G.++Writing+Prompt


 * Writing and ESL Learners **



 **Example**



 Second language learners must develop as writers in order to be successful in their second language. In keeping with state and national initiatives, ESL students must become familiar with the writing process. In order to encourage successful writers, writing prompts--matched with well-designed rubrics (or rubrics adapted from state and national writing initiatives and assessments) become effective tools in developing ESL writers.

 The following prompt is based on the book, Parrot in the Oven, by Victor Martinez.



 **Title: //Parrot in the Oven// **  **Author: Victor Martinez **  **Publication Date: 1996 **  **Publisher:** Harper Collins

 **Age/Grade/Proficiency Level:** Due to this particular text and the content involved, this prompt is appropriate for second language learners at the middle or high school who are operating at Intermediate English Proficiency.



The Scoring Process
 Source: Tennessee Department of Education Writing Assessment, http://www.state.tn.us/education/assessment/writing_scoring.shtml

The writing essays from each grade level are scored holistically. Holistic scoring goes beyond mechanical correctness to focus on the overall effect of the writing. It measures the effectiveness of the communication.  Seventy-five Tennessee teachers are nominated to serve on the TCAP Writing Assessment Scoring Committee each year. This committee sets the standards for the current year's scoring by selecting anchor papers that typify the six score points of the scoring rubric.  Professional readers use the anchor papers as guides to score the essays. A reader must qualify to score by showing that he/she has shown consistent scoring on six qualification sets. Two qualified readers score each paper independently. If the scores do not agree, but have adjacent scores, the paper receives the higher score. If the two scores are split a third team leader determines the score. Scoring RubricScores from 6 to 1 reflect the range of excellence in the papers written in response to the assignment. Anchor and sample papers illustrate both the limits and the diversity within each score level. The following broad categories define the score ranges for the writing assignment and for the range of skills among students responding. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">**Score of 6**A 6 paper is OUTSTANDING. It demonstrates a high degree of proficiency in response to the assignment but may have a few minor errors. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> An essay in this category: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">**Score of 5**A 5 paper is STRONG. It demonstrates clear proficiency in response to the assignment and may have minor errors. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> An essay in this category: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">**Score of 4**A 4 paper is COMPETENT. It demonstrates proficiency in response to the assignment. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> An essay in this category: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">**Score of 3**A 3 paper is LIMITED. It demonstrates some degree of proficiency in response to the assignment, but it is clearly flawed. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> An essay in this category reveals one or more of the following weaknesses: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">**Score of 2**A 2 paper is FLAWED. It demonstrates limited proficiency in response to the assignment. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> An essay in this category reveals one or more of the following weaknesses: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">** Score of 1 **A 1 paper is DEFICIENT. It demonstrates fundamental deficiencies in writing skills. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> An essay in this category contains serious and persistent writing errors or is incoherent or is undeveloped. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Score of 0A 0 paper is reported accompanied by one of the following codes to indicate a paper could not be scored for one of the following reasons: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Special Report NotationsSCORE followed by "E" indicates the student is excluded from summaries. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> SCORE followed by asterisk (*) indicates the student's test score is nullified due to a Report of Irregularity.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">is well organized and coherently developed
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">clearly explains or illustrates key ideas
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">demonstrates syntactic variety
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">clearly displays facility in the use of language
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">is generally free from errors in mechanics, usage, and sentence structure
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">is generally well organized and coherently developed
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">explains or illustrates key ideas
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">demonstrates some syntactic variety
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">displays facility in the use of language
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">is generally free from errors in mechanics, usage, and sentence structure
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">is adequately organized and developed
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">explains or illustrates some of the key ideas
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">demonstrates adequate facility in the use of language
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">may display some errors in mechanics, usage, or sentence structure
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">inadequate organization or development
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">inadequate explanation or illu stration of key ideas
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">limited or inappropriate word choice
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">a pattern or accumulation of errors in mechanics, usage, or sentence structure
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">weak organization or very little development
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">little or no relevant detail
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">serious errors in mechanics, usage, sentence structure, or word choice
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">0-A - Blank or Refusal
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">0-B - Insufficient to score or Illegible
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">0-C - Off Topic
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">0-D - Written predominantly in another language

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">**Read more...**

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> For more information on Process Writing, Tennessee Writing Assessment, and Writing Prompts visit:

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> http://www.state.tn.us/education/assessment/writing.shtml

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> Dr. Dorothy Valcarcel Craig <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> Professor of Education <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> YOED 6020 <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> Department of Educational Leadership <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">dvcraig@mtsu.edu <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> http://www.mtsu.edu