applicant is drafting a 300-word scholarship essay for a community foundation whose readers are not scientists. Two sentences are causing trouble.
630 words, about 3 min5Tense, Case, and a Vague Pronoun in an Application Essay
Each member must bring their own tools to every meeting, and we learned that a team's success depends on it. Identify and correct the verb problem.
572 words, about 3 min