Current Student Writing Assessment

Northland College's general education curriculum requires completion of ENG 110 College Writing or equivalent proficiency through assessment. You can demonstrate this proficiency the following ways:

Achieve a 3 or greater on the writing assessment below
Transfer in a college course equivalent to ENG 110 College Writing with a grade of C- or greater
Earn a 3 or greater on an AP English exam

If you have any questions, please contact the Registrar's Office at registrar@northland.edu or 715-682-1227.

Are you a Northland student who is currently taking or has completed classes here?

Yes

This form is for current students; if you're an incoming student, please use this writing assessment.

First Name

Last Name

Northland Email Address

Directions

Northland College uses a writing assessment (unless exempted) to help the faculty determine your current abilities as a reader and writer of prose and the types of support you may need to further develop these skills. The assessment consists of reading an article and writing an essay based on the reading. The essay will then be read and scored by a professional.

Please read and write carefully, with no assistance from anyone else, so that your essay accurately demonstrates your abilities.

You are allowed 90 minutes to complete this essay and you are allowed one attempt at this assessment.

After you have read all of the instructions below, click here to read the essay, "In Praise of Fast Food" originally published by Rachael Lauden in her book, The Gastronomica Reader.

Instructions:

Be certain as you are reading to identify the author’s thesis and supports, deciding whether or not you believe she has made and supported a strong argument and why or why not.
Think about how she uses evidence, language, and organizational strategies to make her point.
Write an essay analyzing the article and how effective you believe it is in influencing your understanding of fast food and whether or not you believe the article was well-written.
Use examples to support your analysis of Lauden’s argument, with direct references and quotes from her essay to support your ideas.
You do not need to use formal citations when referencing this article.

Please copy/paste your response to the reading: