letter [1]
- Imagine that you have just come into your kitchen and that the poem below is a note left for you on the kitchen table. Who wrote the note? How do you feel? What do you do?
Write a story about what happens next.
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THIS IS JUST TO SAY
I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox*
and which you were probably saving for breakfast
Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold
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*"Icebox" is another word for refrigerator.
"This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams, from Collected Poems: 1909-1939,
volume 1. Copyright (c) 1938 by New Directions Publishing Corp. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.
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Scoring Guide
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Score & Description |
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Excellent • Tells a clear story that is well developed and shaped with well-chosen details across the response. • Is well organized with strong transitions. • Sustains variety in sentence structure and exhibits good word choice. • Errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation are few and do not interfere with understanding. |
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Skillful • Tells a clear story that is developed and shaped with details in parts of the response. • Is clearly organized, but may lack some transitions and/or have occasional lapses in continuity. • Exhibits some variety in sentence structure and some good word choices. • Errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation do not interfere with understanding. |
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Sufficient • Tells a clear story that is developed with some details. • The parts of the story are generally related, but there are few or no transitions. • Exhibits control over sentence boundaries and sentence structure, but sentences and word choice may be simple and unvaried. • Errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation do not interfere with understanding. |
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Uneven May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Attempts to tell a story, but parts of the story are unclear, undeveloped, list-like, or repetitive OR offers no more than a well-written beginning. • Is unevenly organized; parts of the story may be unrelated to one another. • Exhibits uneven control over sentence boundaries and sentence structure; may have some inaccurate word choices. • Errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation sometimes interfere with understanding. |
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Insufficient May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Attempts to tell a story, but the attempt may be a fragment and/or very undeveloped. • Is very disorganized throughout the response OR too brief to detect organization. • Minimal control over sentence boundaries and sentence structure; word choice may often be inaccurate. • Errors in grammar or usage (such as missing words or incorrect word use or word order), spelling, and punctuation interfere with understanding in much of the response. |
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Unsatisfactory May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Responds to prompt, but provides little or no coherent content OR merely paraphrases the prompt. • Has no apparent organization OR consists of a single statement. • Minimal or no control over sentence boundaries and sentence structure; word choice may be inaccurate in much or all of the response. • A multiplicity of errors in grammar or usage (such as missing words or incorrect word use or word order), spelling, and punctuation severely impedes understanding across the response. |
Question 2 refers to letter [1]
- Open the envelope labeled E that you have been given. Take out the letter from Rina and read it. Rina, who wrote the letter, is coming to a school in America for the first time and needs to know what a backpack is.
Write a letter back to Rina. In your letter, include a clear description of a backpack and explain in detail what she should keep in it. Remember, the more information Rina has, the better prepared she’ll be to start eighth grade.
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Scoring Guide
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Score & Description |
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Excellent • Develops and shapes information with well-chosen details across the response. • Is well organized with strong transitions. • Sustains variety in sentence structure and exhibits good word choice. • Errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation are few and do not interfere with understanding. |
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Skillful • Develops and shapes information with details in parts of the response. • Is clearly organized, but may lack some transitions and/or have occasional lapses in continuity. • Exhibits some variety in sentence structure and some good word choices. • Errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation do not interfere with understanding. |
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Sufficient • Develops information with some details. • Organized with ideas that are generally related, but has few or no transitions. • Exhibits control over sentence boundaries and sentence structure, but sentences and word choice may be simple and unvaried. • Errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation do not interfere with understanding. |
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Uneven May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Presents some clear information, but is list-like, undeveloped, or repetitive OR offers no more than a well-written beginning. • Is unevenly organized; the response may be disjointed. • Exhibits uneven control over sentence boundaries and sentence structure; may have some inaccurate word choices. • Errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation sometimes interfere with understanding. |
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Insufficient May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Presents fragmented information OR may be very repetitive OR may be very undeveloped. • Is very disorganized; thoughts are tenuously connected OR the response is too brief to detect organization. • Minimal control over sentence boundaries and sentence structure; word choice may often be inaccurate. • Errors in grammar or usage (such as missing words or incorrect word use or word order), spelling, and punctuation interfere with understanding in much of the response. |
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Unsatisfactory May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Attempts to respond to prompt, but provides little or no coherent information; may only paraphrase the prompt. • Has no apparent organization OR consists of a single statement. • Minimal or no control over sentence boundaries and sentence structure; word choice may be inaccurate in much or all of the response. • A multiplicity of errors in grammar or usage (such as missing words or incorrect word use or word order), spelling, and punctuation severely impedes understanding across the response. |
- Imagine that one of your friends never wants to try anything new. Whether it is a question of what to eat, what to wear, what to do, what to read, or what to watch, your friend always chooses what is familiar – "the same old thing."
Write a letter to your friend convincing him or her to try something new. Be sure to describe what your friend should try and explain why your friend would like it.
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Scoring Guide
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Score & Description |
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Excellent • Takes a clear position and develops it consistently with well-chosen reasons and/or examples across the response. • Is well organized with strong transitions. • Sustains variety in sentence structure and exhibits good word choice. • Errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation are few and do not interfere with understanding. |
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Skillful • Takes a clear position and develops it with reasons and/or examples in parts of the response. • Is clearly organized, but may lack some transitions and/or have occasional lapses in continuity. • Exhibits some variety in sentence structure and some good word choices. • Errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation do not interfere with understanding. |
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Sufficient • Takes a clear position and supports it with some reasons and/or examples. • Is organized with ideas that are generally related, but there are few or no transitions. • Exhibits control over sentence boundaries and sentence structure, but sentences and word choice may be simple and unvaried. • Errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation do not interfere with understanding. |
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Uneven May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Takes a position and offers support, but may be unclear, repetitive, list-like, or undeveloped. • Is unevenly organized; the response may be disjointed. • Exhibits uneven control over sentence boundaries and sentence structure; may have some inaccurate word choices. • Errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation sometimes interfere with understanding. |
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Insufficient May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Takes a position, but may be very unclear, very undeveloped, or very repetitive. • Is very disorganized; thoughts are tenuously connected OR the response is too brief to detect organization. • Minimal control over sentence boundaries and sentence structure; word choice may often be inaccurate. • Errors in grammar or usage (such as missing words or incorrect word use or word order), spelling, and punctuation interfere with understanding in much of the response. |
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Unsatisfactory May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Attempts to take a position (addresses topic) but is incoherent OR takes a position but provides no support; may only paraphrase the prompt. • Has no apparent organization OR consists of a single statement. • Minimal or no control over sentence boundaries and sentence structure; word choice may be inaccurate in much or all of the response. • A multiplicity of errors in grammar or usage (such as missing words or incorrect word use or word order), spelling, and punctuation severely impedes understanding across the response. |