Courses of Instruction

Humanities and Social Sciences Annex 201
(213) 740-1980
E-mail: expo@hermes.usc.edu

Director: Betty Bamberg, Ph.D.

The Expository Writing Program employs a rhetorically-based process approach to writing instruction. Its goal is to develop the critical thinking, reading and writing skills that are necessary for success in all college work. Small classes and tutorials in the Writing Center enable students to receive frequent response to their writing and to receive personalized composition instruction.

Expository Writing 101 (111) introduces students to the rhetorical principles and techniques necessary for successful university-level writing. Expository Writing 102 (112) focuses on critical reading, elements of argument and research techniques. Students must complete Expository Writing 101 and 102 or 111 and 112 and receive a grade of C- or higher in 102 or 112 to meet the general education skill level requirement.

Completion of the Expository Writing Requirement through Examination

Exceptional students may be able to complete part or all of the expository writing requirement through their performance on the USC Expository Writing Waiver Examination or on the Advanced Placement English Examinations.

Expository Writing Waiver Examination

The Waiver Examination grants two levels of exemption: students may be exempted from only Expository Writing 101 or from both Expository Writing 101 and 102. Students who successfully challenge both 101 and 102 have completed the general education expository writing and composition skill level requirements. The Waiver Examination is administered by the Expository Writing Program four times a year: in January, April, August and November. To take the examination, students must register at the Expository Writing Program Office, Humanities and Social Sciences Annex, Room 201, and pay the required fee at least two days prior to the examination date. Examination dates and registration deadlines are listed in the General Information section of each semester's Schedule of Classes.

Advanced Placement Examinations

Students who receive a score of 4 on the Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition Examination or the English Language and Composition Examination receive credit for Expository Writing 101. Those who receive a score of 5 waive Expository Writing 101, receive credit for Expository Writing 102, and have completed the composition skill level requirement.

Preparatory Course Work

Students who are not adequately prepared for Expository Writing 101 or Expository Writing 111 will be required to take preparatory course work before enrolling in Expository Writing 101 (111). All domestic students who have a score below the specified level on the verbal portion of the SAT are required to take the Expository Writing Placement Examination. Those who do not score above the minimum standard on the placement examination must enroll in Approaches to Expository Writing (COMP 040x) during their first semester at USC. International students must take the International Student Examination (ISE) and complete any course work required by the American Language Institute before enrolling in Expository Writing 111.

Students Enrolled Prior to Fall 1986

Students who enrolled in USC prior to fall 1986 and who have partially fulfilled the general education requirement in expository writing by completing Composition 101a will complete the requirement by enrolling in Expository Writing 102 or Expository Writing 112. When they have completed 102 or 112 with a grade of C- or higher, their "N" in Composition 101a will be changed to a CR.

Transfer Credit

Students may complete the expository writing requirement by completing course work equivalent to Expository Writing 101 (111) and 102 (112) at another institution. Equivalent transfer credit is determined by the university's articulation officer.

Time Limits

Students should meet the expository writing requirement by the end of their first year at USC and must complete it before they enroll in their sixty-fifth unit. Transfer students should complete the requirement before enrolling for their thirty-third unit.

Transfer students must work toward completing the composition skill level requirement on the following schedule:

Transfer students who have not completed any transferable composition courses must enroll in Expository Writing 101/111 prior to or concurrently with registering for their nineteenth unit (second semester) and must then enroll in Expository Writing 102/112 prior to or concurrently with enrollment in their thirty-third unit (third semester).

Transfer students who have completed one semester of composition at another institution must enroll in Expository Writing 102/112 prior to or concurrently with registering for their nineteenth unit (second semester).

Substitution of Other Course Work for Expository Writing 102

Transfer students who enter USC with 45 units may substitute ENGL 400 for Expository Writing 102 without petition or prior approval. Students with fewer than 45 units should consult an advisor in the Expository Writing Program if they wish to substitute a course or courses other than ENGL 400. In certain cases the Policy Committee of the Expository Writing Program may consider requests to substitute a course or courses other than ENGL 400 for Expository Writing 102. A student submitting such an appeal must first attempt to waive the requirement by taking the Expository Writing Waiver Examination. A student unable to waive 102 by examination may then submit an appeal to the Expository Writing Program requesting substitution of a course which meets the following conditions: (1) the amount of writing done for the course was equivalent to that required in Expository Writing 102; (2) the writing was expository, analytic or argumentative; and (3) the course does not count toward the student's major or general education requirements. This appeal must include a letter justifying the request and a portfolio of the writing completed in the course(s) to be substituted. If the Expository Writing Program Policy Committee approves such a substitution, the action will be reported to the Degree Progress Department by memo. This policy is exercised very rarely, and then only for students with exceptional ability and maturity as writers who are unable, for various reasons, to waive the requirement by examination alone.

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