URGENT question about College Composition with Essay - Scoring

[JustinV]

Hey Guys, I'm new here. Never used this before. I'm supposed to take college comp tomorrow. Pretty worried about the essay part of it. After you take it, do you see what score you were given on your essay? If so, has anyone ever passed with a "3" on the essay? I took the practice multiple choice exam and got 40 correct out of 50. But I just want to know if a score of 3 on the essay part will be good enough to pass. Thanks!
Jsutin

[jeff080]

I took this test and passed barely with a 51. If we're talking about the same test, you won't get your scores for about a month. Your essays will be sent to someone to grade, then you will get notification in the mail. You won't ever see what you got on the essay portion. The only prep I had for this test was all the papers i've written for school. If you're a decent writer you should be fine.

[Storyteller]

I totally agree with jeff080 - his experience was my experience! The Clep College Composition I took had 2 essays - 30 & 40 minutes - the 40 minutes is the citation paper which is supposed to be more formal - Watch your time on this thing, there is no 1 minute warning bell - And you can't "copy" the text so keep your citations short.
I passed with a 53 which completely threw me; I thought I had done much better than that.
4-6 weeks wait time on essays - you don't receive any score (not even for the multiple choice section) until then.
Be sure which Clep you are taking - College Comp is 6 credits at TESC, College Modular is 3 credits.
Good luck.

[JustinV]

Awesome thanks guys! Do you guys by any chance remember what your topics you had to write on were? I want to write some sample essays and need topic ideas that are similar to the CLEP. And I'm taking the 6 credit one.

[RA808]

I'm taking this next weekend. What's the deal with the citations essay? Not really clear on what that is?

[Bassmanj]

I am studying for this test too. I am mostly worried about the essay part. Does anyone have any special essay prep tools they used? Does IC have flashcards for college composition now? Do the flashcards help with both the multiple question part and essays?? I have been reading a lot on this forum and by the advice of someone on here I picked up [I]The Lively Art of Writing[I] by Lucile Vaughan Payne. This book has a ton of great info in it, but I am looking for any more advice out there. I really suck at writing, and the time constraints for this test are proving to be extremely difficult. How do you manage your time while writing? Has anyone passed if they did not finish their essay? What were you scoring on the multiple choice section before you took the test, and what did you score on the actual test? What would you have scored your essays in the real test. If anyone remembers any subjects from the actual test that would be great to.

Thanks ahead of time for any answers. Any info you can provide is greatly appreciated.

[JustinV]

Hey Guys, I'm no expert on it obviously because I'm the one with the original question But.... Instantcert helps ALOT! I studied just that and I got 40 out of 50 correct on the multiple choice part in the sample test. You want to make sure you do good on the multiple choice part because if you suck at the essays, a good multiple choice score will help balance you out because the two scores are combined.

Time management:

30 min for the first essay
40 min for the second one that includes citation.

5 paragraph essays each is best.

intro
point
point
point
conclusion

Write as many practice essays as you possibly can!!!!!

Sample essay topics:

"The more things change, the more they stay the same." Do you agree or disagree with this assertion? Do you think it is true in some instances, but not in others? Using specific examples, write an essay explaining your position, drawing on your personal experience, observations, or books you have read for support.

Or there was one about whether or not we should cut the funding for NASA because the funds can be better used. Support one side of this argument and be persuasive. Don't sit on the fence!

Hope that helps guys!

Time Management again:

5 min for picking out your points.
20 min for writing
5 min for editing.

That is the best format to try and follow.

[jtalama]

the 40 minutes is the citation paper which is supposed to be more formal

Do they provide you with sources to cite or do you make them up in your essay?

[Storyteller]

They are provided by Clep.

[RA808]

They are provided by Clep.

What citation rules have to be followed? Haven't cited in years.