WRIT Frequently Asked Questions

For testing window dates for your term, please see the section “Assessment information by semester” on the main WRIT page.

• You will write an essay in response to a short reading (called a prompt).
• The essay will be completed on a computer.
• You will have 60 minutes to read the prompt and write the essay.
• Please do your best work. Follow the instructions carefully. Your course placement depends on the results of this assessment. Based on our grading criteria, students who demonstrate adequate proficiency will be exempt from the WRIT level 1 course.

No. The assessment measures the writing skills that you have developed over many years. It requires no specific study. However, we do recommend that students apply the knowledge and skills they may have learned about essay writing thus far to their assessment.

No, there is no fee to take the WRIT assessment.

For a complete list of programs that require WRIT for program completion, please see the section “Programs Requiring WRIT” on the main WRIT page. 

No, the assessment has no effect on your admission to your program. However, the assessment does determine your course placement. Based on our grading criteria, students who demonstrate adequate proficiency will be exempt from the WRIT level 1 course. Please do your best work. Follow the instructions carefully.

The WRIT assessment is not mandatory or a requirement, and foregoing or missing the assessment comes with no academic or financial penalty: if you do not complete the WRIT assessment or do not score high enough to place out, you will simply take the WRIT course to gain your WRIT credit, and your program standing and tuition fees remain the same.

If you have been accepted to a higher level of your program based on previous studies at another college or university, please email writ@fanshawec.ca for instructions. Please include your full name and your student number in your email.

No: students are only offered one attempt at the WRIT assessment.

Probably not. Most (but not all) WRIT courses are equivalent. If you took one version of WRIT Level 1, you probably do not need to take another one if you change programs.

• If you have already taken WRIT, please email writ@fanshawec.ca. Please include your full name and your student number in your email.
• Please note that WRIT 1040 (Writing Grammatically), offered through Ontario Learn, is NOT equivalent to WRIT level 1.
• We very strongly recommend that you do not make any decisions about your courses without first receiving an answer to your email to writ@fanshawec.ca.

If taken at Fanshawe:

• If you have already taken the assessment and placed out or if you have already received credit in WRIT level 1, you do not need to write the assessment. If you're not sure, please email writ@fanshawec.ca. Please include your full name and your student number in your email.

If taken at another college or university:

• Some English/Writing/Communications courses from other colleges or universities may qualify as external credits for WRIT. In order to apply for an external credit in WRIT, students must complete and submit an Application for External Credit from the Office of the Registrar.
  • The Application for External Credit must also include supporting documentation (a detailed course outline and a copy of the student's official academic transcript if not already on file with the Office of the Registrar).
  • Students applying for external credit in WRIT should also review Fanshawe's information about Course Credits.
  • External Course Credit
    • External credit is credit granted by Fanshawe College for a Fanshawe College course on the basis of previous credit achieved at another institution.
    • Students may apply for external credit in a course required for their program by completing and submitting an Application for External Credit form to the Office of the Registrar.
    • Students are responsible for providing documentation necessary to support an application for credit.  Completed application forms and supporting documents should be submitted to the Office of the Registrar well before the commencement of the course for which credit is sought and in any case must be submitted not later than 14 calendar days after the commencement of the term.  Students must attend classes pending notification of the decision on their application for course credit.
  • Please Note: External credit applications are not automatically granted.  The WRIT Coordinator will assess each application for external credit to determine if the courses are sufficiently similar.
    • Because external credit applications take time to assess and process, students applying for external credit should still complete the WRIT assessment before the start of classes.  If the external credit application is approved, then the result of the assessment will be void.  If the external credit application is denied, then the result of the WRIT assessment will determine whether a student has to take WRIT.
• If you have questions about whether a course you took at another academic institution is applicable for credit in WRIT, please email writ@fanshawec.ca for instructions. Please include your full name and your student number in your email.

Even though you may have written other language tests, these tests are not the same as the WRIT Assessment. Many Second Language Students have excellent English language skills. Others, however, need support to develop their skills after they begin their studies.

We provide small classes with English as a Second Language (ESL) specialists who provide help with English for anyone who needs a little extra support. This class is called WRIT 1034 (EAP). “EAP” stands for "English for Academic Purposes." WRIT 1034 is equivalent in credit and content to the non-EAP WRIT courses. The only difference is that WRIT 1034 (EAP) has a fourth hour of instruction each week. This fourth hour provides more support for language development for students who need it.

Your assessment result will be sent to your FanshaweOnline email address approximately two to three weeks after you have completed the assessment. If it has been more than three weeks, please contact us at writ@fanshawec.ca.

• Each essay is independently read by two professional evaluators.
• Each evaluator gives the student's paper a score. Neither evaluator knows what the other has given it.
• If the scores disagree, a third evaluator reads the paper.
• These scores tell us which courses you need to take.

• Keep checking your FOL email inbox: you will receive an automatic email with your results as soon as your assessment is graded  
• If you received an email that says you placed into the WRIT course but you don't see the WRIT course on your WebAdvisor timetable, please email writ@fanshawec.ca with your full name and your student number 
• If you received an email that says you placed out of the WRIT course but you still see the WRIT course on your WebAdvisor timetable, please be advised that it will take some time before the secured WRIT credit appears on your academic records and the course is removed from your timetable. If you have any questions, email writ@fanshawec.ca with your full name and your student number
• If you haven’t received the automatic email with your assessment results, and classes have already started for the term, please keep attending your scheduled WRIT class and email writ@fanshawec.ca with your full name and your student number
• If you are unsure, please email writ@fanshawec.ca with your full name and your student number  

A COMM course is generally a second, more advanced level course that follows a WRIT course and focuses on workplace writing. Most students, regardless of whether they place in or out of a WRIT course, need to take an advanced communications (COMM) course. Check with your program or with the School of Language and Liberal Studies to find out whether you also require a communications course.

You should make a special effort to avoid dropping your WRIT course. If you drop your WRIT course, you must pay extra to take the course later. The WRIT course is designed to fit your schedule in the term in which your program normally requires it. You may have a lot of trouble fitting it in later. WRIT is a required course and dropping your WRIT course could delay graduation.

Students who feel it is in their academic interest to drop WRIT should only do so after consulting with the WRIT Coordinator, Academic Advisors, or Counselors.