WRITING (PART B—CHOICE AIS INCORRECT BECAUSE IT REMOVES INFOR-WRITING...
Section 3: Writing (Part B—Choice ais incorrect because it removes infor-Writing Sample)mation that is vital to explaining why the plantsFollowing are the criteria for scoring THEA essays.mentioned in Part 1 are appropriate to agardener who has little time. Choice bis incor-A “4” essay is a well-formed writing sample thatrect because reversing the order of the sentencesaddresses the assigned topic and conveys a unified mes-moves the demonstrative pronoun thesein Partsage to its audience. Additionally, it has the following2 too far away from its antecedent. Choice discharacteristics:incorrect because the passage does not indicatethat growing roses is easy in general; rather, itsuggests that particular types of roses (hardy
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a clear purpose and focus species) are appropriate to a garden that requires■
controlled development of a main idealittle time for maintenance.■
clear, concrete, and effective details supportingthe main idea37. a. This sentence creates a transition between theidea of harvesting food from a garden and the■
effective, error-free sentence structureproper way of planting in order to achieve a■
precise and careful word choicegood yield of food. Choice b is incorrect■
mastery of mechanics such as punctuation andspellingbecause it is redundant, repeating informationalready stated in Part 5. Choice ccontains infor-A “3” essay is an adequate writing sample thatmation that is on the subject matter of the firstaddresses the assigned topic and clearly attempts toparagraph and is, thus, off-topic in the second.convey a message to its audience. Generally, it has theChoice dis off-topic and out of keeping withfollowing additional characteristics:the main idea of the paragraph; it mentionstime-consuming work in a paragraph on the■
a clear focus and purpose■
many distracting mechanical mistakes, such aserrors in spelling and punctuation■
organization of ideas that may be vague, incom-plete, or only partially effectiveA “U” essay is a writing sample that fails because■
an attempt at development of supporting details,which is only partly realizedof one or more of the following:■
word choice and language usage that are ade-quate; but with minor errors in sentence struc-■
failure to address the assigned topicture, usage, and word choice■
illegibility■
written primarily in a language other than■
mechanical mistakes such as errors in spellingand punctuationEnglish■
length insufficient to scoreA “2” essay is an incompletely formed writingA “B” essay is a writing sample left completelysample that lacks clear focus. It has the following addi-tional characteristics:blank (that is, the test-taker did not respond at all).Following are examples of scored writing sam-ples. (Note: There are some deliberate errors in all the■
main topic that is announced but focus on it isessays.)not maintained■
unclear purpose■
use of some supporting detail but developmentSample “4” essay
and organization unclearLife is full of problems, but how we approach those■
sentences and paragraphs poorly structuredproblems often determines whether we’re happy or■
distracting errors in sentence structuremiserable. Bob Maynard says that “Problems are■
imprecise word usageopportunities in disguise.” If we approach problems■
distracting mechanical mistakes such as errors inwith Maynard’s attitude, we can see that problemsspelling and punctuationare really opportunities to learn about ourselves andothers. They enable us to live happier and more ful-A “1” essay is an incompletely formed writingfilling lives.sample that fails to convey a unified message. It has theMaynard’s quote applies to all kinds of prob-following characteristics:lems. I faced a problem just last week when our fam-ily’s kitchen sink developed a serious leak. There■
an attempt at addressing the topic that failswas water all over our kitchen floor and piles of■
no clear main ideadishes to be washed. But our landlord was out of■
language and style that are inappropriate to thetown for the week. I come from a big family—I haveaudience and purposesix brothers and sisters—so we couldn’t afford to■
attempt to present supporting detail which iswait until he got back, and my mom couldn’t affordmuddled and uncleara couple hundred dollars to pay for a plummer on■
attempt at organization but failure to present aher own. So I took the opportunity to learn how toclear sequence of ideasfix it myself. I went to the library and found a great■
ineffective sentences, very few of which are free offix-it-yourself book. In just a few hours, I figured outerrorwhat was causing the leak and how to stop it. If itweren’t for that problem, I probably would haverelied on plummers and landlords all my life. Nowneed to know for math class and she taught me a lotabout what it’s like to be handicapped. I learned toI know I can handle leaky pipes by myself.I think it’s important to remember that noappreciate everything that I have, and I also knowmatter how big a problem is, it’s still an opportunity.that people with disabilities are special not becauseWhatever kind of situation we face, problems give usof what they can’t do, but because of who they are.the chance to learn and grow, both physically andSo you see that wonderful things can comementally. For example, when I had a problem without of problems. You just have to remember to lookmy car and couldn’t afford the repairs right away, myfor the positive things and not focus on the negative.problem became an opportunity to get someexercise—something I’d been wanting to do anyway.Sample “2” essay
The word “problem” is a negative word but its justI had to walk a mile each day to get to the bus stopand back. But in the meantime, I got the chance toan opportunity as Mr. Bob Maynard has said. It canstart getting back in shape, and I saved a lot on gas.be teaching tool besides.I’ve come to realize that problems are reallyFor example, I had a problem with my son lastpart of what makes life worth living. Problems chal-year when he wanted a bigger allowance. I said noand he had to earn it. He mowed the lawn and in thelenge us and give us the opportunity to do things wehave never done before, to learn things we neverfall he raked leaves. In the winter he shovelled theknew before. They teach us what we are capable ofwalk. After that he apreciated it more.doing. They give us the chance to surprise ourselves.Its not the problem but the sollution that mat-ters. My son learning the value of work and earningmoney. (It taught me the value of money to when ISample “3” essay
had to give him a bigger allowance!) After that heJust the word “problem” can send some of us into acould get what he wanted at the toy store and notpanic. But problems can be good things, too. Prob-have to beg. Which was better for me too. Sometimeslems are situations that make us think and force uswe forget that both children and there parents canto be creative and resourceful. They can also teach uslearn a lot from problems and we can teach our chil-things we didn’t know before.dren the value of over-coming trouble. Which is asFor example, I had a problem in school a fewimportant as keeping them out of trouble. As well weyears ago when I couldn’t understand my math class.can teach them the value of money. That is oneI started failing my quizzes and homework assign-aspect of a problem that we manytimes forget.ments. I wasn’t sure what to do, so finally I went toSo problems are a good teaching tool as well asthe teacher and asked for help. She said she woulda good way to let you’re children learn, to look at thearrange for me to be tutorred by another studentsilver lining behind every cloud.who was her best student. In return, though, I’dhave to help that student around school. I wasn’tsure what she meant by that until I met my tutor. SheSample “1” essay
I agree with the quote that problems are opportu-was handicapped.nities in disguise. Sometimes problems are oppor-My job was to help her carry her books fromtunities, too.class to class. I’d never even spoken to someone in aI have a lot of problems like anyone else does.wheelchair before and I was a little scared. But sheSometimes there very difficult and I don’t no how toturned out to be the nicest person I’ve ever spenttime with. She helped me understand everything Ihandle them. When I have a really big problem, Isometimes ask my parents or freinds for advise.4 = Pass (an excellent and well-formed essay)Sometimes they help, sometimes they don’t, then I3 = Marginal Pass (an average and adequatelyformed essay)have to figure out how to handle it myself.2 = Marginal Fail (a partially formed but sub-One time I had a big problem. Where someonestandard essay)stole my wallet and I had to get to a job interview.1= Fail (an inadequately formed essay)But I had no money and no ID. This happened inschool. So I went to the principles office andYour score will be a combination of the tworeported it. He called the man I was supposed toreaders’ judgments, somewhere between a possibleinterview with. Who rescheduled the intervew forme. So I still had the opportunity to interview andhigh of 8 and a low of 2. If you receive a 6, 7, or 8 on thewriting sample subsection, you will automatically passI’m proud to say I got the job. In fact I’m still work-ing there!the Writing portion of the THEA, regardless of yourscore on the multiple-choice subsection. On the otherProblems can be opportunities if you just lookat them that way. Instead of the other way around.hand, if you receive a score of 2, 3, or 4, you will notpass the Writing portion, regardless of your score onthe multiple-choice subsection. If you receive a score of