Students may be asked to take a placement test that helps the Writing Program staff evaluate their ability to write the kind of prose English 101 requires. Placement in English 100 means that we felt you needed further preparation for English 101. Most students who take English 100 find that the course makes English 101 easier for them.

Like English 101 and 102, English 100 is a composition course. Students write frequently all semester long, but plan, draft, and rewrite each paper before turning it in. English 100 is a workshop course; students participate in a small writing group, sharing work in progress and reading and responding critically to the work of the group members. Some instructors also may require a journal or reading notebook, or that students work in UNC's Learning Center.

English 100 is structured as three units focusing on writing in increasingly broader contexts. Each unit consists of a sequence of short writing assignments culminating in a larger written project.