MARKING WRITTEN SCRIPTS

1. MARKING WRITTEN SCRIPTS DR ANNAH HEALY Adelaide 2008

2. Brevity is a deficit factor in writing A grammatical approach to analysis requires an amount of text proportionate to the phase of development !    Year 3-9: Very brief texts cannot receive more than the lowest categories as evidence is only gathered over half a page or more of writing.

3. Effective application of writing criteria • Criterion for each category must be used in isolation from others – a poor result against one criterion should not prejudice other categories. • Assessors of writing should not assume circumstance or experience. • 3. Assessors must not take personal pre-conceptions of a what year group should do to the analysis

4. 2008 National Writing Test Criteria Audience Text Structure Ideas Character and setting Vocabulary Cohesion Paragraphing Sentence Structure Punctuation Spelling

5. CONSISTENCY Persuasive text – reasoned and detailed Explanation– consistency in response to the issue Exposition/argument – issue consistently argued; coherent Narrative – cause and effect logic; dynamic intro; characters live Information – logical; relevant; information sectioned

6. TEXT STRUCTURE: Introduction Persuasive text – detailed opening statement includes purpose Explanation – writer positions self in relation to situation Exposition/argument – issue established with preview of argument/s Narrative – Orientation Complication Resolution -engaging/powerful Information – states major point and information categories

7. TEXT STRUCTURE: Sequence- Persuasive text – letter organisation; meaningful information divisions [paragraphs] Explanation – cause and effect to link events; organised schematically [paragraphs] Exposition/argument – issue, writer’s position; cause and effect; evidence [paragraphs - use topic sentence to introduce new argument/evidence] Narrative - variety possible: climax first – setting/ one major character (don’t always encourage stereotypical intro-conflict-resolution-conclusion Information – categories or fields clearly sectioned

8. TEXT STRUCTURE: Conclusion Persuasive text – may briefly restate case; uses strong or emotive language to conclude Explanation – summarises/evaluates; may contain an author position statement Exposition/argument – powerful summation of argument Narrative – satisfies the evolution of text – resolution or may be left open Information – does not necessarily have a conclusive statement

9. VOCABULARY Persuasive text – clear and appropriate; synonyms to avoid repetition Explanation – engage the reader; convey mood of writer; colloquial/metaphoric for emphases Exposition/argument – precise and accurate; creative; powerful/evocative Narrative – simile/metaphor; language nuances Information – factual; accurate; correct formal terms

10. TEXT FEATURES: Sentence Structure A balance of simple, compound and complex sentences are appropriate for all text types. Using the three sentence types supplies readability and interest (rhythm and balance)

11. TEXT FEATURES: Tense/verb form Agreement of tense and verb at all times Text types are sometimes restricted to one tense in the one text (past, present or future): - reporting; exposition; persuasive; information Narrative can use any, or a mix of tenses if the author switches between reminisence, description of current events and prediction of what is to come.

12. TEXT FEATURES: Cohesion Conjunctions are varied and appropriate Pronoun refs are always correct and located nearest its referent The semi-colon only unites longer clauses that have related content and is more effective than a conjunction To avoid repetition the writer uses a range of subject-linked vocabulary (slide; manoeuvre; jostle; sidle; edge)