The definition of proficient writing is socially determined by communities of readers
and writers. These suggested criteria for CWP are based on conversations with and
surveys of the Goucher Faculty. Extremely important criteria are listed in the first group,
but are not necessarily ranked by importance. Supplemental criteria are listed in the
second group, again not in order of importance. CWP status is required for graduation
and necessary for good work in upper level courses.

Most students achieve CWP in English 105, which teaches academic research
writing. Some English 104 students may be awarded CWP at the end of English 104.
To qualify, students should consistently meet the CWP criteria below and achieve an A
or an A- in the course. They also should demonstrate research writing abilities equivalent
to those required of English 105 students. Those students may ask their English 104
instructors to consider submitting a portfolio of papers to the Writing Program at the end
of the semester. Only papers submitted by instructors will be evaluated for CWP. All
English 104 students should register for English 105 in case their portfolios do not pass
the evaluation.

Criteria Goucher faculty consider most important to proficient writing:

______Students should demonstrate that they can take positions rather than merely
describing topics; college-level writers should be able to analyze and to argue rationally.

______Students should organize their papers' major points in a logical fashion, using
different modes of development appropriately (e.g., definition, comparison, illustration).

______Student's theses should be clear and appropriate for their papers' size, with
appropriate transition among major parts.

______Students should use supporting evidence appropriate to their theses, should
handle evidence with authority, and should document evidence properly when required.

______Students' paragraphs should be coherently developed, and should have clear
topics—formal topic sentences are strongly recommended as an aid to reading.

______Students should use standard grammar and spelling. Sentences should be
coherent, unambiguous, complete and properly punctuated, should maintain consistent
gender and number in pronoun reference, and should maintain proper subject-verb
relations.

______Students should use appropriate variety in sentences' syntax and usage.

______Students should demonstrate adequate research skills and appropriate
documentation formats, when necessary showing familiarity with library resources,
especially bibliographic indices.

Some supplemental criteria also considered important by the Goucher faculty:

______Students often should use complex sentences rather than merely simple or
compound sentences, demonstrating effective subordination of clauses.

______Except when required by the genre (i.e., lab reports), students usually should use
strong verbs, avoid passive and vague constructions, and control tense shifts.

______Students should use diction that is clear, accurate, and appropriate, demonstrating
a vocabulary suffieciently extensive for college writing.