ENGL 100 Waiver Guidelines

ENGL 100 Requirement

Fredonia first-year students who are strong writers can be excused from the requirement of a semester course in ENGL 100 (The Craft of Writing) on the basis of a portfolio of high school work. If you are a good writer, have been admitted to Fredonia, and have decided to attend, you are encouraged to send a portfolio to the English Department as soon as possible. If your portfolio is received by May 1st, you will know whether you are excused from ENGL 100 before you select courses for your first semester.  [Please note that as of December 27, 2019, the English Department will no longer be evaluating portfolios of students seeking a waiver of ENGL 100.  Instead, scores of 50 or above on the CLEP College Composition test will be accepted as ENGL 100 equivalencies.]

The guidelines for preparing this portfolio are listed below:

• A portfolio must contain at least four papers.
• At least one paper, but preferably more, must be a finished product with its earlier draft or drafts.
• At least one, but preferably more, must be an expository or persuasive paper, a paper in which you state and defend some ideas or views, or a paper in which you present your research findings;
• You may include papers on any subjects, for any classes. If you intend to be an English major, you should be sure to include some papers you wrote for English classes.
• You may include creative submissions like poems or stories, as long as you also include expository or persuasive papers.
• The papers do not need to be "clean" copies, so you may send the papers as your teachers returned them to you.

Please send your portfolio to:

English Department
277 Fenton Hall
The State University of New York at Fredonia
Fredonia, NY 14063

In a brief cover letter, kindly include the name and address of your high school and your Fredonia major (including "liberal studies"). We would like to notify your future department if you are granted an exemption. Also be sure to include your home address.