UNR English Department Banner

UNR English 101 Credit-by-Exam Instructions for Students

CBE Home Page
Instructions for 098 Instructors
Instructions for 102 CBE
Evaluation Criteria
Portfolio Checklist
Core Writing Home Page

Print as a Word file or a Adobe PDF file

APPLICATION DATES & PROCEDURES, SUMMER 2008

  1. Pick up an Application for Credit by Special Exam from Admissions and Records located in the Student Services Center. (NOTE: To be eligible, you must be degree-seeking and have a cumulative GPA above 2.0.)

    Summer Session 1: Forms are now available at Admissions & records.

    Summer Session 2:         Forms will be available at Admissions & Records on Monday, July 14

  2. Acquire the mandatory signatures in the following order:
    • Your academic advisor for line [a] (NOTE: If you are undeclared, your advisor and dean are in the College of Liberal Arts);
    • The Chair of the English Department (Stacy Burton) or the Core Writing Director (Jane Detweiler) for line [b];
    • The dean of college for your major for line [c]; and finally,
    • Your current English teacher for line [d] that reads "Name of faculty member to give exam";

    3. (NOTE: At this point, make a copy in case the paperwork gets lost.)

    The final signature space, "Instructor's Signature," is for Tom Black, the Coordinator of English 098, after scores are calculated.

    NOTE: You should get these signatures as soon as possible. Many people have limited office hours during the summer, and you may not be able to get the signatures if you wait too long.

  3. After you have collected all four signatures, take the form to the Cashier and pay the $25 exam fee. (NOTE: The cashier may not accept payment unless the form has four signatures.)

  4. After you have collected the signatures, paid the $25 fee, and gotten the cashier’s “Paid” stamp on the form, make a copy of the form in case it gets lost.

  5. Submit to your English 098 teacher the following:
    • The original and a copy of the signed application form (original in one folder and copy in the other) with the proof of payment stamp; and
    • Two copies of your portfolio. (NOTE: See below "Portfolio Guidelines")



      Summer Session 1 Deadline: July 11, 2008.

      Summer Session 2 Deadline: August 8, 2008

  6. Register for English 101 to hold a place for you in case you do not pass the exam.

PORTFOLIO OVERVIEW

  1. The credit-by-exam consists of a portfolio of your writing. In addition to the inclusion of writing from your English 098 course, your portfolio will contain new pieces written on your own.

    Summer Session 1: These pieces must be written between June 9, 2008, and July 11, 2008.

    Summer Session 2:     These pieces must be written between July 14, 2008, and August 8, 2008.

  2. Your portfolio is due to your English 098 instructor. Your instructor will then submit the portfolio to the English 098 coordinator.

    Summer Session 1: Your portfolio is due to your instructor no later than July 11, 2008.

    Summer Session 2:     Your portfolio is due to your instructor no later than August 8, 2008.

  3. Make two copies of each part of the exam and purchase 2 two-pocket folders. Place a complete copy of all materials in each two-pocket folder and turn the two folders in to your teacher. Each folder should contain two copies of your original application form.

PORTFOLIO INSTRUCTIONS

Your credit by exam will consist of four parts.

Part One

Compose a single-spaced cover letter, approximately 1-2 pages in length, in which you answer all of the following questions in detail:

  1. Evaluate and describe yourself as a student in your English 098 class. What are your strengths as a student? How is your attendance? Does it meet the requirements set forth by your teacher? Do you meet assignment deadlines, and are these assignments done according to directions? Do you work well in groups? Do you show up on time? Do you put forth honest effort?
  2. Describe your writing goals this semester. How does your portfolio illustrate your successful attainment of these goals?
  3. Which writing goals did you meet less successfully? How might you go about meeting them in the future?
  4. Describe the assignment for the essay in Part Two of this portfolio. Why did you choose this as your best piece of writing?
  5. Describe why the essay you wrote for Part Three is a strong piece of writing.

Place a copy of this cover letter in the left-hand pocket of each folder.

Part Two

Include a well-revised, polished essay (3-5 pages) that exhibits your best writing from English 098, Summer 2008. Include your teacher's assignment sheet and any preceding invention and brainstorming strategies or drafts. If you don't have drafts, please explain why in your cover letter.

Place a copy of this essay in the left-hand pocket of each folder, behind the cover letter.

(NOTE: As you decide which essay to submit, keep in mind the evaluation criteria that will be used to assess your portfolio.)

Part Three

Will write a 3-5 page essay addressing the following prompt. You must demonstrate your entire writing process for this essay; therefore, include all of your inventions and brainstorming strategies as well as all revised and edited drafts. (Clearly label each item and draft; for example "draft one," "draft two," "final draft," "Brainstorm," etc.)

Prompt:

Advertisements are texts combining visual and written cues targeted at specific audiences in order to achieve a specific purpose. They often sell or promote a product by presenting and/or manipulating their audience's cultural assumptions, values, and stereotypes.

Analyze and critique one advertisement (from the five listed/linked below), identifying and discussing how the ad presents and/or manipulates its audience's cultural assumptions, values, and stereotypes. Assume your audience is a group of English 098, 101, and 102 instructors and professors, and assume that these readers have seen the advertisement. In other words, do not summarize the advertisement's details--analyze and critique them. Support your interpretations and opinions by referring to specific details from the advertisement. Feel free (but not obligated) to draw from your own personal experience in order to further support your interpretations/opinions. Your essay should be written in an organized manner.

Throughout your analysis and critique of the advertisement, consider addressing some of the bulleted questions below. These questions are offered as starting points, and you may include any other pertinent points of analysis and/or critique you think of as you write and think about the ad. These questions are not presented in an order from which to organize your essay. Create an essay structure based on the outcomes of your analysis and critique:

    • What is the advertisement’s purpose/intent?
    • Who is the target audience of the advertisement?
    • What ways may the advertisement be effective and/or ineffective?
    • How may the advertisement work on a subliminal level?
    • How may the target audience respond to the advertisement?
    • What values are elicited in the advertisement?
    • Whose values may the ad support or go against?
    • Are there any stereotypes in the advertisement?
    • How are stereotypes used to achieve the ad’s purpose?
    • How do stereotypes appeal to the intended audience?
    • How is the advertisement composed on the page and how does this affect interpretation(s) of the ad?

Choose ONLY ONE of the following ads to work with (note that the download may be slow on a dial-up connection):

Ads for summer session 1:

NOTE: Once you click on one of the links and the image opens in your browser, we suggest that you download it to your computer to better view the image. Please consult your browser Help system to learn how to download images.

Place a copy of this essay in the right-hand pocket of each folder.

Part Four

Complete the portfolio checklist. Click here to access the checklist.

  1. Print out the checklist.

  2. Initial and sign the form to be sure that no parts of your portfolio are missing.

  3. Place a copy of this checklist on top of everything on the left-hand pocket of each folder. It may serve as a table of contents to orient your readers.

OVERVIEW OF PORTFOLIO EVALUATION

The entire portfolio will be scored based on the evaluation criteria available on this web site. Click here to review the evaluation criteria.

In order to pass the exam and receive credit for English 101, you must pass English 098, meet the evaluation criteria for a passing portfolio (receive a score of 3 or 4), and exactly follow the portfolio directions. The final grade is either an S for satisfactorily passing, or U for unsatisfactory, neither of which affect your GPA.

Two readers will score your portfolio, and the average of their scores will determine your overall grade. If it is a borderline portfolio, the English 098 coordinator will become the third reader to break the "tie." Scores for all summer 098 sections will be available after August 15, 2008 in Frandsen Hall room 131 (the Core Writing Program office, at the south end of the hall on the main floor). These results are confidential. Ask for the Core Writing Program administrative assistant, who will have your results on department letterhead inside a white envelope with your name on it. You must bring your student I.D. to receive your results.

NOTE: Failure to include the proper number of copies or to follow any of these instructions will result in immediate failure of the exam.