The Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR)

Home General Education Requirements in Writing at UCSC The Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR)

(Formerly Called Subject A)

This requirement has existed from the beginnings of the University of California, and is described in Academic Senate Regulation 636:

The University of California Entry Level Writing Requirement is a reading and writing proficiency requirement. Each student must be able to understand and to respond adequately to written material typical of reading assignments in freshman courses. This ability must be demonstrated in student writing that communicates effectively to University faculty (Am 30 Nov 83; Am 23 May 96; Am 19 Feb 2004).

All students who enter UCSC as freshmen must demonstrate their command of the English language by fulfilling the Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR) by the end of their fourth quarter of enrollment.

At UCSC, students who have not yet satisfied the ELWR are required to take classes that help them satisfy the requirement. ELWR-unsatisfied students must enroll in the appropriate writing class (ELWR-required sections of College Core, Writing 20, 21, or 23) every quarter until they have met the requirement.

There are many different pathways to satisfying the ELWR. University of California regulations stipulate that students may satisfy the ELWR by multiple means prior to beginning a degree program at a UC campus, but that once they've begun a degree program at a specific UC campus, they must satisfy the ELWR at that campus.

Before starting a degree program at UCSC, students can satisfy the ELWR (and the C1 writing requirement) by taking and passing an appropriate college writing course at a community college, among other methods of satisfying the ELWR before matriculation. (Students should confirm that the testing agency or school has sent its official score report or transcript to UCSC.)

After starting a degree program at UCSC: Incoming frosh who have not fulfilled the ELWR by the time classes start will be placed in a college Core course section with an instructor qualified to help them with their writing, and they will be assigned to a weekly group tutoring session facilitated by a trained peer writing assistant.

At the end of each quarter, ELWR-unsatisfied students will have the opportunity to demonstrate whether they have satisfied the requirement by means of a writing placement exam and/or a portfolio of papers from an appropriate course (College Core, Writing 20, 21, or 23). (Students having trouble satisfying the requirement may still pass courses and make progress toward their degrees, even though they have not yet fulfilled the ELWR.)

Students who have not satisfied the ELWR by spring of their first year at UCSC may wish to take an appropriate summer community college course to accumulate a portfolio of papers to submit for consideration of satisfying the ELWR prior to the start of fall quarter classes. (To satisfy the ELWR in this manner, students must also take the September Analytical Writing Placement Exam to meet the UC requirement that the ELWR be satisfied at the UC campus where the student matriculated.) Students are strongly encouraged to contact the ELWR Coordinator Sarah-Hope Parmeter (shparmet@ucsc.edu) before summer begins to discuss these procedures.