Overview

This site provides comprehensive information about taking the Composition Examination (CE) required of all undergraduate students entering Rice University.  For more information on the graduation requirements, see the Undergraduate Students section of the Rice General Announcements.

If you are entering Rice in the fall of 2009, you should plan to take the CE in June or July 2009.

You may only take the examination once.

The deadlines for the exam are as follows:

1. Please allow 4 to 6 hours to read the articles.  Students can also start writing their essay any time after this day and time. Please allow at least 6 hours to write the essay.
2. Test ends - Deadline to submit essay means that your essay must be submitted to the Comp Exam site by this day and time.
3. Results available means that the results will be distributed to the students and their advisors by this date and time. You will receive an e-mail (at your Rice e-mail address) informing you that your results are available.

Purpose and Characteristics of the CE

The exam assesses your strengths in expository writing to provide you and your advisor with an evaluation that will help inform your selection of classes.  It also determines whether you will be required to enroll in an introduction to academic writing class (COMM 103) during your first year at Rice. 

With the CE, you will have five days to compose and submit your essay based on the posted readings. Completing the CE online allows you to compose in a familiar, less-pressured environment; it also gives you more time to read and think about the readings and the topic and to draft and revise your essay flexibly, using the word-processing software of your choice.

Procedures for the CE

The steps to complete the exam are as follows:

1. Log-in to view the topic and download the readings;
2. Write your essay based on the readings,
3. Submit your essay for review, and
4. Check your Rice e-mail to see that you have received verification of the receipt of your essay.

Evaluation of the CE

Writing instructors/coaches will evaluate your CE essay. The essay will be graded on its own merits according to the grading criteria below. The graders will award your essay a P for pass, a LP for low pass, and NS for not satisfactory. Then, a group grading manager will review the suggested grade for your essay and award you a final grade. Should any question remain on the evaluation of your essay, the Director will review it and determine the final grade.

Essays will be evaluated using the following criteria:

Content

1. Developed a clear and central thesis or argument
2. Extracted the most important and all essential information from each reading
3. Supported claims with well-chosen examples from the readings and student’s own experience and adequately explained how these examples support each point

Organization

4. Established an adequate introduction and a clear purpose for the essay in the first paragraph
5. Clearly organized essay to elaborate on and support a central thesis
6. Structured the essay logically and coherently, avoiding superficial or random lists of points
7. Organized the essay so that the progression of ideas and transition from one paragraph to the next are logical and easy to follow and individual paragraphs are cohesive

Documentation

8. Paraphrased the author's language concisely and accurately
9. Properly used quotation marks for all information from the readings
10. Properly documented all quotations and paraphrased information

Style and Grammar

11. Constructed sentences and selected words that enhanced the clarity and argumentative effectiveness of the essay
12. Avoided pretentious, wordy constructions (for example, no complex words when simple words would do, no overuse of “one,” no overuse of passive voice)
13. Wrote clear, concise, engaging prose
14. Adhered to the standard contemporary conventions for grammar, spelling, and usage 
15. Proofread for typos and other careless errors

Overall

16. Wrote an effective essay conforming to the instructions and the Rice Honor Code guidelines.
17. Presented a complete, coherent, accurate, and thoughtful representation of the ideas from the readings effectively interwoven with the student's own ideas and argument

The results will help us to identify students who will benefit from additional instruction in writing. The CE does not affect your admission status or financial aid, but when you have fulfilled the CE, the results will be shown on your permanent academic record or transcript.

Honor Code Guidelines

You are on your honor to complete the writing of the essay without the assistance of others. Even though you have not yet matriculated at Rice University, your work in this examination is covered by the Rice Honor Code, which provides that you do this work without assistance from anyone else. Receiving any aid from others, for example, obtaining ideas or input on the content, soliciting opinions on your ideas or writing, discussing the topic with others, having someone edit or proofread your essay, or submitting an essay that someone else has written are all examples of academic fraud. Academic fraud is punished by penalties up to and including expulsion from the university.

Failing to credit your sources constitutes academic fraud as well. You should be extremely careful that you quote, paraphrase, and cite all of the readings used to write your essay. Not doing so is plagiarism. If you are unsure what constitutes plagiarism, click here.  You will also be provided some guidance on properly documenting your sources when you download the essay topics.

The following is a brief excerpt from Rice's Honor Code booklet to help you understand how the Honor Code is viewed at Rice:

"All assignments submitted at the University are pledged, either explicitly or implicitly, and students fulfill their responsibilities to their fellow students under the Honor System when they can pledge, in good conscience, that their work is their own.

"Cultures differ in their views about the ownership of ideas. In some cultures people believe that ideas, like air and sunshine, cannot be owned, and they do not acknowledge those who first publish ideas. Some countries are only now developing laws for ownership of patents and copyrights. Rice University is not part of such traditions: it follows Western conventions for dealing with intellectual properties. Its Code of Conduct acknowledges the unique intellectual contributions of individuals at the same time it recognizes that all individuals rely on the concepts, creations, and inventions of others. Although some students come from countries and cultures that do not recognize individual contributions to knowledge, Rice University expects these students and all other students and faculty to participate in an academic community that honors the intellectual work of others and acknowledges their influences. This community's commitment is formally recorded in a system of rules called The Honor Code" (Quote from http://honor.rice.edu/bluebook.cfm?doc_id=10355).

Rice University students and faculty are proud of the Honor Code tradition. To read more about the Rice University Honor Code, click here.

In addition to violating the Rice Honor Code, you are doing a disservice to yourself and your future academic career at Rice if you obtain outside assistance with the CE. The ability to write effectively is crucial to your success, and you want the CE to provide an accurate measurement of your ability so that you can be guided into the appropriate classes for your writing level.

Transfers and undecided students

If you are a transfer student who has not yet decided whether to enroll at Rice (for example, you may be waiting for financial aid information), you should still plan to take the CE online.

Special Circumstances

All new students are expected to complete the CE according to the dates posted; however, students who find it impossible to take the examination during these dates should send an e-mail explaining their situation to compexam@rice.edu and ask for special administration of the exam.

Questions about overview, deadline, or procedures:
compexam@rice.edu
(713) 348-4932

Technical problems with submission: webserv@rice.edu