First-Year Writing Courses

First-Year Writing Placement Criteria for 2024-2025:

 

First-Year Writing Courses 

All students at Lehigh are required to take two courses of First-Year Writing: WRT 001: Academic and Analytical Writing and WRT 002: Research and Argument. 

Students coming in with credit for WRT 001 will be required to take WRT 002: Research & Argument.

Students in the CAS coming in with AP  or IB credit for WRT 001 and 002 will take WRT 011: Advanced Writing: The Rhetorical Self, to satisfy the First-Year Writing requirement. 

First-Year Writing for International Students

New international students will take an English placement test at International Orientation in August. Based on those placement test results as well as other English language documentation, the International Center for Academic and Professional English (ICAPE) will work with students to place them on one of three tracks: 

1. WRT 001 and 002 only

2. WRT 001 and 002 with special recitation for international English speakers 

3. WRT 003: Composition and Literature I for International Writers and WRT 005: Composition and Literature II for International Writers

First-Year Writing Advanced Placement, ACT, SAT, and IB Policy

To receive credit for  WRT 001 (3 credits), students must achieve one of the following: 
  • a score of 4 on either of the English AP exams
  • a score of 5 or higher on the IB exam

To receive credit for WRT 001 (3 credits) and WRT 002 (3 credits), students must achieve a score of 5 on either of the English AP exams.

Exceptions and special cases:

  • Students in the Eckardt Scholar Program are exempt from all CAS requirements, including FY Writing.
  • Students in the IDEAS program fulfill the writing requirement through WRT 001.
  • Multilingual students are assessed for proficiency by the International Center for Academic and Professional English.  Those who are deemed sufficiently proficient are placed in WRT 001 and 002; others are advised to take WRT 003 and 005.