Entry Level Writing Requirement

Winter 2025 CWP session: December 30 - January 13

There are multiple ways for UCSB students to satisfy the Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR) and receive a placement in your initial writing class. Some of you may have already satisfied ELWR through SAT or AP test scores or other means. The bulleted list below describes all of the ways that ELWR can be satisfied; if you are not sure whether or not you have satisfied ELWR, contact your college (College of Creative Studies, College of Engineering, or College of Letters and Science) advising office.

If you haven't satisfied ELWR, you can take UCSB's Collaborative Writing Placement (CWP), which will help us place you in the best writing course to support your success at UCSB. The CWP process involves a survey that asks you to read about your course options and answer several questions; based on your responses, you will receive a placement result. This program will take about one hour and is conducted online through Qualtrics, an online survey platform. The fee for the CWP is $68, which will be charged to your BARC account. This fee is waived for students with significant financial need (e.g. PELL grant recipients).
 
If you have not satisfied ELWR, you will automatically receive an invitation for the CWP at the start of the placement session. UCSB's CWP will be offered twice during Summer Orientation and once a quarter on campus and a student may fulfill the Entry Level Writing Requirement with an appropriate score.

Please contact placement@writing.ucsb.edu with any questions. Make sure to include your perm number and full name in your email.

International students who have not satisfied ELWR through qualifying grades and/or test scores must take the Entry Level Placement in English (ELPE). Visit the English for Multilingual Students (EMS) website for more information.

Entry Level Writing Requirement

The Entry Level Writing Requirement is a University of California requirement that all students must fulfill during their first year. This requirement applies to students in all three colleges at UCSB.

Students at UCSB must satisfy the Entry Level Writing Requirement in one of the following ways:

  • score 3 or higher on the AP Seminar exam, the AP Research exam, or either of the AP English exams
  • score 30 or better on ACT English Language Arts (ELA), or 63 or better on ACT English + Reading.
  • score 680 or higher on SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) 
  • score 5 or higher on the International Baccalaureate higher level English A Examination
  • score 6 or higher on the International Baccalaureate standard level English A1 Examination
  • receive a grade of "C" or higher in appropriate transfer English composition course satisfying GE Area A1
  • receive a placement in Writing 2 via UCSB's Collaborative Writing Placement (CWP)
  • receive a passing score on the Analytical Writing Placement Exam (AWPE)
  • pass UCSB's Writing 1 with a grade of "C" or higher

Please Note: The digital SAT Reading and Writing Section Score has not been approved to meet the ELWR.

**It is important to note that once students matriculate at UCSB, they may no longer fulfill the University of California Entry Level Writing Requirement with coursework from another institution.**