This data may not be reflective of the current, published version of the Handbook. To access the most recent version of the Handbook, please visit http://catalog.jwu.edu

Graduation Writing Requirement

In order to graduate with a bachelor’s degree, students must fulfill the requirements of the Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR). The students are made aware of the GWR process during their first composition class, ENG1020 Rhetoric & Composition I or ENG1024 Honors Composition: Writing in the Academy, and are further prepared during ENG1021 Rhetoric & Composition II or ENG1027 Honors Advanced Composition and Communications: Civic Discourse. Writing skills are assessed in ENG1021 Rhetoric & Composition II/ENG1027 Honors Advanced Composition and Communications: Civic Discourse. The assessment asks students to write an essay based on one of three writing prompts, which are developed by English faculty. 

With the use of the GWR rubric, the essays are graded by English faculty. ENG1021 Rhetoric & Composition II/ENG1027 Honors Advanced Composition and Communications: Civic Discourse faculty receive the grades by the end of the semester. A grade of Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory is issued under the course name ENG0100 Writing Assessment. If a student is absent for the assessment, they are issued an Unsatisfactory. If a student has dropped ENG1021 Rhetoric & Composition II/ENG1027 Honors Advanced Composition and Communications: Civic Discourse, a withdrawal grade of W will be issued. The same grade of W is issued for ENG0100 Writing Assessment.

Students who receive an Unsatisfactory will have to enroll in ENG0001 Writing Workshop to have the chance to work on their writing weaknesses and earn a Satisfactory grade. The workshop can be taken during any semester and is a free, non-credit course that meets once a week. Assessment opportunities are provided in weeks 1, 5, 10 and 15 of the semester. If a student earns a Satisfactory on any of these assessments, they have satisfied the requirement and no longer attend the class.

Students with documented disabilities that may affect their performance on Criteria 6 of the Graduation Writing Requirement, which assesses proficiency of English grammar, are encouraged to work with Accessibility Services (Providence Campus) or the Center for Academic Support (Charlotte Campus) to determine reasonable ADA/504 accommodations. Accommodations exclude the use of grammar check or other electronic tools or programs to identify grammar errors since the use of technology or programs of this type fundamentally alter the nature of the assessment and therefore are not reasonable accommodations for the Graduation Writing Requirement.

Students who have met the requirement of ENG1021 Rhetoric & Composition II or ENG1027 Honors Advanced Composition and Communications: Civic Discourse outside of Johnson & Wales University must fulfill the graduation writing requirement through successful completion of ENG0001 Writing Workshop. Writing skill assessment for transfer students who are exempt from ENG1021 Rhetoric & Composition II or ENG1027 Honors Advanced Composition and Communications: Civic Discourse will occur in ENG0001 Writing Workshop.

Appeals Process

Any student who has completed ENG0001 Writing Workshop twice and has received a grade of Unsatisfactory may file an appeal with the chair of the English department. The appeal will involve the following:

  • The student will write a letter to the chair of the English department, explaining their wish to appeal the Unsatisfactory grade. The letter must be submitted no later than two weeks after the posting of grades.
  • The chair will meet with the student. At such time, the student may present information to support the appeal, including any mitigating circumstances affecting the failure to complete the Graduation Writing Requirement.
  • The chair will meet with the faculty member from the student’s ENG0001 Writing Workshop section to discuss the student’s writing and performance in class in order to have a fuller understanding of the student’s performance, which will be presented to the appeals committee.
  • An appeals committee that consists of the chief academic officer of the campus or their designee, the English department chair, and two other faculty, selected by the chair, will make a holistic final assessment of the student based on:
    • The student’s assessment essays in ENG0001 Writing Workshop
    • The progress of the student’s writing in ENG0001 Writing Workshop
    • The student’s academic background
  • The decision of the appeals committee is final with one exception. Students with documented disabilities that may affect performance on the assessment and who did not receive requested accommodations pursuant to the ADA/Section 504 and JWU procedures may request reconsideration by Accessibility Services (Providence Campus only) or the Center for Academic Support (Charlotte Campus) and/or appeal that denial. The process for review of accommodation decisions is in the Student Handbook.