Test Date

The next 250 Test-Out Exam will be offered Saturday, August 30, 2008.  Students registered for the exam should arrive at 8:40 a.m. in 124 Ross Hall for check-in.

The 250 Test-Out Exam is offered only twice a year on the first Saturday of the fall and spring semesters. No exceptions are made to the scheduled test-out date except for religious reasons.  (A second part of the exam is administered on the Saturday two weeks later, for those who pass the first part.  Again, there are no exceptions to the date of this second part, except religious reasons.)

Registration for the Exam

Students must register with Testing Services. The Fall 2008 registration deadline is noon on Wednesday, August 27. A $100, non-refundable fee will be placed on the student's university bill after the student has taken the exam.

• Print out the English 250 Registration Form (Adobe PDF file).

• Mail or take registration form to:

Eligibility

Although any ISU student may take the English 250 Test-Out Exam, it is strongly recommended that he/she meet at least one of the following criteria:

• have an ACT-E score of 29 or higher
• received an "A" in English 150 (formerly 104)
• exempted from English 150 (formerly 104) AND whose rank is in the top 5 percent of his/her high school graduating class

In addition, students should have experience with

• rhetorical principles and composing a rhetorical analysis
• argumentative principles and composing both written and visual arguments
• public speaking
• visual editing or presentation software, including at least one of the following:
• PowerPoint
• Photoshop
• InDesign
• Flash

Students may be enrolled in English 250 when they take the exam.  If the student is enrolled in 250 and passes the exam, the student will be given an administrative drop by the respective college.

The Test

Part 1 (Saturday, August 30, 9:00 a.m.—noon): Analysis and Argumentation (written). Students will read a prose selection of six to ten typewritten pages. They will then write one essay (rhetorical analysis) about the selection and one essay (argumentative) related to the selection. Students will compose their essays on computers in a Ross Hall computer lab. Three hours will be allowed for this part of the exam.

NOTE: Part 1 of the exam, the written part, will be on Saturday, August 30.  If you pass this part, you will be asked to return two weeks later, on Saturday, September 13, to take Part 2, the oral, visual, and electronic part.  Because of readers' and proctors' time and lab/technology equipment, the fee for the test-out as a whole is the same, whether you take only the first or both parts.

Part 2 (Saturday, September 13, 9:00 a.m.—noon): Presentation Skills (oral, visual, electronic).  Preparation for oral presentation, 9:00—10:30 a.m. Presentation: two-minute time slots beginning at 10:45 a.m.  Students will prepare a two-minute oral presentation supported by a single electronically designed visual (slide, graph, poster, etc.). The visual will be created using PowerPoint, Photoshop, InDesign, Word or Internet resources, and will be projected as part of the oral presentation.  One hour and a half will be allowed for preparing the oral presentation and visual.  Students will be assigned a random order for their presentations and will wait in a nearby room until the scheduled time for their presentation.  Presentations will be videotaped.

Accommodation

Students who require accommodation for a disability should indicate their needs on the registration form and provide university documentation. If a student requires an alternative test day for religious reasons, contact the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses.

Suggested Preparation

This test-out is intended to test the communication skills that students already possess, specifically in rhetorical analysis, argument, and designing and orally presenting a visual argument using presentation software. If students wish to review, they may consult the following sources:

• For all areas of the test-out: ISUComm Foundation Courses: Student Guide for English 150 and 250, which you can purchase at the University Book Store or Campus Book Store (especially pages 28-34).  Each portion of the test-out will be evaluated by the criteria explained in the Student Guide: context, sources, organization, style, and delivery (pages 25-26) and ISUComm WOVE Strategies on the inside of the back cover.
• For the rhetorical analysis and argumentative essay: Good Reasons, 4th edition by Faigley and Selzer, Pearson Longman (on reserve at the ISU Parks Library)
• For the visual argument: Getting the Picture: A Brief Guide to Understanding and Creating Visual Texts by Marcia F. Muth and Karla Saari Kitalong, Bedford/St. Martin's (can be checked out from 403 Ross Hall)
• For the oral argument: A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking by Dan O'Hair, Hannah Rubenstein, and Rob Stewart, Bedford/St. Martin's (can be checked out from 403 Ross Hall)

Click on the following links for study material for the Test-Out Exam:

• Preparing for the English 250 Test-Out Exam
• Selected Tips for WOVE Communication
  

 

What to Bring to the Exam

Student ID, dictionary, and pens/pencils. No notes, flash drives or other computer equipment, or backpacks.

Evaluation

The Test-Out Committee evaluates each portion of the English 250 Test-Out (rhetorical analysis, argumentative essay, visual/electronic component, and oral presentation) using the following criteria: context, substance, organization, style, and delivery, explained in the ISUComm Foundation Courses: Student Guide for English 150 and 250. All segments of the test-out must receive a satisfactory rating for a student to earn "T" (test-out) credit.  Students will be notified in approximatley four weeks after the test date by email whether or not they have earned this "T" credit.  If a student receives "T" credit, it will be posted at the end of the semester in which the student took the exam.

Students exempted from English 150 who pass the English 250 Test-Out will earn 3 "T" credits for English 150 in addition to the 3 "T" credits earned for the English 250 Test-Out.

Contact Information

For further information, please contact:

Deanna Stumbo
ISUComm Foundation Courses Secretary
403 Ross Hall
515-294-3516
stumbo@iasate.edu