College Writing courses introduce students to the discipline of Writing Studies, challenging common misconceptions about the practice of writing while acknowledging writing as something we do and also something we study. College Writing is most often taken as a two-semester sequence, EH 101 and EH 102. Students who demonstrate a need for additional support in English reading and writing conventions receive supplemental instruction in EH 101L, a lab course required to be taken concurrently with EH 101. Students who demonstrate advanced competency in academic writing may choose to take College Writing in an accelerated single-semester course, EH 103.

UAH Honors College students must register for EH 105 in place of the 101/102/103 options. This course requires participation in the Honors College Common Read (See below for descriptions).

In order to ensure the best opportunity for success, students are placed in a College Writing course based on ACT English or SAT Evidence-based Reading & Writing scores, and high school GPA.

Students who are admitted to UAH without ACT or SAT scores and students admitted under the test score optional policy will be placed in the EH 101/102 sequence with a required concurrent lab (EH 101L) to be taken during the EH 101 semester. Students wishing to challenge their placement may opt to take the Composition Placement Test or submit surveys from previous English instructors and a writing sample to remove the concurrent lab requirement. Students may call Testing Services at 256.824.6725 to schedule an appointment to take the Composition Placement Test or may email english@uah.edu to request survey access and writing sample receipt.

Students can also receive credit for EH 101 and/or EH 102 by taking the CLEP or International Baccalaureate exams. (Note: Students who have already completed EH 101 or a comparable course are not eligible to take the CLEP test for EH 102. CLEP tests must be taken in a student's first term).

English Composition Course Options

  • EH 101 - COLLEGE WRITING I (Semester Hours: 3): A beginning Writing Studies course with special attention given to authorial voice, the study of genre, and engagement in critical discourse.
    • EH 101L - STUDIO FOR COLLEGE WRITING I (Semester Hours: 0): A writing lab to be taken concurrently with EH 101 by students who enter as test optional or students whose SAT, ACT, and/or previous high school coursework indicate a need for supplemental instruction in the content area. The course provides practice in written English language skills, editing techniques, writing strategies (brainstorming, drafting, revising editing) as well as critical reading skimming, scanning, inferring). Students required to take EH 101L must pass EH 101L to pass EH 101.
  • EH 102 - COLLEGE WRITING II (Semester Hours: 3): An intermediate Writing Studies course with special attention given to interrogating discourse communities, crafting research questions and techniques, as well as critical engagement with published and student texts. Prerequisite: EH 101.
  • EH 103 - ACCELERATED COLLEGE WRITING (Semester Hours: 3): An accelerated introduction to Writing Studies with a focus on academic writing, critical reading, and research questions, as well as critical engagement with published and student texts. Prerequisites: minimum high school GPA 3.5; minimum 26 on ACT or minimum 1240 on SAT.
  • EH 105 - HONORS ENGLISH SEMINAR (Semester Hours: 3): Interpretive and comparative readings in texts of enduring intellectual, esthetic, and ethical importance; critical and analytic writing and research projects. This course requires participation in the annual Honors College Common Read. Grading Scale: A, B, C, D, F. Minimum grade of C- required to advance to 200-level English classes. Prerequisites: Formal admission to the University Honors Program.

The Writing Center

As part of UAH's Student Success Center (SSC), the Tutoring and Writing Center offers free writing consultations to currently enrolled students. All consultations take place in the Tutoring and Writing Center, which is located in First Floor Library, North Wing. Visit the Student Success Center's Undergraduate Writing Program page for more information and/or to make an appointment.