C Exam Details - English 1302

• To write the C exam, you must first satisfactorily complete Assignments 1-4, Assignment 8, and one of Assignments 5-7. You must also gain a score of 7 or better on the Orientation Quiz and a cumulative score of at least 40 on the reading quizzes. Once you have fulfilled these requirements, I will issue you a C exam test permit. Your C exam permit will be included with your accepted Assignment 8 return.

• All English 1302 students are required to write the C exam in an ACC Testing Center or an approved alternate facility. My Distance Learning English composition students (for example, you) are eligible to type their C exam in Blackboard on a computer in several ACC testing centers instead of handwriting it. This program is called online testing, but it must be done in an ACC Testing Center, not over the Internet. The advantage is that I can retrieve your C exam through Blackboard, grade it, and send you the results more quickly. Also, you may type the C exam until the semester ends at 5 pm on the last day of the semester, instead of having to handwrite the exam at the Rio Grande Testing Center during the last week.

• According to my information, the online tests are definitely available at these ACC campuses: Cypress Creek, Eastview, Northridge, Riverside, Rio Grande, Pinnacle, South Austin, and Round Rock. If you want to type your C exam, I recommend you visit one of those sites. Online testing might also be available at some of the outlying testing centers, such as at San Marcos or Fredericksburg. However, you should contact any outlying testing center to verify that English 1302 online testing through Blackboard is available at that site. Classroom English 1302 students may also be eligible to type their exams, so you need to plan your trip to the testing center accordingly.

• As noted, I will retrieve your C exam attempt in Blackboard. When I have graded your C exam, I will let you know if your C exam has been accepted, and I will provide a few comments about your exam in your Messages under the Communication button in Blackboard. You will also receive a 1 or 0 in the C Exam slot in your grade list. Your graded C exam will not be returned to you.

• You may not take any notes into the Testing Center. When you enter the Testing Center, you will receive a short story with a cover sheet. A dictionary will also be provided, if needed. The cover sheet gives brief instructions about the Comp II C exam. It does identify the seven elements you will need to discuss. You should also include an eighth paragraph as your conclusion. You will use the same guidelines you have used for other analyses in this course: no first-person or second-person pronouns, 10% limit on direct quotes, good grammar, inclusion of all required components.

• Your C exam will be similar to your Assignment 8 analysis, except the C exam is a bit shorter (minimum 600 words) and you are required to deal with only three elements plus the central idea if you so choose.

• The testing computer uses a basic text processor. You may not be able to double space. Please CAPITALIZE YOUR THESIS STATEMENT-CENTRAL IDEA. Type your name and identifying information in the upper left corner as part of the exam analysis document.

• To type your C exam, you will enter Blackboard using your regular user name and password. Once you are in Blackboard, you will click on the Exams button at the bottom of the left sidebar. You will be taken to a lockdown browser. You will be asked if your instructor gave you a password--NO. Then another password will automatically be filled in for you, and you will be inside the testing word processor. You will not be able to access other parts of Blackboard once you are in the testing word processor. You must complete the exam in one sitting. You cannot return to the Testing Center to continue writing the exam. When you click the Submit button, your C exam should be ready to grade.

The link below includes the procedure for taking the computer test. It also gives specific instructions on how to log in to write the C exam. If you don't read these instructions, you may not be able to log in for the computer test. That means you will probably have to handwrite the exam instead. So, read the instructions and take notes.

Secure Online Testing

Here's more specific information I have received about the test program:

"Please tell your students who are going to take the C Test on Respondus that if they want to compose or take notes using paper to do that before they log on to Respondus. Then tell them to be sure to save every twenty or thirty minutes so that they are not timed out and locked out. Once they are locked out, their testing opportunity is over. This is a system problem that was not brought to my attention, but I have just met with the person who is working on the problem. There are student errors occurring also, but we can address the timing out problem.

Blackboard WILL timeout their session after 3 hours of inactivity (which means that the student hasn’t told the Blackboard Server that he or she is still there and working).

To prevent this, the student should save on a somewhat regular basis – my suggestion: Save (NOT Submit) at the end of each paragraph or roughly every 30 minutes.

Additionally, this will also prevent the student from losing a lot of work in the event of a power failure.

Should the student’s session timeout or the power goes out and the student has been saving, he/she will not be able to access the exam from Blackboard again, but the instructor will have access to at least a portion of their work and they can make arrangements to submit the additional portion of their paper at a later time (or if you all permit, continue where they think they left off with paper and pencil)."


When you finish your test, click Submit.

To learn about the procedures of the Testing Center, go to the ACC Testing Center page.

• First, review the course documents under the Getting Started button in Blackboard. Then review the assignment lectures and the sample analysis in each lecture. The more specific and detailed your analysis, the greater your chance for success.

• Review the Assignment 8 Lecture and the structure for the C exam. Notice how the sample in that lecture directly discusses the elements. Notice how the required components are directly identified. You should do the same on your C exam.

• Once you enter the Testing Center to write the C exam, you may not leave, so be prepared when you enter. You may not take any notes into the Testing Center.

• When you enter the Testing Center, you will receive a short story with a cover sheet. Paper and a dictionary will also be provided, if needed. The cover sheet gives brief instructions about the Comp II C exam. It identifies the seven elements you will need to discuss. You should also include an eighth paragraph as your conclusion.

• Before you read the story you are supposed to analyze, jot down everything you remember about the elements.

• Read the story you have been given. You will not be able to write on the handout, so take notes as you go along. Especially note examples of the elements you have identified in the preceding step.

• After reading the story and reviewing your notes, develop an outline for your 8-paragraph exam analysis. Include details about each element. The first paragraph should include the central idea, and the last paragraph should be a conclusion.

• If time permits, read the story again. Make any necessary changes to your notes. Revise the outline for your analysis, if necessary.

• Now you are ready to type (write) your C exam analysis. Follow your outline and notes. Be sure to adhere to any guidelines, such as not using first-person and second-person pronouns or not exceeding the 10% limit on direct quotes. Be specific and direct in your discussion.

• When you finish, put down your pen (or stop typing) and just sit there for five or ten minutes. Think about what you will do later that day or during the semester break. The purpose of this step is to provide a distraction from the writing process you have just completed.

• Now, go back and read your analysis. This step, if possible, should serve for both revision and proofreading. Try to catch any grammar or content problems. Check that you have included all required elements and their key components. Make necessary corrections. If you have many corrections on a handwritten exam, you may need to go back and rewrite the analysis. Otherwise, a few corrections are OK on your final copy.

• When you are satisfied you have done your best, click Submit in the online test program or submit your handwritten analysis and any notes you have written to the Testing Center staff. Leave the Testing Center with the happy feeling you have just passed the C exam. (I will let you know otherwise later, if necessary.)

• If the online testing system is not operating or you go to a testing center in which you must handwrite the exam, you should follow the tips in this paragraph as Plan B. If you must handwrite the exam, the Testing Center will provide paper, a dictionary, a thesaurus, if needed, but you must provide your own writing pens; you should take at least two pens with you. Even if you plan to type the C exam, you might take these supplies along anyway.

Again, once you enter the Testing Center, you may not leave until you turn in a completed exam. If you must leave before your exam is completed, you may not return to complete it. You will have to start over from scratch, and your incomplete attempt will be considered not accepted. So prepare accordingly. The Testing Center will provide paper and a dictionary for your use. You should take at least two working pens. You may not take any notes or additional materials into the Testing Center.

My home campus is Rio Grande. If you type your exam, I can retrieve it through Blackboard. If you handwrite your exam, it must be sent to me through intercampus mail, which requires 2-4 days travel time, or I can pick it up at the Rio Grande Testing Center if it is handwritten there.

In either case, alert me by Blackboard message or Email when and where you have completed the exam. Also, if you type your C exam, later use the C Exam link in Blackboard Submissions to send me a small dummy file that tells me you completed the C exam. I will then use this link to return your graded C exam.

You are responsible for the timely completion of your C exam. If you wait until the last few days of the semester, you will not have the time to rewrite the exam. If your C exam is not acceptable and you do not rewrite it successfully, you will not receive a satisfactory grade in the course.

Click here for Testing Center locations, hours, and guidelines.