IMAGINE! One morning you wake up and go down to breakfast. |
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This is what you see on the table.
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You are surprised. Then…
…when you look out the window, this is what you see.
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Write a story called "The Very Unusual Day" about what happens until you go to bed again. |
Scoring Guide
Score & Description |
Excellent
• Tells a well-developed story with relevant descriptive details across the response. • Events are well connected and tie the story together with transitions across the response. • Sustains varied sentence structure and exhibits specific word choices. • Exhibits control over sentence boundaries; errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics do not interfere with understanding.
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Skillful
• Tells a clear story with some development, including some relevant descriptive details. • Events are connected in much of the response; may lack some transitions. • Exhibits some variety in sentence structure and exhibits some specific word choices. • Generally exhibits control over sentence boundaries; errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics are minor and do not interfere with understanding.
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Sufficient
• Tells a clear story with little development; has few details. • Events are generally related; may contain brief digressions or inconsistencies. • Generally has simple sentences and simple word choice; may exhibit uneven control over sentence boundaries. • Has sentences that consist mostly of complete, clear, distinct thoughts; errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics generally 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 tells only part of a story, gives a plan for a story, or is list-like. • Lacks a clear progression of events; elements may not fit together or be in sequence. • Exhibits uneven control over sentence boundaries and may have some inaccurate word choices. • Errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics sometimes interfere with understanding.
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Insufficient May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Attempts a response, but is no more than a fragment or the beginning of a story OR is very repetitive. • Very disorganized or too brief to detect organization. • Exhibits little control over sentence boundaries and sentence formation; word choice is inaccurate in much of the response. • Characterized by misspellings, missing words, incorrect word order; errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics are severe enough to make understanding very difficult in much of the response.
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Unsatisfactory May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Attempts a response, but may only paraphrase the prompt or be extremely brief. • Exhibits no control over organization. • Exhibits no control over sentence formation; word choice is inaccurate across the response. • Characterized by misspellings, missing words, incorrect word order; errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics severely impede understanding across the response.
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- Describe what lunchtime is like for you on a school day. Be sure to tell about your lunchtime so that someone who has never had lunch with you on a school day can understand where you have lunch and what lunchtime is like.
Scoring Guide
Score & Description |
Excellent
• Develops ideas well and uses specific, relevant details across the response. • Well organized with clear transitions. • Sustains varied sentence structure and exhibits specific word choices. • Exhibits control over sentence boundaries; errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics do not interfere with understanding.
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Skillful
• Develops ideas with some specific, relevant details. • Clearly organized; information is presented in an orderly way but response may lack transitions. • Exhibits some variety in sentence structure and exhibits some specific word choices. • Generally exhibits control over sentence boundaries; errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics do not interfere with understanding.
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Sufficient
• Clear but sparsely developed; may have few details. • Provides a clear sequence of information; provides pieces of information that are generally related to each other. • Generally has simple sentences and simple word choice; may exhibit uneven control over sentence boundaries. • Has sentences that consist mostly of complete, clear, distinct thoughts; errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics generally do not interfere with understanding.
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Uneven May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Provides limited or incomplete information; may be list-like or have the quality of an outline. • Disorganized or provides a disjointed sequence of information. • Exhibits uneven control over sentence boundaries and may have some inaccurate word choices. • Errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics sometimes interfere with understanding.
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Insufficient May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Provides little information and makes little attempt at development. • Very disorganized or too brief to detect organization. • Exhibits little control over sentence boundaries and sentence formation; word choice is inaccurate in much of the response. • Characterized by misspellings, missing words, incorrect word order; errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics are severe enough to make understanding very difficult in much of the response.
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Unsatisfactory May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Attempts a response, but may only paraphrase the prompt or be extremely brief. • Exhibits no control over organization. • Exhibits no control over sentence formation; word choice is inaccurate across the response. • Characterized by misspellings, missing words, incorrect word order; errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics severely impede understanding across the response.
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- Imagine this situation:
Your favorite book is missing from your school library. It might be a book that you like to read over and over again. Or it might be a book that your teacher or parent has read to you. Some of your friends also like to read this book. The school librarian is not sure she wants to buy the book again.
Write a letter to convince your school librarian to buy the book again. In your letter, give lots of reasons why the book should be in your school library.
Scoring Guide
Score & Description |
Excellent
• Takes a clear position and develops support with well-chosen details, reasons, or examples across the response. • Well organized; maintains focus. • Sustains varied sentence structure and exhibits specific word choices. • Exhibits control over sentence boundaries; errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics do not interfere with understanding.
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Skillful
• Takes a clear position and develops support with some specific details, reasons, or examples. • Provides some organization of ideas by, for example, using contrast or building to a point. • Exhibits some variety in sentence structure and exhibits some specific word choices. • Generally exhibits control over sentence boundaries; errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics do not interfere with understanding.
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Sufficient
• Takes a clear position with support that is clear and generally related to the issue. • Generally organized. • Generally has simple sentences and simple word choice; may exhibit uneven control over sentence boundaries. • Has sentences that consist mostly of complete, clear, distinct thoughts; errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics generally 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 limited or incomplete support; some reasons may not be clear or related to the issue. • Disorganized or provides a disjointed sequence of information. • Exhibits uneven control over sentence boundaries and may have some inaccurate word choices. • Errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics sometimes interfere with understanding.
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Insufficient May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Takes a position, but provides only minimal support (generalizations or a specific reason or example); OR attempts to take a position but the position is unclear. • Very disorganized or too brief to detect organization. • May exhibit little control over sentence boundaries and sentence formation; word choice is inaccurate in much of the response. • Characterized by misspellings, missing words, incorrect word order. Errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics may be severe enough to make understanding very difficult in much of the response.
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Unsatisfactory May be characterized by one or more of the following: • Takes a position but provides no support OR attempts to take a position (is on topic) but position is very unclear; may only paraphrase the prompt. • Exhibits no control over organization. • Exhibits no control over sentence formation; word choice is inaccurate across the response. • Characterized by misspellings, missing words, incorrect word order; errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics severely impede understanding across the response.
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