New Next Fall – The RooWriter replaces the WEPT!

By , April 30, 2013 8:14 am

New Next Fall – The RooWriter replaces the WEPT!

Starting Monday August 19, 2013, the first day of the regular Fall semester, the online RooWriter Writing Assessment will officially be launched, replacing the handwritten Written English Proficiency Test (WEPT) with a more student-friendly and student-useful assessment tool.

All undergraduate students must complete the writing assessment in order to graduate and to enroll in certain courses—but now the assessment is on-line, within a longer window of time, and provides direct feedback on a student’s current ability to use academic reading and writing in the critical analysis of discourse.

Like the old WEPT, students write a persuasive written argument in the form of an essay based on a given Reading Packet.

Unlike the old WEPT, students now have a much larger selection of Reading Packets to choose from and will receive a copy of their essay as well as a critical response to that essay written by two RooWriter Evaluators rather than a simple (and unenlightening) pass/fail grade.

The criteria the Evaluators will use for assessing student performance on the RooWriter are based on the criteria used to assess student reading, writing, and discourse analysis in the new 30-hour University-wide General Education Program.

Taking the RooWriter will only satisfy the undergraduate graduation requirement after a student has completed Discourse II (or equivalent), but we encourage students to take the RooWriter at any time (and multiple times) before or after Discourse II as a personal diagnostic as they move through their UMKC career.

RooWriter Advantages for Students:

  • Take online anywhere, at any time, on any computer over the Internet; no long registration delays!
  • Typed with a word processor over 72 hours, rather than handwritten in a bluebook over a 3 hour period
  • A choice of discipline-specific Reading Packet of articles on a subject of interest to you
  • Receive a copy of your essay and critical feedback on your writing in a formative, diagnostic report
  • Can take more than once in your UMKC career, and before graduation, for a current assessment of your writing

Remember, if you have questions about your writing, contact the Writing Studio at 235-1146 to set up an appointment with a tutor or ask about upcoming writing workshops. The RooWriter will be working closely with the Writing Studio to help students make use of the reports the RooWriter provides. The Writing Studio has locations in the Atterbury Student Success Center and Miller Nichols Library.

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