Writing Proficiency Exam Directions Updated 11/9/017 The goal of this exam is to make sure that you are prepared to succeed in SNL courses and independent learning experiences without the benefit of taking LL 60 Writing for Competence/ LL 61 Essay Writing. Because SNL students write frequently, for a wide variety of assignments, and often independently, this exam is necessarily demanding. It requires that you submit two different essays to show your proficiency in the college-level writing taught in LL 60 Writing for Competence/ LL 61 Essay Writing. Students who successfully complete LL60 Writing for Competence/ LL 61 Essay Writing or this proficiency demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and abilities: Can write to demonstrate academic and professional competencies. 1. Applies knowledge of academic writing conventions to demonstrate prior and new learning. Analyzes, evaluates and synthesizes experiences and concepts in writing 3. Demonstrates control over grammar, syntax, and punctuation 4. Understands writing as an iterative process and applies a variety of strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proofreading 5. Creates a plan for ongoing improvement of writing for academic, work, and personal communication including addressing problems and leveraging strengths Requirements: All information and texts included from other sources must be identified and cited using MLA or APA citation style. Essays that do not include full citation will not be accepted and will result in failure of the exam. You must submit all documents for your exam to DL after registering for the L4 Writing Proficiency Exam. To complete this exam you must submit a writing self-assessment essay supporting your application for proficiency credit, one analytic or persuasive essay with citations from outside sources, and the Exam Cover Page Form, which includes a pledge of Academic Integrity. Any instance of plagiarism and/or cheating will result in failure of the exam. You should have written these essays during your recent academic or professional experience. Each essay must be a minimum of 1,500 words and a maximum of,500 words. Exams that do not meet the minimum word count or that exceed the maximum word count will automatically fail, and the decision is final. If you have submitted your analytic or persuasive essay in a previous course (at DePaul or elsewhere), please be sure you note this in the Exam Cover Page Form. Save your files with your last name and first initial and the title of the document as shown in the following example: DoeJExamCoverPageForm.docx DoeJwritingassessmentessay.docx DoeJanalyticessay.docx or DoeJpersuasiveessay.docx
PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU WILL SUBMIT ALL OF THE ABOVE DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING YOUR EXAM COVER PAGE FORM, TO THE SUBMISSION FOLDER IN THE DL COURSE SITE DURING THE TERM FOR WHICH YOU HAVE REGISTERED. THE MATERIALS WILL BE DUE BY THE 4th WEEK OF THE TERM. Essay 1. Writing Self-Assessment Essay Prepare Writing Self-Assessment Essay about the writing that you prepare for this submission. It must be between 1500-500 words in length and communicate the following: 1. Explain how the essay you are submitting meets the Criteria for Writing Proficiency stated below. Be sure to include specific examples from your own essay to support your claims.. Communicate what you understand about writing, the writing process, and what makes for an effective piece of writing, including your strategies for generating ideas, revising, and editing. Use examples from your writing of the essays included in this exam. 3. Include a self-assessment of your writing, indicating your strengths and opportunities for improvement as well as how you intend to continue to develop as a writer during your time at SNL and beyond. Essay. PERSUASIVE -OR- ANALYTIC ESSAY. This essay must be between 1500-500 words in length and must incorporate citations from outside sources. Examples of essays that fit this category include essays arguing for or against vaccinating children, analyzing political positions, analyzing literature, or taking a position on a political or social issue. For examples of persuasive and analytic writing visit the SNL Writing Guide and the University Center for Writing-based Learning. Citations: All submissions that include statements, quotations, or information from outside sources require citation in standard APA or MLA format for any such statements or information. Please note that plagiarism whether intentional or unintentional will result in automatic failure of the exam. Be sure that your citations are in MLA or APA format. Any use of words, facts, or ideas from a source must be correctly and completely cited. All essays will be examined by an on-line program to confirm that they represent your original work. Essays that do not meet that requirement will result in a failure of this exam. You can find information about APA formatting here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ You can find information about MLA formatting here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ The exam process includes an analysis of the submissions for plagiarism. An indication of plagiarism will result in failure of the exam and the notification of the office of Academic Integrity. Plagiarism involves the representation of another's work as your own, for example: (a) submitting as one's own any material
that is copied from published or unpublished sources such as the Internet, print, computer files, audio disks, video programs or musical scores without proper acknowledgment that it is someone else's; (b) paraphrasing another's views, opinions or insights without proper acknowledgment or copying of any source in whole or in part with only minor changes in wording or syntax even with acknowledgement; (c) submitting as one's own work a report, examination, essay, computer file, lab report or other assignment which has been prepared by someone else. For the University s Academic Integrity policy, see http://academicintegrity.depaul.edu/. Criteria for Writing Proficiency: Each essay must meet the criteria for writing proficiency stated below and will be assessed using the Sample Assessment Form that follows. These criteria will be used to assess the appropriateness of your work at the college level. Each essay will be reviewed separately. Both essays must meet these criteria in order for you to meet the proficiency exam requirements. Select your representative essays with great attention to your writing. A writing specialist will grade your essays and award points based on whether your writing meets each criterion below. It is possible that a previous high grade on an essay may reflect the teacher s response to the content of your essay rather than the strength of your writing. Therefore, make certain, by reviewing the criteria below, that your writing meets the requirements set for this exam.
SAMPLE WRITING PROFICIENCY EXAM ASSESSMENT FORM The following criteria will be used to assess your Writing Proficiency Exam. To pass the exam, the Writing Self-Assessment Essay must receive a minimum score total of 10 of 1 possible points and the Analytic/Persuasive Essay must receive a minimum score total of 11 of 14 possible points. Additionally, each essay also must have a score of at least one in each category. If a student does not fulfill the criteria for the exam, the student must take the LL 60 Writing for Competence / LL 61 Essay Writing course. Submissions have been assessed using the following scale: Proficiency Exam Assessment Scale Meets Expectations 1 Does Not Meet Expectations 0 Element Is Not Present ASSESSMENT SUMMARY: Has met the requirements of the exam. Has not met the requirements of the exam and must take the LL 60 / LL 61 Course. Writing Self-Assessment Essay Score: Required Points: 10 Score: points Analytic/Persuasive Essay Score: Required Points: 11 points (sources are required and must be referenced) Score: points Comprehensive Assessment:
ASSESSMENT OF THE ESSAYS SUBMITTED Writing Self-Assessment Essay Student s essay must achieve a minimum score of 10 out of 1 points. CRITERIA Possible POINTS COMMENTS Points Clear and insightful thesis or main point is established and developed. The essay is organized in such a way to logically present and develop ideas. Ideas are clearly communicated with appropriate transitions and paragraph focus. Appropriate support (including citations if necessary) and examples are provided. The essay is written in standard English, without frequent errors in grammar. The style of writing is both appropriate and effective. Total Points:
Analytic or Persuasive Essay Student's essay must include quotations or information from outside sources, which requires proper MLA or APA citation. The essay must achieve a minimum score of 11 out of 14 points. CRITERIA Clear and insightful analytic or persuasive thesis is established and developed. The essay is organized in such a way to logically present and develop ideas. Ideas are clearly communicated with appropriate transitions and paragraph focus. Appropriate support and examples are provided. All sources are cited properly, using either MLA or APA format. The essay is written in standard English, without frequent errors in grammar. The style of writing is both appropriate and effective. Possible Points POINTS COMMENTS Total Points:
Analytic or Persuasive Essay Criteria Clear and insightful analytic or persuasive thesis is established and developed. The essay is organized in such a way to logically present and develop ideas. Ideas are clearly communicated with appropriate transitions and paragraph focus. Appropriate support and examples are provided. All sources are cited properly, using either MLA or APA format. The essay is written in standard English, without frequent errors in grammar. The style of writing is both appropriate and effective. Meets Expectations ( points) An analytic or persuasive thesis is clearly established and developed. While the essay may exhibit occasional organizational or argumentative weaknesses, the overall structure is clear and sound. Paragraphs are generally well focused and clearly structured with transitions, topic, and supporting sentences. Significant objections to claims are addressed, and claims are supported with sufficient details and evidence. While there may be minor mistakes in formatting, all sources are cited using either MLA or APA format. While the essay may have a few grammar, sentence structure, and/or word usage errors, they do not confuse the reader. The style is appropriate and effective given the audience, purpose, and context. Does Not Meet Expectations (1 point) Thesis is not clearly stated, is too general, is too vague, or is not sufficiently developed in the essay. Flaws in logic or organization make the essay difficult to follow and/or leave significant gaps in the analysis or argument. Paragraphs lack focus, transitions, topic sentences, and/or supporting sentences, making the development of ideas hard to follow. Examples and other evidence are not typical, adequate, relevant or accurate and/or significant objections to claims are not addressed. Words, facts or ideas from sources are used without attribution. Or, citations are inconsistent or incomplete. Flaws in grammar, sentence structure, and/or usage make some or all of the essay hard to understand. The style is not appropriate or effective given the audience, purpose, and context. Element Is Not Present (0 points) Any one of the following might be true: there is no thesis present, the thesis does not make an analytic or persuasive claim, the thesis is entirely unsupported by the essay, or the thesis is a statement of fact. The essay lacks logic and/or organization. The essay is all one paragraph or otherwise does not use paragraphing to organize ideas. The essay lacks support. No sources are cited. The essay is not written in standard English. The essay lacks a consistent or controlling style.
Writing Self-Assessment Essay Criteria Meets Expectations ( points) Clear and insightful thesis or A thesis, main point or controlling main point is established idea is clearly established and and developed. developed. The essay is organized in such a way to logically present and develop ideas. While the essay may exhibit occasional organizational or argumentative weaknesses, the overall structure is clear and sound. Does Not Meet Expectations (1 point) Thesis, main point or controlling idea is not clearly established or sufficiently developed in the essay. Flaws in logic or organization make the essay difficult to follow and/or leave significant gaps in the analysis or argument. Element Is Not Present (0 points) Any one of the following might be true: there is no thesis, main point or controlling idea, the thesis, main point, or controlling ideas is entirely unsupported by the essay. The essay lacks logic and/or organization. Ideas are clearly communicated with appropriate transitions and paragraph focus. Appropriate support (including citations if necessary) and examples are provided. The essay is written in standard English, without frequent errors in grammar. The style of writing is both appropriate and effective. Paragraphs are generally well focused and clearly structured with transitions, topic, and supporting sentences. Significant objections to claims are addressed, and claims are supported with sufficient details and evidence. If sources are used, they are appropriately cited. While the essay may have a few grammar, sentence structure, and/or word usage errors, they do not confuse the reader. The style is appropriate and effective given the audience, purpose, and context. Paragraphs lack focus, transitions, topic sentences, and/or supporting sentences, making the development of ideas hard to follow. Examples and other evidence are not typical, adequate, relevant or accurate and/or significant objections to claims are not addressed. If sources are used, they are not appropriately cited. Flaws in grammar, sentence structure, and/or usage make some or all of the essay hard to understand. The style is not appropriate or effective given the audience, purpose, and context. The essay is all one paragraph or otherwise does not use paragraphing to organize ideas. The essay lacks support. The essay is not written in standard English. The essay lacks a consistent or controlling style.