preparing students for the grade 9 writing assessment sponsored by the heart of georgia resa

Preparing Students for the Grade 9 Writing Assessment

Sponsored by the Heart of Georgia RESA

Background Information for Teachers

Part I: Understanding the Persuasive Writing Genre

Part II: Understanding the Writing TopicPart III: Understanding the Scoring SystemPart IV: Sample Student Papers

Myth versus Reality

Success on the GHSWA, a test of persuasion, requires the writer to develop his or her position on an issue. A developed five-paragraph essay is just one way to respond. A five-paragraph formula will NOT meet the standard.

As you work through this presentation and the written handouts, you will become familiar with several ways to write an effective persuasive response to any assigned Writing Topic.

What Does a Persuasive Test Topic Look Like?

Read the next slide and ask yourself

1. What’s the issue?

2. Who is my audience? In other words, what person or type of person am I trying to get to agree with me?

55

Sample Practice Topic—Fast Food

Writing Situation Fast food is everywhere. Many of us don’t stop to think what we are eating

when we grab a convenient bite to eat on the way to school or an out-of-town ball game. Lately, however, the media have reported the harmful effects of this type of food. Your principal is considering whether or not to add fast food selections to the cafeteria menu. The principal has asked for recommendations from various groups of people, including students. Think about what would be best for the students at your school.

Directions for Writing Write a letter to your principal in which you present your position on the

issue of adding fast food to the school menu. Provide reasons and evidence that would convince the principal to accept or reject adding fast food to the menu.

(reprinted from Gordon and Murphy, From Formula to Form)

What Do the Standards Require?

• As you read the next slide, notice that writers are expected to take and defend a point of view.

• Also notice that there are no requirements for a single type of response.

77

Expectations for Persuasive Writing Based on the Georgia Performance

Standards• Contains a clear position, arguable point of view, and

knowledgeable judgment based on personal experience and real world or academic knowledge

• Provides support for a proposition--a statement suggested for acceptance, a statement to be affirmed or denied, or a subject for discussion or analysis

• Demonstrates awareness of writing for the topic-specific audience by selecting or framing the supporting ideas, that is by including and sequencing arguments/ideas appropriate to the needs, values, and interests of a specified audience

• Cites sources of information as appropriate (such sources will be made up in the testing context)

What Do Writers Do When They are Persuasive?

• As you read the next slide, notice all the ways a writer goes beyond just providing information to be convincing.

99

What Makes Exposition Persuasive: Moving From “What the Writer Wants” to “Why the Audience Should Agree with the Writer or Give the

Writer What’s Requested”• A clear point of view on the issue• Writing with authority established through knowledge of the issue, setting

the issue in a broader context, or personal experience• Following the “what” with an explanation of the “so what” or the “why” the

information matters• Making a deliberate connection with the assigned audience• Acknowledgement of the audience’s point of view• Word choice that shows the writer’s point of view in a positive light and

the alternatives in a negative light• Persuasive words and phrases• “Speaking” directly to the audience• Appealing to the reader’s emotions• Appealing to reasoning• Hyperbole• Humor

A Variety of Ways to Be Persuasive

The next slides summarize (in student and teacher language) several ways to write a persuasive essay). These approaches are explained in detail in the remainder of Part I.

• The Extended Narrative

• The Counter Argument

• The Problem and the Solution

1111

Approaches to Persuasion—from the Writer’s Perspective

• “What I want and the reasons why I want it.” (Caution—this approach is usually incomplete. See the next type for a stronger approach.)

• “What I want, why you (my audience) probably won’t want to give it to me, and what we can do about your objections that will satisfy both of us.” (a type of Counterargument)

• “Here’s what’s wrong about the other options or points of view. You (my audience will agree with my choice because it looks better by comparison.” (a type of Counterargument)

1212

Approaches to Persuasion from the Writer’s Perspective

• “Let me tell you a story that will make my point, make you cry, or make you so mad you want to fix the problem” (the extended narrative)

• “You’ve got a problem and not only do I know what’s wrong with the solutions you’re thinking about, I have a solution that will work for both of us” (problem-solution)

1313

Ways to Organize Persuasion Based on the Connections Between the Writer’s Position on

the Issue and the Major Supporting Ideas

• The Loose List: a number of reasons connected to the writer’s position (Caution: this plan usually earns only a 2 on a five-point scale)

• The Unifying Concept: the glue that links the reasons to each other and the writer’s position (Note: this is the way to improve the Loose List)

• The Extended Narrative• Counter Argument: My Ideas are Better Than Theirs• Problem Solution• Cause Effect (usually included within Problem-Solution)• Comparison Contrast (included within Counter Argument)

How to Connect with the Audience

The next slide covers the two basic types of appeals—reasons and emotions. Neither is a superior way to connect with the assigned audience. In practice, most writers use both strategies.

Recommendation: use the type of appeal that matches the writer’s supporting ideas

1515

Persuasive AppealsAppealing to Emotions

• Forming an alliance with the audience

• Playing to audience’s ego• Sharing a bonding story• Making a confession• Loaded, compelling description• Letting the story speak for the

writer• Going for guilt• Making the reader laugh• Creating an analogy or parallel

experience

Appealing to Logic and Reason

• Pointing out the practical benefits for the audience of giving the writer what he or she wants

• Providing choices or alternatives• Identifying the flaws in the

alternatives• Showing how a potential problem

or obstacle can be handled more easily than the audience thinks

• Providing plausible data• Citing (probably made-up) sources

of information• Making the new information

familiar

Back to the MythThe Five-Paragraph Formula

Many teachers believe that “they,” the Georgia Department of Education, require students to write the traditional five paragraph, thesis-with-three-supporting-points and lots of verbatim repetition essay in order to pass.

The Reality: read the score point 2 descriptions in the rubric and notice that formulaic writing does NOT meet the standard.

But the Five Paragraph is All I’ve Ever Taught!

But the Five Paragraph Essay Is All I’ve Taught!

Relax and read on! This structure is a starting point for many students. First get a complete understanding of the difference between formula-driven and ideas-driven essays, covered in the next slides. Then look at the alternative methods you will teach your students.

19

What is Formulaic Writing?

• Repetition of predictable, often small ideas

• The supporting ideas often overlap, leading to repeated points and examples in the body paragraphs

20


• The Body paragraph “reasons” are connected to the writer’s position on the issue but they are not connected to each other

• The “thesis/three supporting points” plan limits the writer to an to a simple list

21


• “Fill-in-the-slot” writing that begins the essay with a thesis statement, followed by three, numbered supporting points or reasons.

• The body paragraphs begin with topic sentences that repeat the wording in the Introduction. Sentence structure repetition limits Style

22


• The thesis and supporting points are repeated (often verbatim) in the conclusion, with the simplistic addition of “In summary” or “In conclusion”

• The Introduction and the Conclusion are essentially or literally the same text

23

A Summary of Why Reliance upon Formulaic Writing Produces Low Test

ScoresIdeas Domain (40% of the score)

•Major supporting points are repeated and often redundant

•Elaboration tends to be listy and overlapping

Organization Domain (20% of the score)

•Transitional words and phrases are simplistic and repeated

•Supporting ideas are connected to the topic but not each other

•The order of ideas within the body of the essay is based on simple listing

Style Domain (20% of the score)

•Word choice is repeated

•Sentence structure is repetitive

•The essay sound like “fill in the blanks” rather than establishing a writer’s voice

Conventions (20% of the score)

•Repetition prevents the writer from demonstrating knowledge of a variety of rules

What Does a Formula-Driven Essay Look Like?

• Read the sample essay on the next slide. (slide 25)

• Complete the quiz on slide 26 to discover the lack of development (Ideas domain).

• Read slide 27 to learn the impact on the Style score due to the repetition. See the suggested improvements.

2525

Writing Sample on the Fast Food TopicWhat NOT To Do: The Ineffective Five Paragraph Formula

Dear Principal O’Connor:

Fast food should be served in our school for three reasons. The first reason is because fast food tastes good. The second reason is because fast food is cheap. The third reason is because teenagers like fast food.

The first reason fast food should be served in our school is because it tastes good. French fries are the best. I am sure you agree they are tasty. I don’t know if you are thinking about pizza, but my friends and I love pizza with pepperoni and lots of extra cheese. Burgers are good too, especially the ones with cheese and bacon.

The second reason you should give us fast food is because fast food is cheap. Everywhere you go you can find 99 cent specials. I could get fries and a burger for less than two dollars. Pizza is cheap too because my friends and I could share a whole pizza. Why would we want to pay for salad when we can get our favorite foods?

The third reason is because teenagers like fast food. We don’t like healthy stuff. The food in our cafeteria is not very good. That’s why we throw it away or spend our money in the vending machine. We are teenagers after all. We like French fries and pizza.

In conclusion of my writing, you should give us fast food. The first reason is because it tastes good. The second reason it because it is cheap. The third reason is because teenagers like fast food.

2626

A Quiz on the Fast Food Essay to IllustrateHow Much Information is Missing

1. What is the current menu?2. What is wrong with the food that is currently served in the school

cafeteria?3. How much money are students currently spending on school lunches?4. How much money would fast food save?5. What reasons does the writer provide for not adding fast food options?

Why are these reasons relatively unimportant?6. Who will object to adding fast food?7. What does the writer recommend the principal do to respond to the

objections?8. How is the cafeteria menu connected to the purpose of school and what

the principal wants to accomplish? 9. Why should the principal give teens what they want? In other words,

what’s in it for the principal?

2727

Repetition of Simple Language in the Formula-Driven Essay

What’s Repeated• Fast Food

• Teens

• Like

• First, second, third reason

• good

• cheap

More Effective Word ChoiceInstead of fast food

• “Answer to a busy mother’s prayers,”

• “food you don’t have to wait for,”

• specific foods or brand names

Word Choice and DescriptionInstead of cheap

• “a bargain”

• “99 cent special”

• “a filling meal with enough money left to eat tomorrow”

2828

Rhetorical Unit Content of the Five Paragraph Formula

Introduction • Explicit thesis statement in the first sentence• Thesis statement gives the writer's position on the issue, typically ending with "for three reasons“• Three sentences, each one containing an enumerated supporting reason. Typically these sentences begin "My first reason is . . . " • No transition to the body of the essay

Body • Develops each one of the major supporting reasons in the order given on the Introduction • Body paragraphs repeat the words and ideas from the Introduction• The supporting points may not be distinct, a weakness that results in repetition of details or specifics• Ideas are generally connected to the topic but not each other, creating a weak organization• Since the supporting points aren't logically connected to each other, the transitions tend to be limited to counting words (first, second) rather than "meaning" transitions

Conclusion • Repeats or restates the thesis and supporting points to ensure the reader knows what the writer said• Tends to be tedious verbatim repetition• Often begins with "In conclusion . . . "

The Five Paragraph Formula- What NOT To Do

2929

Moving from Formula-Driven Writing to Writing for Meaning

Topic Development Ineffective Formulaic “Three Reasons”

The Loose List

Effective Approach With Major Supporting Ideas Connected to Each Other and to the Position on the Issue

What the Major Supporting Ideas Are

• Fast food tastes good• Fast food is cheap• Teenagers like fast food

• School is the perfect setting for all kinds of learning• A varied menu, including fast foods, would make the cafeteria into a science lab• Once we learn through experimentation what foods make us feel good and which ones make us feel bad, we’ll make smart choices.

Why the Approach Does or Does Not Work

• The three reasons are simplistic • Small ideas, such as “cheap,” lead to lists of details such as the names of foods and prices • The three reasons show a lack of understanding of the major supporting points that would work for the principal as the

audience

• The major supporting ideas are connected through an internal logic, provided by a unifying concept- education- and an organizational plan showing cause-effect and problem-solution connections

between the ideas• The ideas demonstrate an understanding of the audience, appealing to the principal’s need to promote education

3030

Avoiding Formulaic Persuasive Writing

• Examine the prewriting list of “what I know and feel about the issue” for connections between the ideas such as cause-effect, comparison-contrast, or order of importance.

• Change places with the audience assigned in the writing topic. look at the reasons and evidence to support your (the writer’s) position from the audience’s point of view. What’s “wrong” with what you want? What can you say to both acknowledge the audience’s objections and get them to change?

• Instead of the five-paragraph persuasive essay, provide support for the position on the topic through an extended narrative. Tell a compelling story that is clearly linked to both the issue and your position on it.

• Instead of the five-paragraph persuasive essay, produce a counter argument that shows awareness of how the audience thinks about the issue. Present a well-thought out alternative.

• Instead of a five-paragraph persuasive essay, reframe the issue as a problem and offer convincing solution(s).

3131

Avoiding Formulaic Persuasive Writing While Maintaining a Formal Structure

Restate rather than repeat the thesis and major supporting points in the body and conclusion.

Save the supporting points for the body paragraphs. Write an interesting introduction that uses a stated controlling idea as transition to the body paragraphs.

Avoid repetition of key ideas by adding details that answer the reader’s who, what, why, when, where and how questions. More importantly, develop the "so what.“

Avoid repetition by stating key ideas with synonyms, pronouns, words that are more specific or general, descriptive or figurative language, nicknames or proper nouns (if suited to the text) and words or phrases that reveal your point of view. Do this activity before writing the first draft and again, if needed, at the editing stage.

3232

Persuasive Writing with the Audience in Mind

Topic: Fast Food

Brainstorming Why I (the Writer) Want Fast Food Served in the

school cafeteria

Thinking about Why This Idea Works or Does Not Work for My

Assigned Audience, the Principal

Changing My Idea to Make It Fit (If I Need To) or Expanding It If It

Works

Fast food taste great. The principal has to stick to a budget and make parents happy, so taste isn’t a good enough reason.

Change the idea•We are currently wasting money

because we don’t eat the food that’s served and it’s thrown away.

•Serving fast food, even once a week, would prevent waste and end

up costing less than the current menu

Fast food will make the lunch hour seem like a social event with my

friends.

The principal wants us to eat and learn, not eat and play.

Change and then expandIf we have a true break in the middle of the day we will be better students.•Fast food will make lunch feel like a social event without adding any time

to the lunch hour.•We’ll get “visiting” out of our system and pay attention when we get back

to class.•One meal won’t ruin our health.

3333

Improving the ORGANIZATION DomainFROM A LOOSE LIST TO AN ESSAY WITH A PLAN

An Ineffective Strategy An Effective Strategy –Sample I Support – A List of

Unrelated IdeasA List that Lacks An

Underlying PlanSupporting Ideas Linked to a

Unifying ConceptUnderlying Plan Based on

Unifying Concept

Fast food tastes good.

Fast food is cheap.

Teens like fast food.

Note: These ideas are “too small” to develop

Each idea is related to the topic but the ideas are not logically linked to each other.

The third idea (teen likes) repeats the first two rather than further elaborating the writer’s position. That is, teen like fast food because it tastes good and they can afford it.

Students attend school to learn about academics and about life.

School is the perfect place to learn how diet affects us. We can study, do research and even experiment.

School may be the only place some students will learn good nutrition.

All the supporting ideas focus on and thus support a single concept: High school is the time and place to learn about health.

3434

Improving the ORGANIZATION DomainFROM A LOOSE LIST TO AN ESSAY WITH A PLAN

An Effective Strategy--Sample II

Supporting Ideas Connected on the Basis of Problem-Solution

Underlying Plan

Problems• food (and therefore money) is being wasted • students are complaining about the cafeteria menu• your time is being spent on this issue but you have more important things to do• you have to balance giving students what they want with doing what’s right

Solutions

The essay would begin by identifying the problem and the principal’s role in solving that problem. The writer would then follow with easy, appealing solutions. The final bullet in the Problem list provides an effective conclusion.

•Adding fast food to the menu could save money because students would “clean their plates” and you would not need as many cafeteria workers.•Fast food offerings could be limited to one day a week (Fast Food Friday) which would improve attendance and prevent health conscious students and parents from complaining.•Local fast food chains could be required to provide scholarships which would help the school’s money situation.•The money you save could be used to provide better tasting healthy food (purchase ingredients, send the cooks to school)•Putting a group of students in charge of surveying students to select the new menu would teach us responsibility and free up your time to deal with other problems.

3535

Narrative Support as a Development Strategy--The Extended Narrative--

• Narrative may be used in the introduction only, as one of the supporting ideas, or as the complete support for the writer’s position. The plot diagram represents a paper consisting entirely of narrative support.

• The narrative development strategy requires understanding of the difference between a story that merely relates a series of events in the writer’s life or imagination and the persuasive story a writer tells to convey a compelling message that supports the writer’s position on an issue.

• The story may be taken from the writer’s direct experience but is more likely to be an indirect, media-based, or imagined experience.

• If the event(s) happened to the writer, or the story is one the audience may have experienced, it will resonate. If not, the writer should address what the audience needs to know about the events and their impact on the writer, being careful not to assume the audience will “get it.”

3636

Rhetorical Unit Content of the Extended Narrative Essay

Introduction Presents the issue or problem Sets the stage for the story Acknowledges the reader's viewpoint while suggesting that the writer’s

story could change the reader’s thinking Ends with transition to the story OR If the story is compelling, the essay begins with the story and concludes with the connection between the story and the issue

Body The fully-elaborated story, based on The writer’s direct experience Indirect experience Pure fantasy Fiction A combination of reality and fiction Manipulation of time—either expansion or compression

Conclusion Explanation or reminder of why the story was told Explicit linking of the story to the writer's position on the issue Acknowledges the reader's viewpoint (may also be covered in the Introduction)

Letting the Story Convince the Audience

3737

The Issue: Whether or not to Writer's Position on the Issue: No serve fast food in the school cafeteria Audience: Principal

Focusing Statement: Spending the day in a kids' museum taught me the dangers of fast food.

I’m changing what I think about fast food!

Ris

ing

Act

ion

Falling A

ction

Resolution

Conflict Introduced

High Point

Description: I do everything I can to get my parents to let me stay in the hotel while they take my annoying little brother to a museum called The Health Adventure.

To get away from the pest I crawl into an artery tunnel

Along the way I read signs about food and exercise, especially junk food

The tunnel keeps getting narrower

When I get to the end I'm stuck in disgusting, sticky plaque the color of vomit

I'm looking at my future if I keep eating the greasy food I love I back out of the tunnel

before I get stuck for life.

I catch up with my family. My brother is "shopping" for fruits and vegetables.

This wasn't so dumb after all

Closure and connection to the issue: I promise to eat less junk food and to educate my friends. Unless we want a heart attack served with those fries we should keep our current menu.

3838

The Counter Argument In Counter Argument the writer sets himself up as the

expert, the authority on a different point of view. To write effective counter argument, the writer must learn to think like the reader-audience, to stand, momentarily in their shoes. The thought process requires the writer to

• be clear about what he/she wants and why• identify each of the reader-audience’s objections to

his/her position and the reasons he/she have taken that stance

• offer a well-thought out reply i.e., to counter to each objection

• elaborate each counter argument so that it is fully understood by the reader-audience

3939

WHATDOES THE

WRITER WANT?

WHAT THE WRITER KNOWS ABOUT

THE TOPIC-SPECIFIC

AUDIENCE

OBJECTIONS THE AUDIENCE IS

LIKELY TO HAVE TO WHAT THE

WRITER WANTS

IDEAS THE WRITER CAN USE TO COUNTER THE

OBJECTIONS

THE COUNTER ARGUMENT THOUGHT PROCESS

4040

Development and Organizational Strategies for Persuasive Writing

Method: The Counter Argument (Addresses the Reader’s Concerns)

Portion of the Essay Content of the Essay

Introduction •Acknowledges and then reviews the widely held viewpoint on the issue, generally the audience’s point of view•Makes the issue or problem clear•Does not reveal the writer's supporting ideas•Ends with a transition to the body of the essay, introducing the writer’s differing viewpoint on the issue.

Body •Multiple paragraphs (no magic number) that present the writer’s logic for holding his or her different point of view•Each of the audience’s (objections opposing arguments or reasons) are presented and countered with logic or an appeal to emotions•The writer’s counterarguments are thoroughly developed, distinctive, not repetitious or overlapping•Counterarguments are logically sequenced based on their actual content (for example, time sequence, order of importance, then and now…)

Conclusion •Avoids repetition of ideas already covered •Avoids cliché•Evolves out of the writer’s specific arguments•Reminds the audience of the larger controversial issue and value of varying perspectives on the issue

4141

TOPIC OR ISSUE: Should fast food be served in the school cafeteria?

WRITER’S POSITION ON THE ISSUE: No

AUDIENCE: Principal

What the Audience Thinks about the Issue: The Reader's Concern"While many people think that. . ."

The Writer's Counter Argument"I believe there is another side to the issue. . ."

A. There is a demand for fast food Reminder of leadership role

B. Too much food is thrown away Waste is a problem but eating poorly is a bigger one.

C. The school needs money Money is mentioned as a way of demonstrating the writer understands the principal’s responsibilities

D. Saying no will be unpopular Some students, like me, will help you convince other students. Leaders have to do what's unpopular.

E. Parents, not educators, are responsible for what teens eat.

•While it’s true that. . . what we learn at school also influences us.•My parents may complain if you. . .•Some parents don’t know themselves. . •My parents stick to the healthy items.

4242

The Problem Solution Essay

Rhetorical Unit Content of the Problem Solution Essay

Introduction • Makes the nature of the problem clear through definition or description• May identify a series of related problems• May argue for the seriousness of the problem, giving a series of consequences• May acknowledge the audience's role in solving the problem• Ends with a transition to the body of the essay,

suggesting a solution is forthcoming

Body • The writer’s analysis of the problem and the possible solutions are thoroughly developed• Multiple paragraphs (no magic number) that present the writer’s logic for holding his or her point of view• If different solutions are proposed, they begin with the ones the writer rejects

Conclusion • Appeals to the audience to help solve the problem or accept the writer's solution• Brings the argument to a close• Avoids cliché• Evolves out of the writer’s specific arguments

43

Part II: Understanding the Persuasive Writing Topic

Each writing topic contains–a background context–an issue with different sides–an audience–a writing task–general instructions for how to support the writer’s position–a format for the response

44

A Sample Prompt, Marked to Show Issue, Audience, and Task

Writing Topic Number 1

Writing Situation

Fast food is everywhere. Many of us don’t stop to think before we grab a convenient bite to eat on the way to school or an out-of-town ball game. Lately, however, the media have covered more and more stories about the harmful effects of this food.

Your principal is considering whether or not to add fast food selections to the cafeteria menu. The principal has asked for recommendations from various groups of people, including students. Think about what would be best for your school.

Directions for Writing

(Write a letter to your principal) in which you support your position on the issue of fast food in your school. [Provide reasons and evidence] that would convince the principal to accept or reject fast-food offerings for the students in your high school.

background information to introduce the issue in a broad context and the different positions.

the issue as it applies to the writer

audience restated

writing task[Suggestions for how to persuade the audience. These suggestions apply to all the Writing Topics.]

(format)

audience

A note about the letter format: The format merely provides a realistic type of response to issue. The test response is a formal essay, even if the prompt specifies a letter or speech.

45

Prewriting Questions for the Writer to Think About

1. What is the issue?

2. What do I think and feel about the issue?

3. What are the different sides of the issue?

4. Which side of the issue (for or against, agree or disagree, solution to the problem, or plan to propose) do I have the most to write about?

5. Who is the audience?

6. What concerns and objections are the audience likely to have about the issue?

7. What can I say in response to these concerns to minimize the audience’s objections?

8. What is my focusing statement (i.e., my position on the issue)?

Thinking About the Writing Topic

• The next slides are set up to show students how to think about the different positions on an issue and how they have to change their support to fit different audiences.

• These slides are based on different issues than fast food.

47

DIFFERENT AUDIENCES AND DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW

Topic 1: Should high school students be required to take physical education at school?

Audience 1: classmates OR Audience 2: parents

Position on the Issue: Yes/In Favor OR No/Opposed

Focusing Statement:

What Writer Wants and Why Audience Objections to What the Writer Wants and Why

What Writer Can Say to Respond to the Objections

48

Topic 1: Should high school students be required to take physical education at school?Audience: classmatesPosition on the Issue: Yes/In Favor

What Writer Wants and Why

Yes: Required P.E.

Build good health practices early

“Built in time” or scheduled exercise

Be introduced to team sports/health

Audience Objections to What the Writer Wants and Why

No: No Required P.E.

Why think about health now? We’re young.

We need to make time for other classes

I only like basketball/football


Being healthy now prevents problems later in life.

We would do better in academic classes, if we were given time in a physical education class to release energy.

We should learn to be open to new experiences.

Ideas provided by Heart of Georgia RESA teachers.

49

Topic 1: Should high school students be required to take physical education at school?Audience: classmatesPosition on the Issue: No/Opposed


Physical education classes are a joke because students don’t participate.

We don’t have a good gym or a good place to play.

Physical Education classes will not help us in the future.


We need this time to release energy. We sit in a desk all day.

Our football field is good for games.

These classes build good health practices.


We have break and lunch to release energy.

The football field is too hot and it’s not a safe place.

We are too young to worry about our health – who cares?


50

Topic 1: Should high school students be required to take physical education at school?Audience 2: parentsPosition on the Issue: Yes/In Favor


reduce/control childhood obesity by learning the importance of regular exercise at a young age

build muscle and improve cardio system to increase athletic performance

opportunity to move and reduce stress/release excess energy


student’s health is parental responsibility; education is school’s responsibility

not all students are athletes or athletically inclined

less time spent in academic subjects


some parents are not informed enough to educate their children on the topic

building athletic skills increases confidences

students are able to learn more efficiently and effectively when excess energy is expended


Practice: Different Points of View and Different Audiences

• Students should try responding to the different positions and audiences provided for the next two topics.

52


Topic 2: Select a book and convince someone you know who doesn’t like to read that he or she should read this book.

Audience 1: someone your age OR Audience 2: someone youngerPosition on the Issue: Yes/In Favor OR No/OpposedFocusing Statement:



53


Topic 3: Convince the owners of a gym, modeling agency, driving school, or some other business of your choice that they should allow you to use their service for free.

Audience 1: the business owner OR Audience 2: a different business and owner than #1Position on the Issue: Yes/In Favor OR No/OpposedFocusing Statement:



Part III: The Scoring System

The Domains of Effective Writing

IDEAS

The degree to which the writer establishes a controlling idea and elaborates the main points with examples, illustrations, facts, or details that are appropriate to the assigned genre.

56

Domain of Ideas

• 40% of total score• Emphasis on development of the writer’s position on the issue,

which in persuasive writing, is the controlling idea of an essay• Improvement in the Ideas domain results in simultaneous

improvement in Conventions and Style

Questions for the Ideas Domain

How thoroughly is the controlling idea developed?

Is a controlling idea explicitly or implicitly established? Can you state the controlling idea in your own words?

Are the major supporting ideas elaborated?

Does the writer anticipate and answer the reader’s questions about the topic?

Are the supporting ideas themselves developed and how extensively?

Are the writer’s ideas meaningful and memorable?

Are supporting points developed or merely listed?

Does word choice contribute to the development of ideas?


ORGANIZATION

The degree to which the writer’s ideas are arranged in a clear order and the overall structure of the response is consistent with the assigned genre.

Questions for the Organization Domain

Does the paper contain all 3 parts (introduction/body/conclusion) of a complete essay or story? Does each part accomplish its purpose?

Does the introduction provide a lead (invite the reader in) and se the stage for the rest of the essay?

Does the conclusion merely repeat the introduction?

Are ideas sequenced throughout the paper in a way that makes sense?

Are related ideas grouped together?

Are transitions used within and across parts of the paper?


STYLE

The degree to which the writer controls language to engage the reader.

Questions for the Style Domain

To what extent is word choice skilled, controlled and varied?

How varied is the sentence structure? If repeated, is it repeated for effect?

What does the writer do to indicate an awareness of audience?


CONVENTIONS

The degree to which the writer demonstrated control of sentence formation, usage and mechanics.

Questions for the Conventions Domain

How extensive is the evidence of mastery of the rules of written, edited language?

Are mistakes limited to single rules or do they cut across rules?

Are the correct instances based on simple rules and are the correct instances repeated?

Are mistakes limited to advanced, difficult, or complex rules?

To what extent do errors interfere with meaning?

Does length/brevity result in limited evidence?

preparing students for the grade 9 writing assessment sponsored by the heart of georgia resa

Documents