Welcome! 

This guided-self placement survey was created by instructors in Middle Tennessee State University's General Education English program with input from students to help you determine which first-year writing course is right for you.

Take the Guided Self-Placement Survey

Why am I taking this survey?

This survey asks you to share self assessment of your writing and reading experiences, learning preferences, previous grades, and test scores to make an informed decision about the course in which you’ll be most successful at MTSU. We try to include you in this process because who knows your experience better than you? Also, as a college student, it’s important to be as engaged as possible in your educational decisions.

How can I make a good choice in my course placement?

We want you to be successful in your writing course. Students who are successful in first-year writing are usually successful at MTSU. Please take your time with this survey and answer each question honestly and completely. This guided survey will ensure that you select a class with the right amount of support:

ENGL 1009: Introduction to University Writing is designed to tap into students’ knowledge, experiences, and abilities as writers in order to help them gain confidence writing for an entirely new community—the university. ENGL 1009 supports the writing and revision processes of multilingual students new to the American university system and for whom English is an additional language. The course provides a helpful overview of university writing contexts and genres. Students work with faculty who are experienced in teaching multilingual writers, and significant class time is dedicated to fostering students’ understanding of writing in different genres, cultural contexts, and for a variety of audiences. Significant time is given to helping students analyze the contexts of academic research and writing, as well as the contexts of writing for a variety of public audiences. An example ENGL 1009 assignment is an Assignment Sheet Genre Analysis project where students work in groups to analyze the rhetorical situation of a common academic genre and its conventions.

ENGL 1010K: Expository Writing with Support is focused on literacy development, primary research, genre analysis, and composing processes, with special attention to critical reading, revision, and writing for academic and public audiences. Significant time is dedicated during class time to writing workshops where students can develop their abilities as a writer by writing, getting feedback from other writers, and revising. Students’ rhetorical knowledge is fostered through instruction in writing assignments that develop critical thinking, reading, and writing capacities through instruction in strategies of textual analysis and analysis of multiple genres and mediums of communication. ENGL 1010K promotes the development of students’ reading and writing processes through an emphasis on revision throughout the course. Students learn to see writing as a process and develop critical strategies for invention or developing ideas, drafting, revising, and editing their work. Assignments for ENGL 1010K might include a narrative essay about a formative literacy experience or a genre analysis of a restaurant menu.

ENGL 1010: Expository Writing is focused on literacy development, primary research, genre analysis, and composing processes, with special attention to critical reading, revision, and writing for academic and public audiences. Students’ rhetorical knowledge is fostered through instruction in writing assignments that develop critical thinking, reading, and writing capacities through instruction in strategies of textual analysis and analysis of multiple genres and mediums of communication. ENGL 1010 promotes the development of students’ reading and writing processes through an emphasis on revision throughout the course. Students learn to see writing as a process and develop critical strategies for invention or developing ideas, drafting, revising, and editing their work. Assignments for ENGL 1010 might include a narrative essay about a formative literacy experience or a genre analysis of a restaurant menu.

Let’s get started!

Please take the time to complete all 6 sections and answer all questions to ensure you receive the correct placement recommendation that meets your needs. If you have any questions at the end of this survey, we encourage you to speak with your advisor or contact the General Education English office: 615-898-2579.

• Section 1: Student Information
• Section 2: Previous Reading and Writing Experiences
• Section 3: Learning Preferences
• Section 4: Test Scores & GPAs
• Section 5: Personal Narratives
• Section 6: MTSU Writing Course Self-Placement