Envelope [1]
- Imagine this situation!
A noise outside awakens you one night. You look out the window and see a spaceship. The door of the spaceship opens, and out walks a space creature. What does the creature look like? What do you do?
Write a story about what happens next.
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.
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- A public television network is seeking ideas for a new series of shows that would be educational for teenagers. The series will include ten one-hour episodes and will be shown once a week. Some of the titles under consideration are:
"Great Cities of the World"
"Women in History"
"Nature Walks"
"American Legends"
Choose one of these titles. Write a letter to the network president describing your ideas for a new educational series. In your letter, describe what one episode might be like. Use specific examples of what information you would include in the episode so the network president will be able to imagine what the series would be like.
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 the 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 parphrase 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.
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Question 3 refers to Envelope [1]
- Your school board is studying ways to reduce vandalism (destruction of property) at your school. You have been appointed as a student advisor to write a report to the school board about the problem of vandalism and how to solve it.
To help you get started, your school board has given you the chart in envelope M, which provides information about the extent of vandalism in your school. The school board wants you to discuss ways to prevent some of the different types of vandalism, which include writing graffiti, destroying furniture, breaking windows, and damaging trees, athletic fields, and fences.
In your report, describe the extent of vandalism in your school and discuss what you think are the main reasons for vandalism. Then present the board with a plan for how to stop vandalism in your school. Be specific so that the board can use your suggestions to solve the problem of vandalism.
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 the 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 parphrase 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.
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- Many people think that students are not learning enough in school. They want to shorten most school vacations and make students spend more of the year in school. Other people think that lengthening the school year and shortening vacations is a bad idea because students use their vacations to learn important things outside of school.
What is your opinion?
Write a letter to your school board either in favor of or against lengthening the school year. Give specific reasons to support your opinion that will convince the school board to agree with you.
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 response 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.
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