School of Humanities
First-Year Writing and Placement
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First-year composition classes at Southern Miss are your opportunity to learn more about yourself and the world around you through writing. The first-year writing sequence encourages students to orient themselves as readers, writers, researchers, and thinkers.
First-Year Composition Courses and Descriptions
ENG 100E
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ENG 101
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ENG 102
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Appeals Information
Students who score below a 24 on the TOEFL writing exam or below a 6.5 on the ITELS writing exam are automatically placed into ENG 100E.
Adult admits who do not have ACT or SAT scores are automatically placed in ENG 100E, but they may appeal placement via the professional appeal process. The professional appeal process requires the student to write an email to the director of composition (compositionFREEMississippi) explaining why the student believes they are prepared for USM’s traditional ENG 101 class and must refer to the course descriptions on the department website as part of these explanations. In addition, the student must submit a writing sample as evidence of writing competency (please note that the writing sample does not need to be academic in nature; it can be any document that illustrates comfort with and proficiency in writing).
For information on CLEP, please email compositionFREEMississippi.
All students seeking to CLEP out of ENG 101 are required to take the CLEP College Composition Modular with the essay provided by CLEP and scored by the college. The Department of English will accept these submissions from Admissions, review them, and provide a timely response regarding whether or not the student should receive credit for ENG 101.
To contact Admissions, please call 601-266-5000 or email admissionsFREEMississippi.