Figure 10.

3 How the writing traits may be intergrated into a writing process

1. Prewriting activities 4. Revise the piece
Before writing, a writer clarifies the The writer uses specific feedback from
purpose for writing, begins to organize the assessment to improve the piece in
each of the trait areas. For example, as a
throughts, brainstorms, and tries out new
result of specific feedback, the writer
ideas. The writer discusses the ideas may incorporate more colorful or more
with others, dicides the format and exiting words into a story.
approach to writing, and determines the 5. Repeat step 3 and 4 necessary
primary audience. A plan for the piece The writer may not have implemented
develops. The teacher may wish to the suggestions from the feedback and
schedule a content conference (Darden, may need more instruction. Writing is
not strictly a linear process; it may
2000) to help students focus the ideas
require many interations. Student writers
and content for the piece. must learn that complenting the
2. Draft the piece assignment and turning it in is not a
The writer works up a preliminary draft final step. The teacher may wish to
of the piece to reflect the prewriting schedule a process conference (Darden,
ideas. Ideas and plans change as the 2000) with the student to discuss the
draft develops. The purpose for the choices the student made and suggest
how to proceed with the revision.
writing is futher clarified (even 6. Edit
changed). The draft begins to take shape The writer edits the revised piece by
and ideas and content start to develop. checking for correct English mechanics:
The preliminary organization of the specific points of spelling, grammar,
piece is developed so that a beginning, punctuation, etc. English mechanics os
middle, and end begin to emerge. The one of the traits of good writing. The
teacher may evaluate the written piece
draft is considered a work in progress
for how well the student has
not the final piece. implemented mechanics. Note that
3. Obtain feedback for improving the English mechanics are assessed late in
draft the writing process because the
Based on assessment, the writer gets pedagogy is to have the student
feedback from the teacher, peers, or concentrate first on ideas, organization,
others. The assessment is used to make word choice, etc., as the pice is being
the feedback specific to the traits that developed.
have been adopted to define good 7. Finalize and make the piece
writing (e.g., ideas, organization, choice presentable
of the words, use of sentence variety). The writer puts the piece into final form
The teacher may wish to schedule a for presentation to the teacher, with
drafting conference (Darden, 2000) with attention to handwriting or word
the student to give some of the processing, margins, and the like.
feedback. Attention to appearance is left to the
very end, after the piece is revised and
polished.
 The writing process presented in Figure 10.3 is adapted from suggestions
developed by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. The writing process
begins with prewriting activities and continues with drafting, assessment and
feedback, until a final piece is produced.
Define Standards or Levels of Achievement for Each Writing Trait
For assessment based feedback to be meaningful, you must use standards that
clearly identify the student’s achievement level on each trait. You can think of
achievement as developing along a continuum from very poor achievement at one
end to very high level attainment at the other. The points along this continuum need
to be defined so you can pinpoint the students’ current level of achievement. Once a
student’s current level is known, the continuum’s definitions of more advanced
levels help you guide the student to achieving that next level. Figure 10.4 shows
how Oregon’s State Departmentof Education defined the different levels of
attainment for the ideas and content trait at the middle school level
(http://www.ode.state.or.us/teachlearn/testing/scoring/guides/ wriscoringguideeng-
potrait0609.pdf). these definitions take the form of a scoring guide.
If your state or school has also adopted a particular framework for writing
traits, it probably has also adopted the definitions of different levels of achievement
for each of these traits. You will need to use these, rather than craft your own,
because students will be expected to write according to them. These descriptions
are usually in the form of scoring rubrics or scoring guides.

Rubrics and Trait Definitions Should Apply Across Different Types of Writing
Students will be working with different genres or types of writing, as well as
writing for different audiences. Because students are novice writers, it is likely to
be confusing if each genre and purpose has very differentcriteria or traits.
Pedagogically it is better if the same few traits are applied to many different types
of writing. If you and the students evaluate all writing using these same traits (ideas
and content, for organization, for word choice , and so on), students will learn yhem
more quickly and intenalize the traits’ meanings. As a result, students will more
easily apply the traits to all their writing.

Ideas/Content

6 5 4
The writing is exceptionally The writing is clear, focused The writing is clear and
clear, focused, and interesting. and interesting. It holds the focused. The reader can easily
It holds the reader’s attention reader’s attention. Main ideas understand the main ideas.
throughout. Main ideas stand stand out and are developed Support is presnt, although it
out and are developed by by supporting details suitable may be limited or rather
strong support and rich details to audience and purpose. The general. The writing is
suitable to audience and writing is characterized by characterized by
purpose. The writing is  Clarity, focus, and control  An easily identifiable pupose
characterized by  Main idea(s) that stand out  Clear main idea(s)
 Clarity, focus, and control  Supporting, relevant,  Supporting details that are
 Main idea(s) that stand out carefully selected details; relevant, but may be overly
 Supporting, relevant, when appropriate, use of general or limited in places;
carefully selected details; resource provides strong when appropriate, resources
when appropriate, use of accurate, cerdible support. are used to provide accurate
resource provides strong  A thorough, balanced, support.
accurate, cerdible support. explanation/exploration of  A topic that is explored/
 A thorough, balanced, in the topic; the writing makes explained, although
depth connections and share developmental details may
explanation/exploration of insights. occasionally be out of
the topic; the writing makes  Content and selected details balance with the main
connections and share that are wellsuited to idea(s); some connections
insights. audience and purpose and insights may be present
 Content and selected details  Content and selected details
that are wellsuited to that are relevant, but perhaps
audience and purpose not consistently wellchosen
for audience and purpose
3 2 1
The reader can understand the Main ideas and purpose are The writing lacks a central
main ideas, although they may somewhat inclear or idea or purpose. The writing is
be overly nroad or simplistic, development is attempted but characterized by
anf the results may not be minimal. The writing is  Ideas that are extremely
effective. Supporting detail is characterized by limited or simply unclear
often limited, insubstantial,  A pupose and main idea(s)  Attempts at developmeny
overly general, or occasonally that may require extensive that are minimal or non
slightly off topic. The writing inferences by the reader existent; tthe paper is too
is charaterized by  Minimal development; short to demonstrate the
 An easily identifiable pur[ose insufficient details development of an idea
and main idea(s).  Irrelevant details that clutter
 Predictable or overly obvious the text
main ideas or plot;  Extensive repetition of detai
conclusions or main points
seem to echo observations
heard elsewhere
 Support that is attempted, but
developmental details that
are often limited in scope,
uneven, somewhat off topic,
predictable, or overly general
 Details that may not be well
grounded in credible
resources; they may be based
on cliches, stereotypes or
questionable sources of
information
Source: From writing Scoring Guide (p.1) by Oregon Department of Education, 1996, Salem, OR:
Office of Assessment and Evaluation, author. Reprinted by permission
Crafting Writing Prompts
Rhetorical Specifications
Students should learn to write for different purposes and audiences and in different
genres. To stimulate students to do this, you need to build into your writing
prompts rhetorical clues that elicit the kind of writing that you have in mind. The
prompts you write should include statements containing the following elements
(Albertson, 1998)
1. Subject – inform the students whom or what the piece is supposed to be
about
2. Occasion – inform the students about the occasion or situation that requires
the piece to be written
3. Audience – inform the students whom the intended audience is
4. Purpose – inform the students what the writing purpose is supposed to be: is
it to inform or narrate? To be imaginative? To be persuasive? (sometimes
the acronym SOAP is used for the four preceding elements)
5. Writer’s role – inform the atudents what role they are to play while writing
(e.g., a friend, a student, a parent, etc)
6. Form – inform the students if you expect the piece to take a certain form
such as a poem, letter, paragraph, essay, and so on.
The following example shows how to improve a writing prompt by adding
these rhetorical clues:
Example
Poor: No SOAP
Writing prompt does not provide suggestions for the subject, occasion, audience, or
purpose of the piece.
Better: SOAP is bulit into the prompt
Recall something important that you saw or that happened to you recently. It could
be that you saw an accident, a crime, a good deed someone did. Maybe something
funny happened to you recently.
Write a letter to a friend to describe what you saw or what happened to you,
just the way happened. Describe the event clearly so your friend who was not there
can tell exactly what it was like and how you felt about it.

Writing Prompts for Different Genres

Students should learn to write for different audiences and different purposes. The
writing prompts you provide gude them in writing the specific type of pece you
have in mind. Typically, calssroom writinf takes one of four forms: narrative,
imaginative, expository, and persuasive.
Narrative writing describes something that really happened, usually a
personal experience of a student. Following is an example of a prompt that elicits
narrative writing from students.
Examples
Narrative Prompt
Think of one HAPPY thing that happened to you in the past. Maybe it was
something that happened at home or at school or someplace else.
Write an essay that tells what happened. Be sure to give specific details that
explain why this was a happy thing.

Imaginative writing describes something that did not, often could not, happen.
Students use imagination and creativity to tell a story. Here is an example:

Example
Imaginative Prompt
Suppose that one day you woke up and found that you were a FISH. What would
your life be like? What would happen to you?
Write a story that we can put into our class magazine that tells what happens to
you when you are a fish. Be sure to give specific details about what your lufe as a
fish is like.

Expository writing gives an explanation and informatiom. Students are asked to

give details, clarify things, and explain things. Here is an example.

Example
Animals change a lot when they grow. Think about ONE ANIMAL that you know
a lot about.
Write an essay that explains how this animal changes as it grows. Be sure
explain very carefuly and clearly so that your classmates reading your explanation
can udersatand.

Students often use expository writing when answering subject matter essay
questions.
Persuasive writing convinces the reader of the writer’s point of view. The
writer may want the reader to accept his or her idea or to take some actions that the
writer supports. Here is an example:

Example
Persuasive Prompt
Suppose students in this school had 30 minutes of free time each week. The school
principal wants your suggestions about ONE THING students should do with this
free time. What is the one thing you would suggest?
Write an essay to the school principal that would CONVINCE the principal
that your idea is the best. Explain why your idea about using the free time is the
best and should be followed. Give reasons to support your position.
Additional Suggestions for Writing Prompts
There are some special considerations whe preparing classroom assessments that
evaluate students’ ability to write. Albertson (1998) offers the following
suggestions:
Do not prepare prompts that:
 Demand specialized knowledge on the part of students
 Ask students to write narratives about experiences that they may not have
because of cultural or social background
 Ask for students’ opinions about personal values, religious beliefs,or sensitive
or controversial matters that parents would object to
 Encourge complaints and sriticisms about the school students’ parents, or
person in the community
Do prepare prompts that:
 Refer to specific situations rather than abstract situations
 Will be interesting to students
 Will be interesting to you when you evaluate students’ writing
 Are in the realm of the students’ experinces

SCORING ESSAY ASSESSMENTS

Essay questions should be scored with scoring scales that fit the point values
planned in the test blueprint (see Chapter 6). Rubrics or rating scales should be
used for this purpose. Chapter 12 gives specific details about how to write and
ap[ly scoring rubrics. Briefly, rubrics can be categirized in two ways: according to
how many scales are used (analytic rubrics use several scales; holistic rubrics use
one) and according to whether the rubrics are task specific or generic (or general)
rubrics.
You may want to go to Chapter 12 now and read the section on rubrics. As an
example to have in mind as you read the practical suggestions for scoring essays
(below), Figure 10.5 shows two sets of task specific scoring rubrics for the Keats
poem on page 171.
Rubrics have many positive features. Probably the most important is that the
descriptions of the qualities of work in general rubrics define what “good work” is
and help students conceptualize the kind of performance they are aiming for. The
writing trait rubrics shown earlier are an excellent example of this. Thus rubrics
are a powerful instructional tool as well as an assessment tool.

Suggestions fir Scoring Essays

Principles for scoring essays are summarized in Figure 10.6. we discuss them in
the following paragraphs.

Scoring Rubrics
Scoring rubrics and model answers werw illustrated in the previous example. The
point of using these tools is to improve the consistency of your scoring so that you
apply the same standards from paper to paper. If your state has adopted general
writing rubrics, use them.

Score One Questions at a Time

If there is more than one essay question, score all students on the first question
before moving on. Then grade all answers to the next question. This method
improves the uniformity with which you apply scoringstandards to each student. It
also makes you more familiar with the scoring guide for a given question, and you
are less likely to be ses to other questions. Finally, using this method helps reduce
carryover error discussed below. You can reduce carryover errors futher by
reshuffling the papers after scoring each question.

Score Subject Matter Correctness Separately From Other Factors

When marking subject matter essays, factors other than an answer’s content often
affect your evaluation. Among such factors are spelling, handwriting, neatness,
and language usage. To avoid blending your judgment of the quality of the ideas
or substantive content of a student’s answer eith these other factors, score the
other factors separately perhaps by using a rating scale (see Chapter 12).
Scoring separately for quality of ideas, correctness of content, and other factors
also gives you the freedom to weight each factor appropriately in calculating the
grade. For example, you can weight spelling zero or more heavily, depending on
the state policy, school policy, or your classroom practice. You still report the
results on the zeroweighted factor (e.g., spelling) to the student; you just don’t
make it part if the grade. But if a factor is to receive a weight of zero, why bother
marking and reporting it separately? Two reasons: to allow more complete
feedback to students and to allow you to separate your judgment from the
substance of the essays, letting you better assess the content learning target.