Writing placement at the University of Montana (UM) and Missoula College is based on a combination of these criteria:

• ACT or SAT scores
• Pre-requisite courses (e.g. dual enrollment, AP/IB/etc., transfer courses, other college-level equivalents)
• Cumulative high school GPA

Based on these criteria, students will be placed into one of the following three general education writing courses:

• Co-Requisite Writing (College Writing I with support, 4 credits)
• Writing 101 (College Writing I without support, 3 credits)
• Writing 201 (Intermediate College Writing, 3 credits)

View the chart below for specific scores and GPA needed for each course.

Students are able to challenge their criteria-based placement by taking the UM Writing Placement Assessment.

UM Writing Placement Assessment Information

The Writing Placement is a free, untimed assessment. Students write an essay in response to a prompt. There is no required font style, font size, or paper length, and research is not required. Readers are looking for the writer's ability to 1) respond to the prompt, 2) express ideas and support them with evidence and reasoning, 3) organize ideas, and 4) write sentences that clearly convey thinking.

How do I find the essay prompts?

For the link to the Submittable assessment page, please send an email to writingplacement@umontana.edu.

When are the deadlines for submission?

Essays are scored roughly each month. Deadlines are posted in the Submittable placement page. For the link to the Submittable assessment page, please send an email to writingplacement@umontana.edu.

How will I learn my score?

You will receive an email response from Submittable. Usually, you will receive your score the day after placement deadline.

Writing Placement Level Chart

The following chart provides an overview of writing placement and course sequencing at UM based on a variety of ACT or SAT scores, the UM Writing Assessment, or AP scores.

Students who do not have ACT, SAT or AP scores take the UM Writing Assessment to determine placement level.

Test	Description	Placement Level 10	Placement Level 15	Placement Level 20
	Courses for each placement level -->	WRIT 095 or WRIT 101+	WRIT 101	WRIT 201
UM
	UM Writing Assessment See below to learn how to sign up for this assessment.	2 and below	3	4
High School
	High School GPA (on a 4.0 scale)	Below 2.60	2.60 and higher Above 3.9 encouraged to take UM Writing Assessment to challenge into WRIT 201	Cannot use high school GPA for this placement level
ACT
A01	English	21 and below	22-27	28+
A07	ACT Combined English/Writing	17 and below	18-31	32-36
A08	ACT Writing subject score	18 and below	19-32	33+
A13	ACT English Language Arts (ELA) Score	17 and below	18-31	32+
A32	ACT Writing subscore 2016	6 and below	7-10	11+
SAT
S07	SAT Writing score	430 and below	440-690	700-800
S08	SAT Essay subscore	6 and below	7-10	11-12
S11	Evidence Based Read/Write	N/A	N/A	750+
S14	SAT Writ/Language Test Score	24 and below	25-36	37+
S25, S26, S27	Reading Analysis Writing	N/A	N/A	22+
S27	Essay Writing Subscore	N/A	N/A	7+
	Advanced Placement: English Language and Composition*	N/A	N/A	3 or higher

*AP Language and Composition exam scores of 3 or above transfer in as 6 credits and fulfill the WRIT 101 General Education Requirement. Please refer to the Admissions website on AP scores.