Appealing the Writing Requirement

Deadlines for submission of complete appeal materials

Fall 2007: August 15, 2007
Winter 2008: November 15, 2007
Spring 2008: February 15, 2008
Summer 2008: May 15, 2008

Guidelines for a Successful Appeal of the Writing Requirement

Standards of good expository writing are used in evaluating the writing samples, which should

• state a fully developed thesis
• offer sound logic and adequate evidence in support of the thesis
• display effective organization, coherence between sentences and paragraphs, and an overall unity
• demonstrate good paragraphing and sentence construction
• use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling

Letter of Appeal

State and defend the thesis that you should be exempt from the writing requirement because you possess the required academic writing skills. List writing courses taken at other universities or colleges, the kinds of academic writing you mastered in those classes, and the grades you earned. Include brief descriptions of courses mentioned (a transcript is not necessary). You also may describe other relevant academic or professional writing experience. Please use standard business-letter format and include your address, phone number, and e-mail address. Consider that your audience consists of faculty from Northwestern University's Writing Program.

Sample Papers

Choose two papers completed during your former university or college work (these may be from studies completed at SCS). Newly typed versions are not necessary; the papers may be photocopies with instructor comments and grades on them. They should demonstrate your analytical and argumentative writing skills and command of research writing methods and appropriate forms of citation. Avoid choosing a term paper that draws on only a few sources or popular journals, newspapers, or Internet sources. Science papers are acceptable if they follow the conventions of a research paper and are not primarily technical or use field-specific terminology. Business reports written for your workplace are not good examples of mastering the conventions of academic writing. On your papers indicate the class for which the paper was written, the instructor's name, the term and year the class was completed, and the school.

Plagiarism

Suspicions of plagiarism in sample papers are fully investigated. Should any submitted materials be found to be plagiarized, your appeal will be denied and your candidacy for admission may be jeopardized. For more information about the University's plagiarism policy, see www.northwestern.edu/uacc/plagiar.html.

Appeal Results

Within a few weeks of the submission of your appeal, you will receive an e-mail reporting the results, followed by a letter. Appeal decisions are filed in the SCS Registrar’s Office.