Directed Self-Placement

Students place into our GE 1A: English Composition courses through the Directed Self-Placement (DSP) survey. This online survey, which takes about 10-15 minutes to complete, asks incoming students to reflect on and analyze seriously their linguistic background and their experiences with and attitudes about reading and writing in English — and to answer questions about these honestly.

The DSP then factors in students’ previous coursework, standardized test scores, CSU multiple measures placement category, and their answers to survey questions to produce a placement result. Unless otherwise noted in their DSP results, students are required to follow their DSP result.

Survey distribution

After May 15, once incoming students have registered for a Freshman Orientation session, a personalized link to the DSP survey will be emailed to their CPP email address.

Incoming students: CPP automatically creates an Office 365 email account for you. This is your CPP email address and is what the university uses for official communications. Campus email information is on the Email Services page.

Students who are getting ready to attend a Freshman Orientation session who cannot find the DSP survey email in their CPP email inbox should contact Dr. Prins, the Composition Program Coordinator, at kkprins@cpp.edu from your CPP email address. Include "DSP" in the subject line, and your Bronco ID number and a request for a new DSP link in the body of the email.

Composition sequence options

Stretch Composition: ENG 1100 + 1101

This two-semester sequence is for writers who are ready for college-level work but who need to further develop reading, researching, and writing skills. It is designed to develop strategies and skills that will transfer to work in other disciplines to help students be successful in whatever major they choose.

Sections with an "M" designation (e.g., ENG 1100M and ENG 1101M) are specially designed for multilingual speakers. These sections have the same kinds of readings and assignments as the monolingual sections; the major difference is that they are taught by faculty with a strong background in linguistics and language acquisition, in addition to rhetoric and writing.

Students who take Stretch Composition will develop...

  • Fluency in timed writing and other quick-turnaround situations.
  • Reading strategies that will identify main points, as well as assess arguments and supporting material.
  • Research strategies that will access authoritative academic sources to support arguments on any topic.
  • Strategies for documenting sources and for integrating material using quotes, paraphrases, and summaries.
  • Rhetorical strategies for use in analyzing persuasive techniques in articles and for revising one’s own writing.

First-Year Composition: ENG 1103

This one-semester course is a rigorous, fast-paced course designed for very confident writers.

Sections with an "M" designation (e.g., ENG 1103M) are specially designed for multilingual speakers. These sections have the same kinds of readings and assignments as the monolingual sections; the major difference is that they are taught by faculty with a strong background in linguistics and language acquisition, in addition to rhetoric and writing.

Students who take First-Year Composition should already be able to...

  • Write three error-free pages on almost any topic in forty-five (45) minutes.
  • Read assigned readings with ease, quickly assessing main points, supporting arguments, and evidence.
  • Use library databases to find sources on any topic.
  • Integrate source material into their own writing using properly punctuated and framed quotes and paraphrases.
  • Understand basic rhetorical strategies for persuading audiences.