Welcome to the FWIS Writing Assessment

All Students entering Rice must complete the FWIS Writing Assessment by June 30, 2025.

The FWIS Writing Assessment is used to determine the best placement for incoming students in our first-year writing-intensive seminar (FWIS) courses. Based on assessment, students will either move directly into a fall or spring FWIS seminar course that satisfies the graduation requirement, or into FWIS 100 Introduction to Academic Writing in the fall and a FWIS seminar in the spring.

FWIS 100 introduces students to academic writing through topic-based courses designed to develop skills in college-level reading and writing. FWIS 100 alone cannot be used to meet the graduation requirement and must be followed by a FWIS seminar course.

FWIS courses that meet the graduation requirement (numbered 101-299) are content-based, three-credit hour seminars that can be taught in any department and focus on any topic, and in which writing and communication instruction plays a significant role in assignments and grading. FWIS seminars are open only to first-year students. “Writing-intensive” typically means that there are writing assignments throughout the semester; that students are asked to revise some of these assignments; that there is discussion of the writing assignments in class; and that students are given a chance to discuss their writing privately with the instructor. FWIS seminars also include an oral presentation component.

The assessment has two parts, a reading and writing exercise (Part 1) and a questionnaire (Part 2). The information you submit through this assessment will be used to determine the best pathway for you through Rice’s first-year writing seminar program. For more information about the assessment and the pathways, please watch this video from the director of the first-year writing program, Dr. David Messmer.

Overview

This site provides comprehensive information about taking Part 1 of the FWIS Writing Assessment (FWA) that is required of all undergraduate students entering Rice University.  For more information on the graduation requirements, see the Undergraduate Students section of the Rice General Announcements.

If you are entering Rice in the fall of 2025, you are required to take the FWA during one of the two times it is offered.  No make-up opportunities are offered, and you may only take the assessment once.

The FWA is a placement instrument and does not affect your admission status or financial aid.

All communications regarding the FWIS Writing Assessment will be delivered to your Rice email address.

The dates for the exam are as follows: 

Session one

Begins May 28th, 2025, and closes June 2, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.*

Session two

Begins June 25th, 2025 and closes June 30, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.*

*All times are U.S. Central Standard Time (CST)

When a session opens, you can log in to the FWIS Writing Assessment site to take Part 1 of the assessment, which is an academic reading and writing task.  You will be asked to read a scholarly article and write a summary of it.  Part 1 of the assessment is designed to take 3 hours, though you will have an additional 2 hours to complete and submit your work should you need it (for a total of 5 hours).  The topic and readings for this task are available once you click the "Start Assessment" button.  You may start the assessment any time after the session opens.

Any student with a disability requiring accommodations must register with Disability Resource Center (DRC).  You may contact the DRC office at 713-348-5841 or adarice@rice.edu.  If additional time would be a sufficient accommodation for your disability, you do not need to contact the DRC office.  You may simply make use of the extra two hours that are available for completing the assessment.

Part 2 of the assessment is a questionnaire that you must complete following the submission of your summary in Part 1. The questionnaire should take 10-20 minutes.

Your summary and questionnaire responses must be submitted to the FWIS Writing Assessment website by 1:00 p.m. CST on the closing day of the round.  Students should be careful not to wait until the last minute to start or submit the summary. 

Your placement results will be distributed to you and your academic advisor just before O-Week. You will receive an e-mail (at your Rice e-mail address) informing you that your results are available. You will be notified of your placement on one of three FWIS “pathways” and the semester(s) in which you will take your FWIS course(s).

Purpose and Characteristics of the FWA

The assessment provides evidence of your strengths in college-level reading and writing in order to help you and your advisor select classes and determine your communication course requirements to graduate from Rice. For example, the assessment establishes if students must complete FWIS 100: Introduction to Academic Writing before registering for a FWIS course numbered 101-299. Therefore, you should do your best work on the assessment and take it seriously. To do otherwise could result in an inappropriate placement. 

Procedures for Parts 1 and 2 of the FWA

The steps to complete the writing task are as follows:
1. Log in and click "Start Assessment" to access the topic and download the reading.
2. Write your summary based on the reading.
3. Complete Part 1 of the FWA.  Submit your summary for review within the allotted time period. (Note: The FWA is designed to take 3 hours to complete, but you will have 5 hours to complete it.)
4. Complete Part 2 of the FWA. Part 2 is a questionnaire that you must complete following the submission of your summary in Part 1. The questionnaire should take 10-20 minutes.
5. Check your Rice e-mail to see that you have received verification of the receipt of your summary and questionnaire responses.

Evaluation of the FWA

Writing instructors/reviewers will evaluate your submission for Part 1 of the FWA, which is a summary of a secondary source article.  Then, the placement committee will review the results of both Part 1 and Part 2 of the FWA and determine the appropriate placement for you.  Finally, just before Orientation Week, your final placement will be posted on the FWA website for you and your advisor to review.

Your summary will be reviewed using the following criteria.  Your final placement will be determined holistically by the placement committee, using both the results of your summary writing task and your answers to the questionnaire.  

Content

• The summary correctly identifies the author’s thesis/overarching argument
• The summary identifies the key evidence that the author uses to support the argument
• The summary identifies all major supporting claims
• The summary uses an appropriate amount of detail to explain the evidence that the author uses

Organization

• Introduction provides adequate context to understand the topic and the argument presented in the article
• Body paragraphs are cohesive and transitions are clear
• Summary presents the information in a way that accurately reflects the article
• Conclusion is fully developed and considers the broader implications of the article’s argument

Clarity of Prose

• The writing is thoughtful and precise at the sentence level
• The summary displays evidence of effectively chosen vocabulary
• The summary uses quotes and/or paraphrases effectively and draws upon and correctly cites from the article in either MLA or APA style

Technical Requirements

To take Parts 1 and 2 of the FWA

• You must be an undergraduate entering Rice University.
• You must have your Rice NetID and password.  Need to activate your NetID? Click here.
• You need access to a computer with Internet access (modem, DSL, cable connections, etc.)

To receive notifications about deadlines and results, you will need to monitor your Rice email account.

Questions about the exam: fwiswritingassessment@rice.edu

Transfers and undecided students

If you have not decided if you will enroll at Rice (for example, you may be waiting for financial aid information), you should go ahead and take the assessment during one of the sessions.

All transfer students who have accepted the offer to enroll at Rice are required to take the assessment.  Transfer students may also petition for transfer credit for the required FWIS course; please review the Transfer Credit section of this page for more information.

Special Circumstances

All new students are expected to complete the FWA according to the dates posted; however, students who find it impossible to take the assessment during these dates should send an e-mail explaining their situation to fwiswritingassessment@rice.edu by May 26 and petition for special administration of the exam.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

If you do not see your question answered here, please send it to fwiswritingassessment@rice.edu, and we'll do our best to answer it quickly!

Do I have to take both sessions of the Assessment?

No. You only have to take the FWA (Parts 1 and 2) once during one of the two sets of dates that it is offered.

What if my summary goes over the word limit?

While the computer program will accept a summary longer than 750 words, such a summary most likely contains unnecessary details that detract from the focus of your writing.

What are the possible results I can get on the FWIS Writing Assessment?

There are three possible placement results:

• FWIS 101-299 (fall or spring). If you receive this placement, you will be randomly assigned to take your required first-year writing course in either the fall (Group 1) or spring (Group 2) semester.
• FWIS 101-199 (fall) + Writing Studio (COMM 120) recommended.  If you are placed on this pathway, you will be assigned to take your required first-year writing course in the fall semester, and you also will have priority access to the Writing Studio, which is a one-hour course with additional writing support.
• FWIS 100 (fall) and FWIS 201-299 (spring). If you are placed on this pathway, you must successfully complete FWIS 100: Introduction to Academic Writing in the fall semester.  Then, in the spring semester you will take a FWIS course that fulfills the graduation requirement; both of these courses must be successfully completed before you can graduate.

What happens if I score 5 on the AP Test on Language and Composition (or a score of 5 on the AP Test on Literature and Composition), but I am placed in FWIS 100?

You will have to take FWIS 100. Your score on the AP test in no way influences your placement on the FWA, nor does it take the place of the FWA.  (You may be able to receive course credit for literature courses from the English department for these exams; for more information, check the Rice AP credit policy.)

Do you accept the IB (International Baccalaureate) Exam in place of the FWIS Writing Assessment?

No. No other exam or assessment replaces the FWA. (You may check Rice’s exam credit policies here.)

Do you accept high scores on the SAT in place of the FWIS Writing Assessment?

No. No other exam replaces the FWA.

I took a class for college credit during high school or at another university before transferring to Rice. Can that substitute for the FWA?

No course taken during high school will substitute for the FWA.

Transfer students might receive transfer credit for a university course judged to be equivalent to a FWIS taken at an accredited university that Rice recognizes, but they will have to file an appeal to the Program in Writing and Communication for credit. Please visit http://pwc.rice.edu/policies to view directions for submitting your transfer credit petition.

All transfer students are required to take the FWIS Writing Assessment regardless of whether they submit a petition.

Can I use a computer at my local library/internet cafe to take the online FWA?

Yes! The physical location you choose to write the summary is completely up to you.  However, once you begin the assessment you must complete it within the time allotment, so be sure that you have a stable internet connection.

What can I do if I miss the deadline for submitting my Assessment?

All new students must complete the FWA according to the dates posted; however, students who find it impossible to take the assessment during these dates must send an e-mail to fwiswritingassessment@rice.edu by May 26 explaining their situation and petitioning for special administration of the Assessment.

What if I am going out of town for the summer and will not have access to a computer or e-mail?

You should do your best to complete the Assessment before you go. In special cases, we can arrange to allow you to complete the Assessment earlier than the posted first-round dates.  You should send a request for special administration to fwiswritingassessment@rice.edu by May 26 to make arrangements for you to complete the assessment by June 30.

Is it possible that I might fail this Assessment?

There are no passing/failing scores for this Assessment.  The purpose of the FWA is to determine the best first-year writing placement for you.  For that reason, it is important that you take the FWA seriously, allow enough time to complete it to the best of your abilities, and follow the instructions carefully.

If I miss taking the FWA during the summer, can I make it up during O-Week?

We do not administer the FWA during O-Week.  You must complete the Assessment May 28 - June 2 or June 25 – June 30, or make other arrangements by May 26 as discussed in the FAQ above. 

Can’t I simply skip the Assessment and register for a FWIS?

All students entering Rice as of the 2012-2013 academic year must take the Assessment.

I matriculated prior to August 2012 and never took the FWA or COMM 103.  Can I take the FWA to satisfy the graduation requirement?

Students who matriculated prior to August 2012 may take the FWA in order to place out of FWIS 100.  However, they still must pass a FWIS to satisfy the graduation requirement.

How will I get my results?

A few days before Orientation Week begins, you will receive an email asking you to log back into the assessment site , where you will find your results.

Other questions: fwiswritingassessment@rice.edu