College Composition
College Composition tests standard written English, revision skills, use of sources and rhetorical analysis. It is commonly used to satisfy a first-year writing requirement.
Start practice testAbout this exam
The exam combines multiple-choice questions on grammar, usage and revision with a section on working with sources and analysing rhetoric.
Much of the multiple-choice work is about recognising what is wrong with a sentence and choosing the cleanest fix. Being able to write well is not quite the same skill, so practice with the question format matters.
Source handling, including citation logic and evaluating evidence, is its own scored area and is easy to overlook.
Topic breakdown
Topic weights published by College Board.
How to study for this exam
- Review the grammar rules that carry the most weight: agreement, modifiers, parallelism and pronoun reference.
- Practise revision questions in bulk until the common error patterns become obvious.
- Learn how to judge whether a source supports a claim, and the basics of citation.
- Read argumentative prose and ask what each paragraph is doing rhetorically.
How the practice test works
- Choose all units or a single unit to focus on.
- Set the number of questions and a time limit, or practise untimed.
- Filter by difficulty to warm up or push yourself.
- Retake as many times as you like — every attempt is free.
- Your recent sessions stay on this device so you can review them.
Common questions
Is there an essay?
This exam focuses on multiple-choice skills. If your college requires an essay component, check which version of the composition exam it accepts.
Will this replace freshman writing?
At many colleges it satisfies part or all of that requirement, but policies vary more here than for most exams.
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