Getting Help Preparing for the College Writing Exam

There are a number of things you can do to prepare for the PCCC College Writing Exam. Perhaps the most important thing is to prepare early. Doing one of these suggested preparation strategies will make a difference - doing more than one is far more effective.

1. Attend some CWE workshops in the Writing Center. We will review what the test asks, how to prepare your essay and explain how the test is evaluated.

2. PRACTICE! Practice is especially important if more than one semester has passed since the completion of Composition II. There are sample topics and essays available online.

3. Have someone review your practice essays - make an appointment with a tutor from the Writing Center. They can review your essay if you have taken the exam and failed. They can also work with you to prepare for to take the CWE for the first time. Email cwe_prep@pccc.edu, call 973-684-5601, or come to the Writing Center. We are located on the Paterson campus in the library area.

4. Register for the one credit CWE Writing Intensive course (EN117). This course lasts only eight weeks. It is offered at least twice each semester. The final exam for this course is the CWE itself and will be offered on a special date NOT shown on the regular schedule and is only for those who have taken the course.

5. Use PCCC's free eTutoring. You can submit a sample CWE essay to an eTutor and get feedback (up to 3 drafts) on how to improve your writing.

There is a lot of good information about the exam including sample questions and essays at http://pccc.libguides.com/cwe

If you need to meet with a Writing center Consultant, the following hours are available for the Spring 2011 semester.

CWE at the WRITING CENTER at Paterson
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Wednesday
12:30 PM - 3:30 PM
4:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Thursday
4:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Appointments and walk-ins welcome



CWE at WRITING CENTER at Wanaque
Wednesday
12:00 PM - 5:30 PM
By appointment only


CWE at the WRITING CENTER at Passaic
Wednesday
12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Thursday
10:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Appointments and walk-ins welcome