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Questions on College Composition - FishNDip - 02-20-2019

I'm studying for the Clep College Composition. 

I would like to know how many words is the essay? People suggest to write it out before hand, but I'm not sure, is it 500 words?

Second, how many Citations do I need? 

Thank you.


RE: Questions on College Composition - dfrecore - 02-20-2019

I thought that you were given a prompt (or a few) and had to choose one - so no way to actually write it ahead of time as you won't know what it will be.

But, I think that if you wanted to practice writing a few essays isn't a bad thing to practice, especially if you time yourself (I think the exam is 45 min).

Also, if you get the CLEP Official Study Guide, it tells you what they're looking for (so the scoring rubric). Then, it gives a sample topic and then 3 sample essays written on that topic - with scores and commentary (so WHY the essay scored what it did).


RE: Questions on College Composition - FishNDip - 02-20-2019

I thought you were suppose to use citations? How am I suppose to use a citation if they give me a random topic at the location?

Also, how many words is it?


RE: Questions on College Composition - mysonx3 - 02-20-2019

(02-20-2019, 06:26 PM)FishNDip Wrote: I thought you were suppose to use citations? How am I suppose to use a citation if they give me a random topic at the location?

Also, how many words is it?

They provide the sources for you to cite. I don't recall there being a word count, though I could be misremembering as it's been a while since I took the test.


RE: Questions on College Composition - Merlin - 02-20-2019

(02-20-2019, 06:26 PM)FishNDip Wrote: I thought you were suppose to use citations? How am I suppose to use a citation if they give me a random topic at the location?

Also, how many words is it?

The current college composition CLEP exam appears to consist of 50 multiple-choice questions (with 50 minutes to complete) and two essays (with 30 minutes to complete the first and 40 minutes to complete the second). Neither essay appears to have a specific word count requirement, but they cannot be done in advance.

The first essay is an opinion piece where you read a provided statement and discuss how you agree or disagree with it. No citations are required for this one. In the second essay, they provide you with sources that you use to create an argumentative essay, using citations to reference the sources. So you don't have to do any research, just use the provided sources.

Neither essay appears to require any specific citation style, as long as it is consistent, though it would probably be good to use MLA or APA style since you'll be using those two a lot in college courses.

You should take a look at the CLEP website for this exam. It answers all your questions and more:
https://clep.collegeboard.org/composition-and-literature/college-composition


Questions on College Composition - jacdankul - 02-21-2019

With the word count, my teachers always tell me to believe in quality over quantity. If you think you can write a strong 250 word essay, then do it.


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RE: Questions on College Composition - awolfe5 - 03-24-2019

(02-20-2019, 12:04 PM)FishNDip Wrote: I'm studying for the Clep College Composition. 

I would like to know how many words is the essay? People suggest to write it out before hand, but I'm not sure, is it 500 words?

Second, how many Citations do I need? 

Thank you.

How did you end up doing on the CLEP? I've been so nervous to take it and its literally the only thing left to do in order to get my AA. & do you have any resources that might help?


RE: Questions on College Composition - FishNDip - 03-24-2019

WELL, since you asked I got a 48, so Meh. I used Modern States, It's probably the essay that got me, but I'll take it again so no worries. I'd try practicing essays, before you go. I was probably to nervous and didn't articulate my essay subject well enough.

Curious if any knows, if you mess up on a clep test, will that grade affect your college GPA? Or is it only your final grades that you send in your transcripts that your future employer will see??


RE: Questions on College Composition - Merlin - 03-25-2019

(03-24-2019, 10:40 PM)FishNDip Wrote: WELL, since you asked I got a 48, so Meh. I used Modern States, It's probably the essay that got me, but I'll take it again so no worries. I'd try practicing essays, before you go. I was probably to nervous and didn't articulate my essay subject well enough.

Curious if any knows, if you mess up on a clep test, will that grade affect your college GPA? Or is it only your final grades that you send in your transcripts that your future employer will see??

Schools only grant credit for CLEP exams that meet the minimum pass level, so you should either get a PASS or the exam will be ignored. Not to mention, you could always choose not to send the score to your school if you don't like the results. However, if you fail, you cannot retake a CLEP exam for like 3 months.

Also, so you know... most schools don't count transfer credit into your institutional GPA anyway; that is based only on work you have done specifically at the school. If the GPA earned at other schools (from transferred credits–which includes CLEP) shows up on your transcript at all, it will usually be listed as a separate line item or be calculated into a cumulative GPA line item. Because transfer credits are not part of the institutional GPA at your current college, they should not impact things like academic standing, etc. Also, failed CLEPS and failed ACE course don't appear on your transcript at all.


RE: Questions on College Composition - FishNDip - 03-25-2019

(03-25-2019, 02:43 AM)Merlin Wrote: Schools only grant credit for CLEP exams that meet the minimum pass level, so you should either get a PASS or the exam will be ignored. Not to mention, you could always choose not to send the score to your school if you don't like the results. However, if you fail, you cannot retake a CLEP exam for like 3 months.

Also, so you know... most schools don't count transfer credit into your institutional GPA anyway; that is based only on work you have done specifically at the school. If the GPA earned at other schools (from transferred credits–which includes CLEP) shows up on your transcript at all, it will usually be listed as a separate line item or be calculated into a cumulative GPA line item. Because transfer credits are not part of the institutional GPA at your current college, they should not impact things like academic standing, etc. Also, failed CLEPS and failed ACE course don't appear on your transcript at all.


Ok, thank you! I'm sending my scores to TESU. Let's say my scores are "calculated into a cumulative GPA line item"  What number do my transcript Clep scores have to be to get a 3.0 GPA? 60, 70?