By Cambridge Indonesia Workshop of Teacher Training and Education Providing Foreign Languages, Inc. St. Kebon Jeruk-West Jakarta-11530-Indonesia
KINDS OF WRITING TEST A. LIMITED RESPONSE : Pre-Writing 1. Sentence Combining (by adding a connective and combining by putting one sentence inside the other). Examples: a. He likes ice cream.. He won t eat any. He likes ice cream but he won t eat any. b. She didn t feel well today.. She didn t go to school. She didn t feel well today so she didn t go to school.
KINDS. (Cont) c. Some people come late. They will not get good seats. People that come late will not get good seat. d. I am surprised. Nobody likes her. (It. that) It surprises me that nobody likes her.
KINDS (Cont) 2. Sentence Expansion (simply adding adjective and adverbs) Examples: a. The (..) man hurried (.) to the (..) horse. The old man hurried out to the frightened horse. b. His decision (..) surprised everyone (..) His decision to quit his job surprised everyone that knew him.
KINDS (Cont) 3. Sentence reduction a. He told us about a man who had a wooden leg. (with) He told us about a man with a wooden leg. b. Her father, who is certainly the stingiest man I know, wouldn t let us borrow his car. (one word) Her stingy father wouldn t let us borrow his car.
KINDS (Cont) 4. Copying (can make students more aware of extended discourse and also of mechanics, especially punctuation and spelling)
Example Yesterday, friends Last week, one of my teachers asked me to help Recently, brothers her an activity boys him plan a party for the girls in our ---- social students class. We finish dorm. The two of us didn t get through until apartment. stop
Example late that morning. free about 6:00 p.m. If you re in town Saturday, dinner time. Not working we d like you to join us. come too. go with us.
KINDS (Cont) 5. Oral cloze (combines dictation with selected cloze using highfrequency deletion) Example: (Students hear this) Have you ever heard of Angel Falls?/ It s the highest water fall/in the world,/deep in the jungles/of Venezuela. Few people/have ever seen/angel Falls
KINDS.. (Cont) (Students read this) Have you ever heard of Angel Falls?. the highest water fall.. the world, deep in.. Jungles of Venezuela... people.. ever seen Angel Falls
KINDS.. (Cont) B. GUIDED WRITING: Beginning Writing 1. Testing specialized skills (Including mechanics and larger elements such as unity and organization) Example: a. Directions: In each of the following groups of four words, one word is spelled incorrectly; the other three are spelled correctly. Find which word is spelled wrong. Then circle the letter of that word and correct it. A. believe B. all right C. because *D. mariage
KINDS.. (Cont) b. Directions: Punctuate and capitalize the following sentences. on december 25 1980 doctor adams died in an automobile accident; nevertheless, his kind deeds will live on for a long time Answer: (On December 25, 1980, Dr. Adams died in an automobile accident; nevertheless, his kind deeds will live for a long time.)
KINDS.. (Cont) 2. Changing a Passage (Begins with an artificial paragraph. When the sentences are changed as directed, we have a properly written story) (artificial text) Is it twelve o clock noon? Is Elizabeth sitting in a comfortable blue seat? Through the window beside her does she see blue sky and sometimes white clouds far below?
KINDS.. (Cont) (student guided writing test) It is twelve o clock noon. Elizabeth is sitting in a comfortable blue seat. Through the window beside her she sees blue sky and sometimes white clouds far below.
KINDS.. (Cont) Change grammar. (original text, the narrator is Molly) I was nine when my parents told me they were separating. Even my sister Meghan, then seven, and my brother, Patrick, then four, sensed that something was wrong between our parents. At first, Mom and Dad tried not to argue in front of us, but we saw that they talked to each other less and less.
KINDS.. (Cont) Change grammar. (Students guided-writing test) Molly was nine when her parents told her they were separating. Even her sister Meghan, then seven, and her brother, Patrick, then four, sensed that something was wrong between their parents. At first, their mother and their father tried not to argue in front of them, but the children saw that their parents talked to each other less and less.
KINDS.. (Cont) 3. Building from a paragraph outline Example: Directions: Write the following cues into a narrative paragraph. I / buy / new white swimsuit / I forget / bring / I / mad / Becky / mother / take / we / shop / Monday night / I find / pretty blue / not expensive. I start / pay / wallet / gone / I / borrow / money / Becky / mother / I / certainly/ upset
KINDS.. (Cont) The student paragraph might read: I bought new white swimsuit, and then I forgot to bring it. I was really mad. But Becky s mother took us shopping Monday night, and I found a pretty blue one. It was not very expensive. I started to pay for it, and my wallet was gone! I borrowed some money from Becky s mother, but I certainly upset
KINDS.. (Cont) C. DICTATION a) Preparing a Dictation Test Choose a story or article that isn t too difficult (75 100 words or 125 200 words) Administering the Dictation Test - first reading (do not pause the passage, normal speed, students just listen) -second reading (pause for every five to ten words; during the pause the students write down what they hear) - third reading (without pauses and at a normal speed, provides an opportunity for quick proofreading)
KINDS.. (Cont) b) Scoring the Dictation Test An easy way to provide a numerical score for a dictation is simply to give a fixed number points for it. D. FREE WRITING 1. Holistic Scoring (impressionistic scoring) : the assignment of a single score to a piece of writing on the basis of an overall impression of it.
KINDS.. (Cont) 2. Analytic Methods of Scoring (require a separate score for each of a number of aspects) by John Anderson based on Harris (1968) 1. Grammar 2. Vocabulary 3. Mechanics 4. Fluency (style and ease of communication) 5. Form (organization)
ANALYTIC SCORING Grammar 6 Few (if any) noticeable errors of grammar or word order. 5 Some errors of grammar or word order which do not interfere with comprehension. 4 Errors of grammar or word order fairly frequent; occasional re-reading necessary for full comprehension.
ANALYTIC. Grammar 3 Errors of grammar or word order frequent; effort of interpretation sometimes required on reader s part. 2 Errors of grammar or word order very frequent; reader often has to rely on own interpretation. 1 Errors of grammar or word order so severe as to make comprehension virtually impossible.
ANALYTIC. Vocabulary 6 Use of vocabulary and idiom rarely (if at all). 5 Occasionally uses inappropriate terms or relies on circumlocutions; expression of ideas hardly impaired. 4 Uses wrong or inappropriate words fairly frequently; expression of ideas may be limited because of inadequate vocabulary. 3 Limited vocabulary and frequent errors clearly hinder expression of ideas.
ANALYTIC. Vocabulary 2 Vocabulary so limited and so frequently misused that reader must often rely on own interpretation. 1 Vocabulary limitation so extreme as to make comprehension virtually impossible.
ANALYTIC. Mechanics 6 Few (if any) noticeable lapses in punctuation or spelling. 5 Occasional lapses in punctuation or spelling which do not interfere with comprehension. 4 Errors in punctuation or spelling fairly frequent; occasional re-reading necessary for full comprehension
ANALYTIC. Mechanics 3 Frequent errors in spelling or punctuation; lead sometimes to obscurity. 2 Errors in spelling or punctuation so frequent that reader must often rely on own interpretation. 1 Errors in spelling or punctuation so severe as to make comprehension virtually impossible.
ANALYTIC. Fluency (style and ease of communication) 6 Choice of structures and vocabulary consistently appropriate; like that of educated native writer. 5 Occasional lack of consistency in choice of structures and vocabulary which does not impair overall ease of communication. 4 Patchy with some structures or vocabulary items noticeably inappropriate to general style.
ANALYTIC. Fluency (style and ease of communication) 3 Structures or vocabulary items sometimes not only inappropriate but also misused; little sense of ease of communication. 2 Communication often impaired by completely inappropriate or misused structures or vocabulary items. 1 A hotch-potch of half-learned misused structures and vocabulary items rendering communication almost impossible.
ANALYTIC. Form (organization) 6 Highly organized; clear progression of ideas well linked; like educated native writer. 5 Material well organized; links could occasionally be clearer but communication not impaired. 4 Some lack of organization; re-reading required for clarification of ideas. 3 Little or no attempt at connectivity, though reader can deduce connection between them.
ANALYTIC. Form (organization) 2 Individual ideas may be clear, but very difficult to deduce connection between them. 1 Lack of organization so severe that communication is seriously impaired. HOLISTIC SCORING (impressionistic scoring) involves the assignment of a single score to a piece of writing on the basis of an overall impression of it.