The University of California Analytical Writing Placement Examination provides students with a prose passage of some 700 to 1,000 words. This passage concerns an issue accessible to all freshmen, although it may include some perspectives or information that will be new to them. The passage is of the level of difficulty encountered in beginning University courses, and may be drawn from any of a number of disciplines. Frequently it presents a point of view with which there can clearly be disagreement- a viewpoint, that is about a truly arguable issue.

After reading the passage, students write an essay responding to a single topic based on the passage's content. The topic is one of two general kinds: one focusing almost exclusively on the reading passage itself, and the other encouraging students to draw upon their knowledge and personal experience.

The first kind of topic requires students to analyze the passage in one of several ways - for example, by considering its treatment of a key concept, by comparing its use of a key term to another definition or perspective, or by arguing for or against a particular point of view about its contents. This kind of topic does not require any specific information beyond that provided in the reading passage and the topics themselves, though of course it requires students to use their own ideas in formulating their responses.

The second kind of topic encourages students to draw on knowledge and experience from outside the reading passage. It asks students to explain the passage's thought on an important point and to respond to that thought by evaluating it in light of their own experience or observation, by comparing it with their own reading, or by testing the writer's assumptions against their own.

Both kinds of topics ask students to read thoughtfully and to provide reasoned, concrete, and developed presentations of their point of view, not unsubstantiated statements of agreement or disagreement. Passing essays may substantiate their points of view by any means appropriate to the task, but most demonstrate their writers' understanding of the passage, maintain their focus on the task assigned, and lead readers to understand their points of view, if not to accept them. They must also demonstrate their writers' ability to control a range of vocabulary appropriate for beginning college students, to manage varied syntax accurately and appropriately, and to observe the conventions of standard written English.

Frequently Asked Questions
When is the exam? The statewide exam is offered every year on the second Saturday of May for incoming freshman. Students who are accepted to a UC campus for the next academic year are sent information regarding the University of California Analytical Writing Placement Exam from the Educational Testing Service (ETS). If you cannot take the Statewide UC Analytical Writing Placement Exam in May the exam is also offered at the beginning of fall quarter. Click here! to see the UC Analytical Writing Placement Exam schedule.

Where is the exam administered? ETS groups new UC admits by their zip codes and assigns them to a local test center (usually at a nearby high school). Students should receive information from ETS at the beginning of April. If they have not received their test site assignment by mid-April, students may call ETS at 1-800-596-4385.

What is the exam fee? The cost for the exam may increase from year-to-year. At the present time, the fee is $65.00. If students and/or parents call with questions about this fee, they need to know that the fee covers the paperwork for exam preparation, the scoring process, and notification to students of results via mail after the exams have been read and scored.