They’ve written throughout their schooling careers, but not at this level. Students in this class combine ideas from seemingly unrelated texts to create an original, independent argument.

For many students, it provides an opportunity to be exposed to the rigor of Big Ten academics. But once students receive the dreaded “NP” on their first paper (about three-quarters of students do), it serves as a wake-up call. Past high school papers might have had a lot of summary mixed in, but Expos papers are meant to form an argument.

Take a look at the rubric — a “thesis” extends far beyond the little sentence in your first paragraph to your entire text. And summary leads to the “NP.” Each point in your argument has to lead to another, and that “conversation” you create has to last for five pages, or 1600 words. That’s difficult for many people, but the key is to talk — not just to write an essay. On average, though, people speak around 16,000 words a day. So, it’s a matter of putting all those thoughts into words!

It’s easy to succeed in this class, according to EBHS senior Kai Pandit: “Write good,” he says. And it does seem so simple: Make an argument and make it go on for five pages.

But writing good is easier said than done. Kai shares: “Expos is much more a class about work ethic than writing. Of course, you are writing papers, but if you are writing them at midnight then that’s not good! My advice is: work on the papers well before the due date and write a second/third draft!”

So many students write at midnight, hoping to just get the papers over with. And since the seniors have, well, senioritis, it’s tempting to write to fill up the page.

If students do well in the class and attend Rutgers, you can buy the credit to skip the course since you already took it in high school! However, if you don’t go to Rutgers, you can purchase credits through Middlesex County College. They can transfer to many colleges, including out-of-state public schools like UMass and Penn State.

Expos is a not-so-secret opportunity to be exposed to college from the familiar comfort of high school. If you’re scheduled for College Writing or hope to take it, get ready and write good!