Writing Placement Process

If you have not met the UC Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR), you must complete the Writing Placement Process (WPP) offered through the UC San Diego Analytical Writing Program before the beginning of your first quarter at UC San Diego.

Academic Integrity

UC San Diego expects you to commit to the highest degree of academic integrity. This means that the writing you produce for the WPP must be your own work and the result of your own honest efforts. To ensure accurate placement, your WPP essays must be an honest and fair representation of your knowledge and abilities at the time of submission. During the placement process, we require that you use only the reading material that we provide without soliciting or accepting any forms of help from any people, sources, or tools. Students who rely on other people or other resources in writing their placement essays risk being placed in a writing course that does not align with their true writing abilities, which hinders their learning and results in a non-passing grade. Keep in mind that AWP and College Writing courses include extensive in-person writing assignments. If you are placed in the wrong course, you may find it difficult to do the assignments required.

WPP Overview

The UC San Diego Writing Placement Process is a collaborative process, which means that you can participate in determining which writing course best facilitates your learning. You do not need to prepare for the WPP as there is no right or wrong result.

On the day of your scheduled WPP, you will log in to the WPP website a few minutes early, and click the "Start the Process" button to enter the WPP page at the scheduled time. You will have three (3) hours to complete the process, and all students will start at the same time. You should aim to complete and submit your answers five minutes before the time is up to ensure a successful submission.

The WPP consists of five parts. First, you will be asked to complete the Writing Background Reflection, which is a survey to help you reflect on your high school writing experiences. In the next two parts, you will write about two short readings—one chosen by the Analytical Writing Program and one chosen by your College Writing Program. Last, you will learn about the expectations of different writing courses and then declare and explain your placement preference.

The faculty readers will carefully assess your writing and your placement preference, and make the final decision of your course placement. Your answers to the Writing Background Reflection will not factor into your placement.

Students may only complete the WPP once.

ELWR Survey & WPP Registration

The 2026 ELWR Survey is now available on the Applicant Portal.

All incoming first-year students must complete an Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR) Survey on the Applicant Portal as soon as they accept the admission offer from UC San Diego. This ELWR Survey asks you whether you have fulfilled the ELWR. Your answer will be one of the following three possibilities:

YES. You have a qualifying test score or have passed a college composition course that fulfills the ELWR.
NO. You do not have any ways to fulfill the ELWR and must complete the Writing Placement Process (WPP) in summer.
PENDING. You are waiting for test results (e.g. some AP and IB results are released in early July) or you are completing or plan to complete a college composition course in a community college in summer. All students who answered PENDING must return to the Applicant Portal to fill out the ELWR Survey for the second time once the test or course outcome is available.

The students who answer NO must sign up for a WPP date at the end of the ELWR Survey. You will receive reminders and a link to the WPP portal before your scheduled WPP.

WPP Dates

We typically offer only two remote sessions of WPP in summer. You will complete the process online using your computer, complying with UC San Diego's Academic Integrity policy.

1st Remote Session: Saturday, May 16, 2026, 8:00 am to 11:00 am, Pacific Time.

2nd Remote Session: Saturday, July 25, 2026, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Pacific Time.

In-person Sessions: Very limited dates and times during the orientation week in late September 2026.

You can use the Time Zone Converter to calculate your local time. Make sure to enter "date" in the converter to account for daylight saving time that will be in effect on March 8, 2026.

Who should take the WPP in May?

If you answer NO in the ELWR Survey, you should sign up for the May WPP. Most students who are not waiting for scores/taking summer courses will sign up for this session.
Only when it is absolutely impossible for you to take the WPP in May will you sign up for the July date.

Who should take the WPP in July?

If you expect to receive your AP or IB test scores or college composition course grade in early July, but the results end up not fulfilling the ELWR, you should sign up for the July WPP.
The July WPP is the last remote session available.

Who can take the in-person WPP on campus in September?

Only students who miss the remote WPP sessions due to extenuating circumstances are allowed to take the in-person WPP on campus in September. You will receive instructions to provide documentation of the extenuating circumanstance before you register for an in-person WPP session.
Due to limited resources, we have very few in-person WPP spots available. You must make every effort to complete the WPP in the May or July session.

Technical Requirements for Remote WPP Sessions

First, you must activate your UCSD account (TritonLink Active Directory Account). You will need to use your UCSD account to enter the WPP website.

WPP requires significant amount of reading and writing, so we strongly advise you to use a desktop or laptop with a keyboard and with reliable internet and avoid using smartphones, tablets, or other mobile devices. We also recommend that you use the latest version of one of the following browsers: Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, or Microsoft Edge. Do NOT use Internet Explorer.

The day before your scheduled WPP, you can clear your browsing history and restart your desktop or laptop to help clear out temporary files and free up computing power. The link of the WPP site will be emailed to your UCSD account the afternoon before your scheduled WPP date so you can log in to make sure you have access.

Accommodation

Please contact the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) as early as possible. The Authorization for Accommodation (AFA) letter must be received by the AWP office at least three business days prior to the scheduled WPP for you to receive accommodation.

WPP Results Release Schedule

You will find your writing placement results on the WPP site before the fall quarter starts. A result notification will be sent to your UCSD account.

If you take the WPP in May, the results will be available by mid-July.
If you take the WPP in July, the results will be available by mid-August, before the first-year enrollment period begins.
If you take the WPP in August or September, the results will be available before the first day of class.

Writing Placement Results

The Writing Placement Process will place you in one of the three course options: College Writing, AWP 3, or AWP 4A-4B. Please see Course Enrollment for the course options and enrollment instructions.

Writing Placement Challenge Exam

If you take the WPP remotely and if you are not satisfied with your writing placement and would like us to consider changing your placement, you must take a 45-minute Writing Placement Challenge Exam in person at the UC San Diego Triton Testing Center (TTC) Computer-Based Testing Facility (CBTF) before the fall quarter starts. Note that your Challenge Exam result will overwrite your WPP result, which means that your Challenge Exam result will be final.

If you take the WPP in-person, your WPP result is final and you cannot take the Challenge Exam.

Contact awp@ucsd.edu as soon as possible to request a Challenge Exam.

Updated 04/08/2026