The English Language Program's Tests

Most schools and departments at Washington University require the TOEFL for student admission. However, the TOEFL composite score is only used as the threshold for being eligible for graduate study. See "About the Program and English Proficiency Certification." Additionally, each department has its own requirements and expectations about students’ ability to use the English language in their studies. As a result, the English Language Program offers three additional exams to provide further information about a student’s English language proficiency. The exams are the Graduate Composition Exam, the Graduate Listening & Speaking Exam, and the ESL TA exam. The ESL TA exam is described on another page; the Composition and Listening & Speaking exams are described below.

Graduate Composition Exam

This exam takes one hour and forty-five minutes. The exam asks students to read and summarize a text about an academic topic and to write an argumentative essay in response to the exam’s instructions. Based on a student’s demonstrated skill level in writing, the ELP may recommend that the student take an ELP reading/writing course or may find that the student needs no ELP coursework. Writing is assessed based on fluency of expression, clarity, development of ideas, organization, coherence, grammatical accuracy, and adherence to U.S. standards of academic integrity. If your department has required that you take the Graduate Composition Exam, you will be sent a letter informing you of this requirement before you arrive at Washington University.

Graduate Listening & Speaking Exam

This exam consists of a one-on-one interview with an ELP instructor. The exam takes approximately twenty minutes and is divided into two parts. In the first part, students participate in a conversation about their personal and academic interests. In the second part, students listen to a recording of a lecture or dialogue about an academic topic, then discuss the topic with the ELP instructor administering the exam. Based on a student’s demonstrated skill level in listening and speaking, the ELP may recommend that he or she take an ELP listening/speaking course or may find that the student needs no ELP coursework. Listening and speaking are assessed based on ability to answer questions about the recorded lecture/dialogue, fluency of expression, clarity, development of ideas, grammatical accuracy, and pronunciation. If your department has required that you take the Graduate Listening & Speaking Exam, you will be sent a letter informing you of this requirement before you arrive at Washington University.

Please note:

• The Graduate Listening & Speaking Exam is different from the TA Exam—only one of these oral exams is to be administered upon arrival. For further information about the ELP TA Exam, see http://artsci.wustl.edu/~esl/itaexam.shtml
• Undergraduate degree students do not normally take either of these exams
• Undergraduate exchange students may be asked to take the Listening & Speaking Exam
• Undergraduates may be required to take the English Department’s Writing Placement Exam (WPE). If the English Department requires or recommends that you take the exam, you will be notified before your arrival at Washington University. For further information about the WPE, see http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~writing1/html/studentguide/placement.htm