Mastering the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing

1. Mastering the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing Tenth Grade “Sixty minutes to create one masterpiece.”

2. How to Use Your Time:The Process of Writing • Planning/Prewriting: Read the writing prompt carefully, make brainstorming lists of your ideas, and organize those ideas into a clustering diagram or outline. • Drafting: After organizing your ideas, write them in complete sentences and develop them into well-formed paragraphs. • Revising and Editing: Read over your draft and make improvements. Make sure your ideas are in logical order and supported by relevant reasons. Eliminate unrelated ideas, unnecessary words, and improve your word choice. • Proofreading: Take advantage of the last few minutes of the testing time to review your essay one more time. This time look for errors in grammar, punctuation, and grammar.

3. What is the purpose of the ADAW? • To assess students’ writing performance in descriptive, narrative, expository, and persuasive modes of discourse, thus encouraging writing in all four modes • To report to the public regarding students’ writing performance in descriptive, narrative, expository, and persuasive modes of discourse.

4. Assessment Overview • Each paper is scored independently by two readers on a 4-point scale that ranges from a low of 1 to a high of 4. • The holistic rubric classifies your score as follows: Level 1 – Student does not meet standard. Level 2 – Student partially meets standard. Level 3 - Student meets standard. Level 4 – Student exceeds standard.

5. “What if I am on level one?”Does not meet standard • Displays little or no organizational plan or strategy. • Displays minimal author (YOU) involvement. • Presents one or more weak, unclear controlling ideas. • Gives little or no attention to topic development. • May commit many obvious errors in sentence formation, grammar, usage, and mechanics that interrupt the flow of communication.

6. “What if I am on level two?”Partially meets standard • Displays some sense of an organizational plan or strategy. • Displays some sense of author (YOU) involvement but little author control. • Uses a controlling idea but may wander from it or uses several controlling ideas. • Introduces the topic and develops it minimally. • May use some transitional devices to demonstrate coherence. • Uses basic functional vocabulary.

7. “What if I am on level 3?”Meets Standard • Displays an organizational plan or strategy. • Displays author (YOU are the author!) control. • Uses one controlling idea with only minimal wandering about it. • Introduces the topic and develops it sufficiently. • Uses transitional words and phrases effectively. • May provide a conclusion. • Makes occasional errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics that do not interrupt the flow of communication. • Uses meaningful and precise vocabulary.

8. “What if I am on level four?”Exceeds Standard • Displays a strong organizational plan or strategy. • Displays strong author control. • Uses one clear controlling idea and does not wander from it. • Introduces the topic and develops it thoroughly with examples, facts, statistics, anecdotes, and/or details. • Provides a clear conclusion. • Uses vivid and precise vocabulary. • Presents clear ideas so that they flow smoothly and logically from one to the next with clarity and coherence using effective transitions.

9. Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing (ADAW)

10. Definition of Narrative Writing • NARRATIVE WRITING relates a clear sequence of events that occurs over time. Both what happens and the order in which the events occur are communicated to the reader. Effective narration requires a writer to give a clear sequence of events (fictional or non-fictional) and to provide elaboration.

11. Narrative Writing Prompt • Think about a time when you or someone you know felt really scared about something. Using precise details, write a story about what happened.

12. Narrative Writing: A level one entry.

13. Explanation • Although the writer initially appears to be on task (I, myself is scared of a rattlesnakes) the response is expository. The writer shows organizational skill with an introduction that previews three specific reasons (they have sharp teeth, they can move really fast, they are capable of killing a human) with appropriate transitional phrases (First of all, In spite of, In addition to, In conclusion). However, there is no sequence of events in the response, indicating little understanding of the narrative writing task.

14. Narrative Writing: A level two entry.

15. Explanation • This Level II response does show some understanding of the narrative task, but its minimal development and the quick, weak ending limit its effectiveness as a narrative. There is an overall sense of movement through time (one day long ago, we heard this noise, A few minutes later, I waited for about five minutes, I finally found out), but the writer does not provide many specific details about the events, and instead skims over what happened with general statements (we heard this noise, So we went back there, we heard the noise again, I went in the back where the noise was coming from). The writer does not elaborate on the scariness in this search for the mysterious noises, which would add to the development. A stronger narrative sequence and more specific elaboration are needed to move this into a higher score point range.

16. Narrative Writing: A level three entry.

17. Explanation • The author of this sufficiently developed Level III response presents a clear narrative sequence involving the first trip to Lake Winnie Amusement Park. The well-controlled sequence of events describing the scary time keeps the focus firmly placed upon the roller coaster ride (I lost my breath and my ability to speak clearly, I was clinching onto my father’s arm, The feeling of sickness arose). The writer employs a simple organizational structure and uses appropriate transitional phrases (When, As, After), which reflect adequate author control. Occasional errors in sentence structure and grammar do not interrupt the flow of communication. Although not sophisticated in vocabulary or detail, the story is clear, conveys a sense of overall completeness, and includes no irrelevant or extraneous details.

18. Narrative Writing: A level four entry.

19. Explanation • In this fully developed and fluent Level IV response, the writer skillfully describes the terrors of asking a lab partner for a date, using concise, precise language to vividly paint the scene (trying to salvage the shattered shreds of my wit so I could ask her to our school’s Winter Formal dance, a sudden adrenaline surge clamped my lips promptly shut, wiping my moist, sweaty palms on my blue jeans). Superb control of dialogue and effective word choice further enhance the response (clenched, paralyzing, cocked, pursed, churning). The story is skillfully controlled and organized, and it exhibits a strong understanding of the narrative task.

20. Definition of Expository Writing • EXPOSITORY WRITING is defined as presenting reasons, explanations, or steps in a process. Logical order should be used with appropriate sequencing of ideas or steps in a process. Effective expository writing should contain a main idea, supporting details, and a conclusion.

21. Expository Writing Prompt • Remember a time when you felt good about yourself or someone else. Write an essay explaining what you or the other person did that made you feel this way. Be sure to give specific examples and/or reasons why you felt good.

22. Expository Writing: A level one entry.

23. Explanation • The writer of this brief response identifies a time when he or she felt good (I fixed a woman’s tire on the side of Interstate 65) and provides a couple of supporting details (alone out there with two kids, fixed her car and she left), but the repetition of information weakens topic development and organization. This response shows little understanding of the expository writing task.

24. Expository Writing: A level two entry

25. Explanation • The writer of this minimally developed response describes a moment in a soccer game that was rewarding and provides a couple of reasons for why this was so (first time I ever played soccer and I discovered that I can play it quite well, I had set a goal to score at least once). The writer provides some descriptive details, and there is some sense of an organizational strategy based on the events of the game and the writer’s reactions to it. The writer displays some sense of audience and purpose, but the response needs more topic development for a higher score.

26. Expository Writing: A level three entry.

27. Explanation • This writer of this controlled response introduces her topic and organizational strategy in the first paragraph (I overcame a fear, made a dream a reality, accomplished a goal, was crowned Jr. Miss Mistletoe 2006-2007) and develops the topic and follows the organizational strategy throughout. A sense of audience and a sense of purpose are evident, and they are enhanced by meaningful, precise word choice (boosted my self esteem, extremely shy, wore my dress as if it were made just for me) and the use of a variety of sentence structures. The conclusion adds to a sense of overall completeness.

28. Expository Writing: A level four entry.

29. Explanation • This thoughtful Level IV response displays a strong sense of audience and purpose, and the writer skillfully controls the writing task from an initial image (Life is like a rollercoaster) to a final return to that image (much larger, important things such as the roller coaster that we call life). The writer develops the topic (when I played piano for the first time in my church) with clear, coherent ideas and logical progression, using a variety of sentence structures and precise word choice (intimate and close setting, mediocre, that fateful Friday). The writer’s thoughts and feelings throughout the response, the abstract reflections in the conclusion, and the descriptive details of the situation show a sophisticated command of expository writing.

30. Definition of Persuasive Writing. • PERSUASIVE WRITING is defined as presenting reasons and examples to influence action or thought. Effective persuasive writing requires a writer to state clearly an opinion and to supply reasons and specific examples that support the opinion.

31. Persuasive Writing Prompt • Some schools require students to maintain a C average or higher to be eligible to participate in extracurricular activities. Do you think this is a good or bad idea? Write a persuasive letter to your school board supporting your position. Give convincing reasons and/or specific examples to support your opinion.

32. Persuasive Writing: A level one entry.

33. Explanation • This Level I response demonstrates minimal author involvement. The writer takes a position (as long as you are pasing, you can mack that “C” to a “B” or an “A” to be pasing become you don’t have to be perfit), but there is little attention to support. The response is wordy, repetitive, and undeveloped. There are obvious errors in grammar and usage that interrupt the flow of communication.

34. Persuasive Writing: A level two entry.

35. Explanation • This Level II response indicates some understanding of the persuasive writing task. The writer begins by stating a position for both sides (this is both a positive and a negative idea), supplying reasons in favor of and against the C average proposal. In the end some attempt is made to unify the writer’s position (it being a bad one). The response makes use of specific student examples, which shows some attention to topic development. There is also evidence of an organizational strategy with the use of transitional phrases (the good side, on the other hand). More attention needs to be devoted to developing reasons and details that clearly support the qualified stand.

36. Persuasive Writing: A level three entry.

37. Explanation • The writer clearly states a position (having to maintain a C average to is a little to harsh) and supports it with four reasons (students have other obligations, some teachers are harsher than others, some teachers unfairly help their students pass anyway, some students have a harder time of keeping their grades up). Development is often specific and logical with a good use of rhetorical questions, which also enhances the persuasive tone. Varied sentence structures and transitions display a clear sense of author control and overall completeness. • 2007

38. Persuasive Writing: A level four entry.

39. Explanation • This thematic Level IV response indicates a thorough understanding of the writing task. The strongly controlled argument to require a C average demonstrates clear ideas that flow smoothly one to the next. The first two reasons demonstrate a thorough control of the logical progression of ideas. The third reason is a well-crafted example of an athlete who becomes a better student. The second reason (getting into college) also highlights a strong sense of audience and purpose with an effective appeal to the school board. The use of transitions and varied sentence structures enhance the persuasive tone and strengthen the support for the writer’s position.