CONNECTING COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDS TO THE CLASSROOM

For T eachers of Writing

ACT endorses the Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education and the Code of Professional Responsibilities in Educational Measurement, guides to the conduct of those involved in educational testing. ACT is committed to ensuring that each of its testing programs upholds the guidelines in each Code. A copy of each Code may be obtained free of charge from ACT Customer Services (68), P.O. Box 1008, Iowa City, IA 52243-1008, 319/337-1429. Visit ACTs website at: www.act.org 2008 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved.
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TABLE

OF

CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 The College Readiness Standards Report for ACT Writing . . . . . . . . . . .2 Description of the College Readiness Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Description of the ACT Writing Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 The Need for Thinking Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Thinking Your Way Through the ACT Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 The Assessment-Instruction Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Using Assessment Information to Help Support Low-Scoring Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Instructional Activities for ACT Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Putting the Pieces Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

List of Tables
1 The College Readiness Standards for the ACT Writing Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 2 Six-Point Holistic Scoring Rubric for the ACT Writing Test . . . . . . . . .15 3 College Readiness Benchmark Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 4 The Link Between ACT Composite Scores and College Admission Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

INTRODUCTION
ACT has developed this guide to help classroom teachers, curriculum coordinators, and counselors interpret the College Readiness StandardsTM report for the ACT Writing Test. The guide includes: A description of the College Readiness Standards for the ACT A description of the ACT Writing Test A sample test A description of the AssessmentInstruction Link A set of classroom instructional activities recent graduating class with the performance of two norm groups: national and state. The data in the reports reflect the characteristics of those students who either took the ACT on a national test date or as part of a state testing initiative and who reported that they plan to graduate from high school during the most recent academic year. The ACT is a curriculum-based assessment program developed by ACT to help students prepare for the transition to postsecondary education while providing a measure of high school outcomes for college-bound students. As part of ACTs Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPASTM), the ACT is complemented by EXPLORE , ACTs eighth- and ninth-grade program, and by PLAN , for tenth graders. We hope this guide helps you assist your students as they plan and pursue their future studies.

The College Readiness Standards for the ACT are statements that describe what students who score in certain score ranges are likely to know and to be able to do. The statements are generalizations based on the performance of many students scoring in these score ranges. College Readiness Standards have not been developed for students whose scores fall in the lowest range because these students, as a group, do not demonstrate skills similar to each other consistently enough to permit useful generalizations. The College Readiness Standards for the ACT are accompanied by ideas for progress that help teachers identify ways of enhancing students learning based on the scores students receive. The College Readiness Standards Information Services provide six aggregate reports for the ACT. Five of these reports are content specific: each presents the scores of your most recent graduates in one of the five content areas the ACT test measures English, Mathematics, Reading, Science, and Writing. These five content-specific reports present the ACT results using ACTs College Readiness Standards. The sixth report, the Summary Profile, summarizes the scores, across all five content areas, of your most recent graduating class who tested as tenth, eleventh, or twelfth graders. All six reports provide data that compare the performance of your schools most

The role of standardized testing is to let parents, students, and institutions know what students are ready to learn next.
Ralph Tyler, October 1991 Chairman Emeritus of ACTs Board of Trustees

THE COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDS REPORT FOR ACT WRITING

The College Readiness Standards report for the ACT Writing Test allows you to compare the performance of students in your school with the performance of students at the national and state levels. The report provides summary information you can use to map the development of your students knowledge and skills in writing. Used along with your own classroom observations and with other resources, the test results can help you to analyze your students progress in writing and to identify areas of strength and areas that need more attention. You can then use the Standards as one source of information in the instructional planning process. A sample report appears on the next page. An explanation of its features is provided below. The College Readiness Standards were developed by identifying the knowledge and skills students need in order to respond successfully on the ACT Writing Test. As you review the report for the ACT Writing Test, you will note that the Standards are cumulative, which means that if students score, for example, in the 910 score range, they are likely to be able to demonstrate most or all of the knowledge and skills in the 34, 56, 78, and 910 score ranges. Students may be able to demonstrate some of the skills in the next score range, 1112, but not consistently enough as a group to reach that score range. A description of the way the College Readiness Standards were developed can be found on pages 56.

A B

This section briefly explains the uses of the report to help you interpret the test results.

These are the six score ranges reported for the College Readiness Standards for the ACT Writing Test. For a more detailed explanation of the way the score ranges were determined, see page 5.

This section compares the percent of graduating seniors who tested as tenth, eleventh, or twelfth graders and who scored in a particular score range at an individual school (Local) with the percent of all graduating students in the national and state norm groups who scored in the same range. The percent of students at the local school and for the national and state groups are based on the performance of students who either took the ACT Writing Test on a national test date or as part of a state testing initiative and who reported that they plan to graduate from high school during the most recent academic year. The number of local-school students who scored in each of the six score ranges is provided in the column to the left of each bar graph; the total number of graduating students tested locally is provided at the top of the report.

The ideas for progress are statements that provide suggestions for learning experiences that students might benefit from. These ideas for progress are arranged by score range and strand. Although many of the ideas cross more than one strand, a primary strand has been identified for each in order to facilitate their use in the classroom. Ideas for progress are not provided for the 1112 score range, the highest score range for the ACT Writing Test. Students who score in this range on the ACT Writing Test have demonstrated proficiency in all or almost all of the skills measured by the test.

Page 2 of the report profiles the test results, College Readiness Standards, and ideas for progress for score ranges 78, 910, and 1112.

College Readiness Standards

Information Services

ACT Writing Report

Score No. of Range Students 2 0 Percentage Local National Expressing Judgments Focusing on the Topic Standards Scores below 3 do not permit useful generalizations about students writing abilities. Ideas for progressing to 34 score range discuss the goal of a persuasive essay ask five people for their opinion on an issue; note the range in viewpoints a single issue can bring out identify a local community or school issue; phrase the issue in the form of a question; then experiment with ways to answer that question clearly in a single sentence

The College Readiness Standards report for ACT Writing allows you to compare the performance of students in your school with the performance of students nationwide. For an explanation of the reports features, see page 2 in the Writing guide Connecting College Readiness Standards to the Classroom.

Sample School (269999) Standard Report Anytown, US

NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 39 GRADUATING CLASS OF 2006

Developing a Position

Organizing Ideas

Using Language

0%
34 0

2%
Standards Show a little understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task but neglect to take or to maintain a position on the issue in the prompt Show limited recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt Maintain a focus on the general topic in the prompt through most of the essay

study model paragraphs that have topic sentences; notice that in each example the idea in the topic sentence is explained by the rest of the sentences in the paragraph in a model persuasive essay, list the ideas that the writer talks about; discuss which is the essays main idea and which are ideas that support or illustrate the main idea Offer a little development, with one or two ideas; if examples are given, they are general and may not be clearly relevant; resort often to merely repeating ideas Show little or no movement between general and specific ideas and examples

practice grouping sentences that share like subjects construct a simple timeline of an event; discuss how the event has a beginning, a middle, and an end

read the works of favorite writers regularly write informal entries (responses to readings, or original ideas) in a journal

Provide a discernible organization with some logical grouping of ideas in parts of the essay Use a few simple and obvious transitions Present a discernible, though minimally developed, introduction and conclusion

Show limited control of language by correctly employing some of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, but with distracting errors that sometimes significantly impede understanding using simple vocabulary using simple sentence structure read and discuss the works of favorite writers; use a dictionary to learn any unfamiliar words or phrases recognize that clarity of expression is essential to clarity of meaning learn to consult a writers reference on questions of word choice and usage practice proofreading to identify obvious errors and missing words

B
0%
56 9

Ideas for progressing to 56 score range

generate a list of issues, then practice restating them clearly and precisely with original wording practice generating possible positions on an issue identify and discuss reasons for selecting one position on an issue over others choose a position on an issue and state it clearly

ask who , what , when , where , and especially why of the topic to establish clear focus for the essay learn to recognize when an essay wanders away from its topic critique writing in peer workshops to identify any ideas that are obviously off the main point of the essay

11%

read a variety of model persuasive essays recognize that essays are composed of ideas that must be explained or illustrated with specific examples and details redraft writing to include additional ideas that support the essays main claim learn prewriting strategies such as freewriting and brainstorming for generating ideas about a topic

use clustering, concept mapping, or another visual organizer to identify relationships among ideas recognize paragraphs as a means for organizing an essay generate a list of words and phrases typically used as transitions (e.g., however, first, next , moreover , as a matter of fact, etc.) study the introductions and conclusions of model essays discuss the purpose and importance of the opening paragraph for directing the rest of the essay Provide a simple organization with logical grouping of ideas in parts of the essay Use some simple and obvious transitional words, though they may at times be inappropriate or misleading Present a discernible, though underdeveloped, introduction and conclusion

Standards

C
Ideas for progressing to 78 score range

Show a basic understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the issue in the prompt but may not maintain that position Show a little recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt by acknowledging, but only briefly describing, a counterargument to the writers position

Maintain a focus on the general topic in the prompt throughout the essay

D
understand the relationship between a general topic and a specific issue within that topic practice writing short responses (one paragraph) that stay focused on a specific topic identify the thesis statements in a variety of model essays critique writing in peer workshops to ensure that the thesis is clear and that the thesis, introduction, and conclusion all focus on the same idea

Offer limited development of ideas using a few general examples; resort sometimes to merely repeating ideas Show little movement between general and specific ideas and examples

Show a basic control of language by correctly employing some of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, but with distracting errors that sometimes impede understanding using simple but appropriate vocabulary using a little sentence variety, though most sentences are simple in structure continue to read and discuss works by skilled writers to become more familiar with correct language use read original writing aloud to hear and identify language errors revise writing to reduce unnecessary repetition of words and phrases practice varying sentence length by combining simple sentences experiment with varying sentence construction by moving prepositional phrases to the beginning of sentences

23%

27%

choose a position on an issue and generate a list of possible objections others might have to that position listen to a public debate; identify strategies skilled speakers use in responding to their opponents viewpoint experiment with ways to acknowledge an opposing viewpoint without weakening the essays focus or position practice writing brief responses to opposing viewpoints

understand that a thesis statement expresses an essays main idea and must be supported with reasons, examples, and details discuss how to generate specific examples and details to illustrate general ideas read model essays that derive generalizations from specific examples and details

compare the outline of an original essay to the outline of a model essay; discuss ways to reorganize the original writing to make it more effective critique writing in peer workshops to see if paragraphs are organized effectively: identify sentences out of sequence, paragraphs that lack clear topic sentences, and ideas that dont belong review paragraphs to see if smooth transitions are provided from one to the next draft an introduction that includes a clearly stated thesis, and a conclusion that confirms the main theme of the essay

2005 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved.

continued

Score No. of Range Students 78 21

Percentage Local National Standards

Expressing Judgments Show understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the issue in the prompt Show some recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt by acknowledging counterarguments to the writers position providing some response to counterarguments to the writers position understand that issues exist within a larger context; discuss ways in which a certain issue is connected to broader questions of concern to more people practice identifying implications of a position: what would be the outcome if this position were adopted or enacted; who would benefit/not benefit and why develop an awareness of how factors may complicate a position: adopt a position on an issue, then discuss whether it is always a valid and reasonable position; consider how the position might be affected if certain factors were to change Show clear understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the specific issue in the prompt and offering a broad context for discussion Show recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt by partially evaluating implications and/or complications of the issue, and/or posing and partially responding to counterarguments to the writers position understand that an issue has a context; think about what considerations outside the issue shape or limit it learn how to identify and critique assumptions underlying the issue as stated; consider perspectives that might call into question some aspect of the issue itself in an extended discussion, practice demonstrating the logical or practical weaknesses of a counterargument

Focusing on the Topic Maintain a focus on the general topic in the prompt throughout the essay and attempt a focus on the specific issue in the prompt Present a thesis that establishes focus on the topic

Developing a Position Develop ideas by using some specific reasons, details, and examples Show some movement between general and specific ideas and examples

Organizing Ideas Provide an adequate but simple organization with logical grouping of ideas in parts of the essay but with little evidence of logical progression of ideas Use some simple and obvious, but appropriate, transitional words and phrases Present a discernible introduction and conclusion with a little development practice arranging sentences within a paragraph so that discussion logically builds and progresses identify specific transitional words and phrases, including those indicating causal relationship (e.g., as a result , this means that ) practice writing an introduction that briefly but effectively introduces a context for the discussion as well as a thesis consider ways to conclude a piece of writing that will emphasize its main theme without restating the discussion or otherwise being repetitive Provide unity and coherence throughout the essay, sometimes with a logical progression of ideas Use relevant, though at times simple and obvious, transitional words and phrases to convey logical relationships between ideas Present a somewhat developed introduction and conclusion

Using Language Show adequate use of language to communicate by correctly employing many of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, but with some distracting errors that may occasionally impede understanding using appropriate vocabulary using some varied kinds of sentence structures to vary pace understand correct usage of common homonyms (e.g., their/there , past/passed , its/its , youre/your ) practice using a wider vocabulary by replacing vague or general language with more precise words experiment with more sophisticated sentence constructions read model essays to see how skilled writers control pace and emphasis by varying the length of sentences

54% 29%

Ideas for progressing to 910 score range

revise writing to ensure that every paragraph remains focused on the issue and that no essential information is left out practice composing thesis statements that clearly state a position on an issue and offer a rationale for adopting that position

generate a full-sentence outline or visual representation of all major ideas in an essay and the examples and details that support them practice drawing generalizations from specific historical, personal, or literary details learn to identify the most relevant examples to support an idea critique writing in peer workshops to identify any ideas that need further development in order to be persuasive or clear Develop most ideas fully, using some specific and relevant reasons, details, and examples Show clear movement between general and specific ideas and examples

910

Standards

Maintain a focus on discussion of the specific topic and issue in the prompt throughout the essay Present a thesis that establishes a focus on the writers position on the issue

F
Ideas for progressing to 1112 score range
21% 20%

Show competent use of language to communicate ideas by correctly employing most conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, with a few distracting errors but none that impede understanding using some precise and varied vocabulary using several kinds of sentence structures to vary pace and to support meaning check to be sure pronouns agree with antecedents in complex sentences edit sentences for empty language, wordiness, and redundancy read a wide variety of texts to improve vocabulary and gain exposure to precise and effective language use read and discuss the effects of rhetorical devices such as rhetorical questions, sarcasm, and humor used by favorite authors

revise writing to ensure that every sentence is necessary to the purpose of the piece refine thesis statements to reflect subtle, critical thinking about complex issues

learn how to elaborate ideas fully by logically describing their connection to the essays main idea practice sustaining a logical and relevant discussion by writing longer and more complex essays check to see if the essays treatment of each idea is proportional to the ideas importance listen to news analyses on television or radio; notice the strategies that skilled speakers use to present their ideas on an issue

practice arranging ideas so that one paragraph leads logically to the next throughout the essay consider how transitional phrases and sentences can help convey logical connections between ideas and between paragraphs think about how an introduction and conclusion can work together to provide unity within an essay experiment with how to conclude an essay while continuing to challenge the audience with critical questions or implications discuss the effect of a conclusion that suggests the essay has been only part of a much larger discussion Provide unity and coherence throughout the essay, often with a logical progression of ideas Use relevant transitional words, phrases, and sentences to convey logical relationships between ideas Present a well-developed introduction and conclusion

1112

Standards

3%

10%

Show clear understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the specific issue in the prompt and offering a critical context for discussion Show understanding of the complexity of the issue in the prompt by examining different perspectives, and/or evaluating implications or complications of the issue, and/or posing and fully discussing counterarguments to the writers position

Maintain a clear focus on discussion of the specific topic and issue in the prompt throughout the essay Present a critical thesis that clearly establishes the focus on the writers position on the issue

Develop several ideas fully, using specific and relevant reasons, details, and examples Show effective movement between general and specific ideas and examples

Show effective use of language to clearly communicate ideas by correctly employing most conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, with just a few, if any, errors using precise and varied vocabulary using a variety of kinds of sentence structures to vary pace and to support meaning

COLLEGE
WHAT ARE THE COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDS?

DESCRIPTION OF THE READINESS STANDARDS

literature published over the past thirty years on direct writing assessments and on the teaching of composition at the postsecondary level, and results of the 20022003 ACT National Curriculum Survey . ACT also created an ACT National Writing Test Advisory Panel, whose members include some of the foremost national experts on writing instruction, writing assessment, and ESL and developmental writing. Together, ACT writing experts and the panelists developed detailed specifications for the Writing Test such as the type of writing to be elicited, the writing prompt format, and the scoring criteria to be used in the scoring rubric. Extensive field testing resulted in student papers that ACT writing experts studied in order to refine and clarify score point descriptions for the scoring rubric. The scoring rubric is based on five main scoring criteria that are considered when determining a students score. These same five criteria serve as the five strands for the Writing College Readiness Standards. To establish the score point skill descriptors for the Standards, further review of college admissions and course placement criteria and further scrutiny of student writing responses were undertaken. Grounding both the rubric and the Writing College

The College Readiness Standards communicate educational expectations. Each Standard describes what students who score in the designated range are likely to be able to do with what they know. Students can typically demonstrate the skills and knowledge within the score ranges preceding the range in which they scored, so the College Readiness Standards are cumulative. In helping students make the transition from high school to postsecondary education or to the world of work, teachers, counselors, and parents can use the College Readiness Standards for the ACT to interpret students scores and to understand which skills students need to develop to be better prepared for the future.

HOW WERE THE SCORE RANGES DETERMINED AND THE COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDS DEVELOPED?
The score ranges and the College Readiness Standards for the ACT Writing Test were derived from the ACT Writing Test scoring rubric. The Writing Test scoring rubric is a six-point descriptive scale to which Writing Test essays are compared in order to determine their score. Each essay written for the Writing Test is scored by two trained readers, each of whom gives it a rating from 1 (low) to 6 (high). The sum of those two ratings is a students Writing Test subscore (212). The scoring rubric originated as the final step in the lengthy process of developing the ACT Writing Test. In designing a test to measure students writing proficiency, ACT staff examined secondary and postsecondary writing practice, instruction, and assessment across the nation, including direct writing assessments used by postsecondary institutions to make admissions and course placement decisions, state writing content standards for grades 912,

The examination should describe the student in meaningful terms meaningful to the student, the parent, and the elementary and high school teachermeaningful in the sense that the profile scores correspond to recognizable school activities, and directly suggest appropriate distributions of emphasis in learning and teaching.
E. F. Lindquist, February 1958 Cofounder of ACT

Readiness Standards in student essaysand the writing patterns evident in large numbers of essays increases confidence that students scoring in a given score range will most likely be able to demonstrate the skills and knowledge described in that range. To determine the score ranges for the College Readiness Standards, ACT staff considered the differences in writing skill ability evident in essays between levels of the scoring rubric. Based on similarities found among written responses at certain adjacent score points, ACT staff determined that the six score ranges 2, 34, 56, 78, 910, and 1112 would best distinguish students levels of writing achievement so as to assist teachers, administrators, and others in relating ACT test scores to students skills and understandings. Because the ACT is curriculum based, ACT and independent consultants conduct a review every three to four years to ensure that the knowledge and skills described in the Standards and outlined in the test specifications and rubric continue to reflect those being taught in classrooms nationwide.

and do if they are going to make a successful transition to college, vocational school, or the world of work. Students can use the Standards to identify the skills and knowledge they need to develop to be better prepared for their future. Teachers and curriculum coordinators can use the Standards to learn more about their students academic strengths and weaknesses and can then modify their instruction and guide students accordingly.

HOW ARE THE COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDS ORGANIZED?

The Writing College Readiness Standards are organized around the five criteria from the Writing Test rubric. While the rubric holistically considers the effect of all aspects of a piece of writing, the Writing Standards concentrate on distinguishing between the criterias five distinct areas of writing skill, which may develop at uneven paces in student writers. These distinct areas of writing skill, or strands, are Expressing Judgments, Focusing on the Topic, Developing a Position, Organizing Ideas, and Using Language.

HOW SHOULD THE COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDS BE I NTERPRETED AND USED?

The College Readiness Standards reflect the progression and complexity of the skills measured in the ACT. Because an ACT Writing score is a holistic scorebased on the overall effect of the written responsethe Writing Standards must be interpreted as skills that most students who score in a particular score range are likely to be able to demonstrate. Written responses scoring at the lowest score point typically demonstrate such varied deficiencies in writing skills that generalization of these skills was not possible. The skills and understandings of students who score a 2 on the Writing Test may still be evolving. For these students, the skills and understandings in the higher score ranges could become their target achievement outcomes. It is important to recognize that the ACT does not measure everything students have learned nor does any test measure everything necessary for students to know to be successful in college or in the world of work. The ACT Writing Test assesses writing skills that have been judged important for success in college and beyond. Thus, the College Readiness Standards should be interpreted in a responsible way that will help students understand what they need to know

Expressing Judgments. The Writing Test prompt asks writers to express an opinion about an issue. This requires students to evaluate the issue, decide their position, and articulate that judgment in their essay. The Writing Standards indicate how well writers are able to demonstrate an understanding of the task and how clearly writers are able to articulate their position. An additional aspect of this strand is recognition of the complexity of the issue. When making judgments about their position, students may understand that there exist multiple valid perspectives on the issue, that each perspective has its own complications, and that choosing any one perspective over the others has implications. The Writing Standards indicate whether writers are able to demonstrate recognition of complexity by acknowledging more than their own perspective and to what extent writers can engage with the complexity by discussing complications and/or implications, or responding to counterarguments to their position. Focusing on the Topic. The Writing Standards indicate not only whether writers are able to stay focused on the topic throughout the essay, but also whether writers can focus their essay on the specific issue in the prompt or only on a more general topic from the prompt. Focusing on the specific issue in the prompt requires writers to be able to identify and discuss the controversial aspect of the issue.

Developing a Position. The Writing Standards indicate how well writers are able to explain their position through support and logical reasoning, evaluating whether discussion moves between general statements and specific reasons, examples, and details. Organizing Ideas. The Writing Standards indicate to what extent writers can organize and present ideas in a logical way. This includes assessing whether writers are able to offer ideas that are logically grouped together and whether these groups are sequenced within the essay in such a way that the groups of ideas build on one another. It also includes evaluating to what extent writers are able to use transitional devices to help readers understand logical connections between ideas, and how well integrated into the essay those transitions are. Using Language. The Writing Standards indicate how effectively writers are able to use written language, considering what variety of sentence structures are employed and to what effect, and evaluating word choice. The Standards also consider how well writers can successfully observe the conventions of standard written English such as subject-verb agreement, pronoun agreement, capitalization, spelling, and punctuation.
The strands provide an organizational framework for the College Readiness Standards statements. As you review the Standards, you will note a progression in complexity within each strand. For example, in the 34 range for the Organizing Ideas strand, students are able to use a few simple and obvious transitions, while in the 1112 range, students demonstrate that they are able to use relevant transitional words, phrases, and sentences to convey logical relationships between ideas. The Standards are complemented by brief descriptions of learning experiences from which high school students might benefit. Based on the College Readiness Standards, these ideas for progress are designed to provide classroom teachers with help for lesson plan development. These ideas, which are given in Table 1, demonstrate one way that information learned from standardized test results can be used to inform classroom instruction. Because students learn over time and in various contexts, it is important to use a variety of instructional methods and materials to meet students diverse needs and to help strengthen and build upon their

knowledge and skills. The ideas for progress offer teachers a variety of suggestions to foster learning experiences from which students would likely benefit as they move from one level of learning to the next. Because learning is a complex and individual process, it is especially important to use multiple sources of informationclassroom observations and teacher-developed assessment tools, as well as standardized teststo accurately reflect what each student knows and can do. The Standards and ideas for progress, used in conjunction with classroombased and curricular resources, help teachers and administrators to guide the whole education of every student.

WHAT ARE THE ACT WRITING TEST COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDS?

Table 1 on pages 8 13 suggests links between what students are likely to be able to do (the College Readiness Standards) and what learning experiences students would likely benefit from. The College Readiness Standards are organized both by score range (along the left-hand side) and by strand (across the top). The lack of a College Readiness Standards statement for score point 2 indicates that there was insufficient evidence with which to determine a descriptor. The ideas for progress are also arranged by score range and by strand. Although many of the ideas cross more than one strand, a primary strand has been identified for each in order to facilitate their use in the classroom. For example, the statement in the 78 score range practice composing thesis statements that clearly state a position on an issue and offer a rationale for adopting that position brings together concepts from several strands, such as Expressing Judgments, Focusing on the Topic, and Organizing Ideas. However, this idea is primarily linked to the Focusing on the Topic strand. As you review the table, you will note that ideas for progress have not been provided for the 1112 score range, the highest score range. Students who score in this range on the ACT Writing Test have demonstrated proficiency in all, or almost all, of the skills measured by the test. These students will, however, continue to refine and expand their knowledge and skills as they engage in writing activities that require critical, logical, and creative thinking.

Table 1:

The College Readiness Standards

ACT WRITING TEST

2
Standards ideas for progress

The Standards describe what students who score in the specified score ranges are likely to know and to be able to do. The ideas for progress help teachers identify ways of enhancing students learning based on the scores students receive.

Expressing Judgments

Focusing on the Topic

Developing a Position

Scores below 3 do not permit useful generalizations about students writing abilities. discuss the goal of a persuasive essay ask five people for their opinion on an issue; note the range in viewpoints a single issue can bring out

identify a local community or school issue; phrase the issue in the form of a question; then experiment with ways to answer that question clearly in a single sentence

study model paragraphs that have topic sentences; notice that in each example the idea in the topic sentence is explained by the rest of the sentences in the paragraph in a model persuasive essay, list the ideas that the writer talks about; discuss which is the essays main idea and which are ideas that support or illustrate the main idea Offer a little development, with one or two ideas; if examples are given, they are general and may not be clearly relevant; resort often to merely repeating ideas Show little or no movement between general and specific ideas and examples read a variety of model persuasive essays recognize that essays are composed of ideas that must be explained or illustrated with specific examples and details redraft writing to include additional ideas that support the essays main claim learn prewriting strategies such as freewriting and brainstorming for generating ideas about a topic

34

Standards

Show a little understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task but neglect to take or to maintain a position on the issue in the prompt Show limited recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt generate a list of issues, then practice restating them clearly and precisely with original wording practice generating possible positions on an issue identify and discuss reasons for selecting one position on an issue over others choose a position on an issue and state it clearly

Maintain a focus on the general topic in the prompt through most of the essay

ideas for progress

ask who, what, when, where, and especially why of the topic to establish clear focus for the essay learn to recognize when an essay wanders away from its topic critique writing in peer workshops to identify any ideas that are obviously off the main point of the essay

Organizing Ideas

Using Language

practice grouping sentences that share like subjects construct a simple timeline of an event; discuss how the event has a beginning, a middle, and an end

read the works of favorite writers regularly write informal entries (responses to readings, or original ideas) in a journal

Provide a discernible organization with some logical grouping of ideas in parts of the essay Use a few simple and obvious transitions Present a discernible, though minimally developed, introduction and conclusion

Show limited control of language by

correctly employing some of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, but with distracting errors that sometimes significantly impede understanding using simple vocabulary using simple sentence structure

use clustering, concept mapping, or another visual organizer to identify relationships among ideas recognize paragraphs as a means for organizing an essay generate a list of words and phrases typically used as transitions (e.g., however, first, next, moreover, as a matter of fact, etc.) study the introductions and conclusions of model essays discuss the purpose and importance of the opening paragraph for directing the rest of the essay

read and discuss the works of favorite writers; use a dictionary to learn any unfamiliar words or phrases recognize that clarity of expression is essential to clarity of meaning learn to consult a writers reference on questions of word choice and usage practice proofreading to identify obvious errors and missing words

Table 1 (continued):

The College Readiness Standards

ACT WRITING TEST

56
Standards

The Standards describe what students who score in the specified score ranges are likely to know and to be able to do. The ideas for progress help teachers identify ways of enhancing students learning based on the scores students receive.

Expressing Judgments

Focusing on the Topic

Developing a Position

Show a basic understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the issue in the prompt but may not maintain that position Show a little recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt by acknowledging, but only briefly describing, a counterargument to the writers position choose a position on an issue and generate a list of possible objections others might have to that position listen to a public debate; identify strategies skilled speakers use in responding to their opponents viewpoint experiment with ways to acknowledge an opposing viewpoint without weakening the essays focus or position practice writing brief responses to opposing viewpoints Show understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the issue in the prompt Show some recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt by

Maintain a focus on the general topic in the prompt throughout the essay

Offer limited development of ideas using a few general examples; resort sometimes to merely repeating ideas Show little movement between general and specific ideas and examples

ideas for progress

understand the relationship between a general topic and a specific issue within that topic practice writing short responses (one paragraph) that stay focused on a specific topic identify the thesis statements in a variety of model essays critique writing in peer workshops to ensure that the thesis is clear and that the thesis, introduction, and conclusion all focus on the same idea

understand that a thesis statement expresses an essays main idea and must be supported with reasons, examples, and details discuss how to generate specific examples and details to illustrate general ideas read model essays that derive generalizations from specific examples and details

78

Standards

Maintain a focus on the general topic in the prompt throughout the essay and attempt a focus on the specific issue in the prompt Present a thesis that establishes focus on the topic

Develop ideas by using some specific reasons, details, and examples Show some movement between general and specific ideas and examples

acknowledging counterarguments to the writers position providing some response to counterarguments to the writers position

ideas for progress

understand that issues exist within a larger context; discuss ways in which a certain issue is connected to broader questions of concern to more people practice identifying implications of a position: what would be the outcome if this position were adopted or enacted; who would benefit/not benefit and why develop an awareness of how factors may complicate a position: adopt a position on an issue, then discuss whether it is always a valid and reasonable position; consider how the position might be affected if certain factors were to change

revise writing to ensure that every paragraph remains focused on the issue and that no essential information is left out practice composing thesis statements that clearly state a position on an issue and offer a rationale for adopting that position

generate a full-sentence outline or visual representation of all major ideas in an essay and the examples and details that support them practice drawing generalizations from specific historical, personal, or literary details learn to identify the most relevant examples to support an idea critique writing in peer workshops to identify any ideas that need further development in order to be persuasive or clear

10

Organizing Ideas

Using Language

Provide a simple organization with logical grouping of ideas in parts of the essay Use some simple and obvious transitional words, though they may at times be inappropriate or misleading Present a discernible, though underdeveloped, introduction and conclusion

Show a basic control of language by

correctly employing some of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, but with distracting errors that sometimes impede understanding using simple but appropriate vocabulary using a little sentence variety, though most sentences are simple in structure

compare the outline of an original essay to the outline of a model essay; discuss ways to reorganize the original writing to make it more effective critique writing in peer workshops to see if paragraphs are organized effectively: identify sentences out of sequence, paragraphs that lack clear topic sentences, and ideas that dont belong review paragraphs to see if smooth transitions are provided from one to the next draft an introduction that includes a clearly stated thesis, and a conclusion that confirms the main theme of the essay

continue to read and discuss works by skilled writers to become more familiar with correct language use read original writing aloud to hear and identify language errors revise writing to reduce unnecessary repetition of words and phrases practice varying sentence length by combining simple sentences experiment with varying sentence construction by moving prepositional phrases to the beginning of sentences

Provide an adequate but simple organization with logical grouping of ideas in parts of the essay but with little evidence of logical progression of ideas Use some simple and obvious, but appropriate, transitional words and phrases Present a discernible introduction and conclusion with a little development

Show adequate use of language to communicate by

correctly employing many of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, but with some distracting errors that may occasionally impede understanding using appropriate vocabulary using some varied kinds of sentence structures to vary pace

practice arranging sentences within a paragraph so that discussion logically builds and progresses identify specific transitional words and phrases, including those indicating causal relationship (e.g., as a result, this means that) practice writing an introduction that briefly but effectively introduces a context for the discussion as well as a thesis consider ways to conclude a piece of writing that will emphasize its main theme without restating the discussion or otherwise being repetitive

understand correct usage of common homonyms (e.g., their/there, past/passed, its/its, youre/your) practice using a wider vocabulary by replacing vague or general language with more precise words experiment with more sophisticated sentence constructions read model essays to see how skilled writers control pace and emphasis by varying the length of sentences

11

Table 1 (continued):

The College Readiness Standards

ACT WRITING TEST

910 Standards

The Standards describe what students who score in the specified score ranges are likely to know and to be able to do. The ideas for progress help teachers identify ways of enhancing students learning based on the scores students receive.

Expressing Judgments

Focusing on the Topic

Developing a Position

Show clear understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the specific issue in the prompt and offering a broad context for discussion Show recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt by

Maintain a focus on discussion of the specific topic and issue in the prompt throughout the essay Present a thesis that establishes a focus on the writers position on the issue

Develop most ideas fully, using some specific and relevant reasons, details, and examples Show clear movement between general and specific ideas and examples

partially evaluating implications and/or complications of the issue, and/or posing and partially responding to counterarguments to the writers position

ideas for progress

understand that an issue has a context; think about what considerations outside the issue shape or limit it learn how to identify and critique assumptions underlying the issue as stated; consider perspectives that might call into question some aspect of the issue itself in an extended discussion, practice demonstrating the logical or practical weaknesses of a counterargument Show clear understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the specific issue in the prompt and offering a critical context for discussion Show understanding of the complexity of the issue in the prompt by

revise writing to ensure that every sentence is necessary to the purpose of the piece refine thesis statements to reflect subtle, critical thinking about complex issues

learn how to elaborate ideas fully by logically describing their connection to the essays main idea practice sustaining a logical and relevant discussion by writing longer and more complex essays check to see if the essays treatment of each idea is proportional to the ideas importance listen to news analyses on television or radio; notice the strategies that skilled speakers use to present their ideas on an issue Develop several ideas fully, using specific and relevant reasons, details, and examples Show effective movement between general and specific ideas and examples

1112 Standards

Maintain a clear focus on discussion of the specific topic and issue in the prompt throughout the essay Present a critical thesis that clearly establishes the focus on the writers position on the issue

examining different perspectives, and/or evaluating implications or complications of the issue, and/or posing and fully discussing counterarguments to the writers position

12

Organizing Ideas

Using Language

Provide unity and coherence throughout the essay, sometimes with a logical progression of ideas Use relevant, though at times simple and obvious, transitional words and phrases to convey logical relationships between ideas Present a somewhat developed introduction and conclusion

Show competent use of language to communicate ideas by

correctly employing most conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, with a few distracting errors but none that impede understanding using some precise and varied vocabulary using several kinds of sentence structures to vary pace and to support meaning

practice arranging ideas so that one paragraph leads logically to the next throughout the essay consider how transitional phrases and sentences can help convey logical connections between ideas and between paragraphs think about how an introduction and conclusion can work together to provide unity within an essay experiment with how to conclude an essay while continuing to challenge the audience with critical questions or implications discuss the effect of a conclusion that suggests the essay has been only part of a much larger discussion

check to be sure pronouns agree with antecedents in complex sentences edit sentences for empty language, wordiness, and redundancy read a wide variety of texts to improve vocabulary and gain exposure to precise and effective language use read and discuss the effects of rhetorical devices such as rhetorical questions, sarcasm, and humor used by favorite authors

Provide unity and coherence throughout the essay, often with a logical progression of ideas Use relevant transitional words, phrases, and sentences to convey logical relationships between ideas Present a well-developed introduction and conclusion

Show effective use of language to clearly communicate ideas by

correctly employing most conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, with just a few, if any, errors using precise and varied vocabulary using a variety of kinds of sentence structures to vary pace and to support meaning

13

DESCRIPTION OF WRITING TEST

WHAT DOES M EASURE?
THE

THE

ACT

ACT WRITING TEST

The Writing Test is a 30-minute essay test with a single prompt question that briefly states an issue and describes two points of view on that issue. Students are asked to write in response to a question about their position on the issue described in the writing prompt. The test is designed to evaluate student ability to make and articulate judgments, develop a position, maintain a focused discussion, organize and present ideas logically, and communicate clearly in original writing. Each essay is scored by two trained readers on a scale of 1 (low) to 6 (high). The sum of those ratings is a students Writing Test subscore and is reported as one number on a 212 scale. Writing Test readers are trained by reading examples of papers at each score point and by scoring many practice papers. They are given detailed feedback on the accuracy and consistency of their scores during practice. After training, all readers are required to pass a qualifying test of preselected papers before they are permitted to score live essays. In addition, throughout scoring, readers must continue to perform satisfactorily on compulsory tests measuring the accuracy of their scores. During scoring, a score difference of more than one point on any essay is evaluated by a third trained reader to resolve the discrepancy. This method is designed to be as objective and impartial as possible and to ensure all examinees papers are read and scored using the same application of the scoring rubric. In addition to numerical scores, students receive comments about their essay. One reader of each essay will assign comments appropriate for the writing skills demonstrated in the essay. The number of comments for each essay will range between one and

four, and may include positive and/or constructive comments about the students writing. This specific, individual feedback on each student essay is designed to help students learn to better assess their own writing skills and to recognize strengths in their writing as well as areas upon which to focus for improvement. Comments are assigned to an essay after it has been scored. The full text of the readers comments will be included on the Student Report, and the comment codes will be included on the High School and College Reports. The full text of all readers comments is available on ACTs website at www.act.org/aap/writing/sample/comments.html. Educators should note that ACT offers the Writing Test as an optional component of the ACT. Students should determine whether or not to take the Writing Test based on the requirements or recommendations of the colleges to which they plan to apply. The Composite score and subscores for the multiplechoice sections of the ACT are not affected by the Writing Test results. Instead, when students take the Writing Test, they receive two additional scores: a subscore for the Writing Test (on a 212 scale), and a Combined Score for the multiple-choice English Test and the Writing Test (on a 136 scale). Additional information about the ACT Writing Test is provided in this section, including: Scoring Guidelines (Six-Point Holistic Rubric) A sample test booklet with test instructions a sample prompt essay planning pages

14

Table 2:

Six-Point Holistic Scoring Rubric for the ACT Writing Test

Papers at each level exhibit all or most of the characteristics described at each score point. Score = 6 Essays within this score range demonstrate effective skill in responding to the task. The essay shows a clear understanding of the task. The essay takes a position on the issue and may offer a critical context for discussion. The essay addresses complexity by examining different perspectives on the issue, or by evaluating the implications and/or complications of the issue, or by fully responding to counterarguments to the writers position. Development of ideas is ample, specific, and logical. Most ideas are fully elaborated. A clear focus on the specific issue in the prompt is maintained. The organization of the essay is clear: the organization may be somewhat predictable or it may grow from the writers purpose. Ideas are logically sequenced. Most transitions reflect the writers logic and are usually integrated into the essay. The introduction and conclusion are effective, clear, and well developed. The essay shows a good command of language. Sentences are varied and word choice is varied and precise. There are few, if any, errors to distract the reader. Score = 5 Essays within this score range demonstrate competent skill in responding to the task. The essay shows a clear understanding of the task. The essay takes a position on the issue and may offer a broad context for discussion. The essay shows recognition of complexity by partially evaluating the implications and/or complications of the issue, or by responding to counterarguments to the writers position. Development of ideas is specific and logical. Most ideas are elaborated, with clear movement between general statements and specific reasons, examples, and details. Focus on the specific issue in the prompt is maintained. The organization of the essay is clear, although it may be predictable. Ideas are logically sequenced, although simple and obvious transitions may be used. The introduction and conclusion are clear and generally well developed. Language is competent. Sentences are somewhat varied and word choice is sometimes varied and precise. There may be a few errors, but they are rarely distracting. Score = 4 Essays within this score range demonstrate adequate skill in responding to the task. The essay shows an understanding of the task. The essay takes a position on the issue and may offer some context for discussion. The essay may show some recognition of complexity by providing some response to counterarguments to the writers position. Development of ideas is adequate, with some movement between general statements and specific reasons, examples, and details. Focus on the specific issue in the prompt is maintained throughout most of the essay. The organization of the essay is apparent but predictable. Some evidence of logical sequencing of ideas is apparent, although most transitions are simple and obvious. The introduction and conclusion are clear and somewhat developed. Language is adequate, with some sentence variety and appropriate word choice. There may be some distracting errors, but they do not impede understanding. Score = 3 Essays within this score range demonstrate some developing skill in responding to the task. The essay shows some understanding of the task. The essay takes a position on the issue but does not offer a context for discussion. The essay may acknowledge a counterargument to the writers position, but its development is brief or unclear. Development of ideas is limited and may be repetitious, with little, if any, movement between general statements and specific reasons, examples, and details. Focus on the general topic is maintained, but focus on the specific issue in the prompt may not be maintained. The organization of the essay is simple. Ideas are logically grouped within parts of the essay, but there is little or no evidence of logical sequencing of ideas. Transitions, if used, are simple and obvious. An introduction and conclusion are clearly discernible but underdeveloped. Language shows a basic control. Sentences show a little variety and word choice is appropriate. Errors may be distracting and may occasionally impede understanding. Score = 2 Essays within this score range demonstrate inconsistent or weak skill in responding to the task. The essay shows a weak understanding of the task. The essay may not take a position on the issue, or the essay may take a position but fail to convey reasons to support that position, or the essay may take a position but fail to maintain a stance. There is little or no recognition of a counterargument to the writers position. The essay is thinly developed. If examples are given, they are general and may not be clearly relevant. The essay may include extensive repetition of the writers ideas or of ideas in the prompt. Focus on the general topic is maintained, but focus on the specific issue in the prompt may not be maintained. There is some indication of an organizational structure, and some logical grouping of ideas within parts of the essay is apparent. Transitions, if used, are simple and obvious, and they may be inappropriate or misleading. An introduction and conclusion are discernible but minimal. Sentence structure and word choice are usually simple. Errors may be frequently distracting and may sometimes impede understanding. Score = 1 Essays within this score range show little or no skill in responding to the task. The essay shows little or no understanding of the task. If the essay takes a position, it fails to convey reasons to support that position. The essay is minimally developed. The essay may include excessive repetition of the writers ideas or of ideas in the prompt. Focus on the general topic is usually maintained, but focus on the specific issue in the prompt may not be maintained. There is little or no evidence of an organizational structure or of the logical grouping of ideas. Transitions are rarely used. If present, an introduction and conclusion are minimal. Sentence structure and word choice are simple. Errors may be frequently distracting and may significantly impede understanding. No Score Blank, Off-Topic, Illegible, Not in English, or Void

15

Your Signature (do not print): Print Your Name Here:

Your Date of Birth:

Month

Day

Year

Writing Test Booklet

You must take the multiple-choice tests before you take the Writing Test.

Directions This is a test of your writing skills. You will have thirty (30) minutes to write an essay in English. Before you begin planning and writing your essay, read the writing prompt carefully to understand exactly what you are being asked to do. Your essay will be evaluated on the evidence it provides of your ability to express judgments by taking a position on the issue in the writing prompt; to maintain a focus on the topic throughout the essay; to develop a position by using logical reasoning and by supporting your ideas; to organize ideas in a logical way; and to use language clearly and effectively according to the conventions of standard written English. You may use the unlined pages in this test booklet to plan your essay. These pages will not be scored. You must write your essay in pencil on the lined pages in the answer folder. Your writing on those lined pages will be scored. You may not need all the lined pages, but to ensure you have enough room to finish, do NOT skip lines. You may write corrections or additions neatly between the lines of your essay, but do NOT write in the margins of the lined pages. Illegible essays cannot be scored, so you must write (or print) clearly. If you finish before time is called, you may review your work. Lay your pencil down immediately when time is called. DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOKLET UNTIL TOLD TO DO SO.
2008 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. NOTE: This booklet is covered by Federal copyright laws that prohibit the reproduction of the test questions without the express, written permission of ACT, Inc.

P.O. BOX 168 IOWA CITY, IA 52243-0168

17

ACT Writing Test Prompt

Many high school libraries use some of their limited funding to subscribe to popular magazines with articles that are interesting to students. Despite limited funding, some educators support this practice because they think having these magazines available encourages students to read. Other educators think school libraries should not use limited funds to subscribe to these magazines because they may not be related to academic subjects. In your opinion, should high school libraries subscribe to popular magazines? In your essay, take a position on this question. You may write about either one of the two points of view given, or you may present a different point of view on this question. Use specific reasons and examples to support your position.

18

Use this page to plan your essay. Your work on this page will not be scored.

If you need more space to plan, please continue on the back of this page.
19

Use this page to plan your essay. Your work on this page will not be scored.

20

THE NEED

FOR

THINKING SKILLS
Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardour and attended to with diligence.
Abigail Adams in a letter to John Quincy Adams

Every student comes to school with the ability to think, but to achieve their goals students need to develop skills such as learning to make new connections between texts and ideas, to understand increasingly complex concepts, and to think through their assumptions. Because of technological advances and the fast pace of our society, it is increasingly important that students not only know information but also know how to critique and manage that information. Students must be provided with the tools for ongoing learning; understanding, analysis, and generalization skills must be developed so that the learner is able to adapt to a variety of situations.

HOW I S THE ACT WRITING TEST LINKED TO THINKING SKILLS?

Our belief in the importance of developing thinking skills in learners was a key factor in the development of the ACT. ACT believes that students preparation for further learning is best assessed by measuring, as directly as possible, the academic skills that students have acquired and that they will need to perform at the next level of learning. The required academic skills can most directly be assessed by reproducing as faithfully as possible the complexity of the students schoolwork. Therefore, the ACT Writing Test is designed to evaluate student ability to make and articulate judgments, develop a position, maintain a focused discussion, organize and present ideas logically, and communicate clearly in original writing.

Pages 2433 provide sample essays that demonstrate score ranges for each of the five College Readiness Standards Writing strands. Students scoring in the higher score ranges are able to demonstrate, overall, an increasing level of skill in writing. However, the specific writing skills in any given essay could vary slightly from the skills described in each Standard. Individual students will likely demonstrate both particular strengths and weaknesses within their essays. The essays are accompanied by College Readiness Standards descriptors for specific skills related to each strand as well as discussions explaining how the skills in each essay were addressed. The prompt to which the sample essays responded has been reprinted on the next page.

22

ACT Writing Test Prompt

Many high school libraries use some of their limited funding to subscribe to popular magazines with articles that are interesting to students. Despite limited funding, some educators support this practice because they think having these magazines available encourages students to read. Other educators think school libraries should not use limited funds to subscribe to these magazines because they may not be related to academic subjects. In your opinion, should high school libraries subscribe to popular magazines? In your essay, take a position on this question. You may write about either one of the two points of view given, or you may present a different point of view on this question. Use specific reasons and examples to support your position.

23

PAPER A SCORE = 4 (212

SCALE)

I believe that school librarys should subscribe to popular magazines that kids like, even through they arent related to academic subjects. Sports magazines, car magazines, teen magazines are all educational. Its very smart to order the magazines because it also gets students into the library and from there who knows we could read a book or two. Limiting funds would not be a bad thing because there are a lot of junk magazines out there that have no education, and are not even readable, all they have is pictures. I think there is probably one big thing wrong with getting popular magazines for students to read, because they probably have a lot of things in them that students shouldnt read, because it will make them think about things they shouldnt think about. Some things arent right for students to think about. Some magazines arent right for students.

24

CORRESPONDING COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDS DESCRIPTORS FOR PAPER A

Expressing Judgments: Show a little understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task but neglect to take or to maintain a position on the issue in the prompt; Show limited recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt. (Level 34) This essay demonstrates weak understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by neglecting to maintain a position on the issue. Although the writer adopts a clear stance in the first paragraph (I believe that school librarys should subscribe to popular magazines that kids like), by the third paragraph the writers position wavers (Limiting funds would not be a bad thing because there are a lot of junk magazines out there that have no education, and are not even readable, all they have is pictures). At the end of the essay, the writer has moved completely to the other side of the argument (Some magazines arent right for students). Focusing on the Topic: Maintain a focus on the general topic in the prompt throughout the essay. (Level 56) The response focuses on the topic introduced in the prompt. Although focus moves around a bit, with the essay first discussing how popular magazines are educational, then talking about why getting students into the library is beneficial, before introducing the idea of limited funds, all the ideas are related to general aspects of the prompt. The student does not digress from prompt-related ideas during the brief essay. Developing a Position: Offer a little development, with one or two ideas; if examples are given, they are general and may not be clearly relevant; resort often to merely repeating ideas; Show little or no movement between general and specific ideas and examples. (Level 34) The essay is thinly developed. Although there are one or two ideas presented for both sides of the issue, none of these is explained more than minimally (Its very smart to order the magazines because it also gets students into the library and from there who knows we could read a book or two). Movement between general ideas and specific examples is very limited ( . . . there are a lot of junk magazines out there that . . . are not even readable, all they have is pictures), with discussion maintained at such a

general level that it is sometimes difficult to understand what the writer is referring to ( . . . they probably have a lot of things in them that students shouldnt read, because it will make them think about things they shouldnt think about. Some things arent right for students to think about). Organizing Ideas: Provide a discernible organization with some logical grouping of ideas in parts of the essay; Use a few simple and obvious transitions; Present a discernible, though minimally developed, introduction and conclusion. (Level 34) The writers use of paragraphs provides discernible grouping of ideas throughout the essay. There is a weak attempt to include some transition between ideas (because) but the logical sequencing of ideas is poor. The opening position statement serves as an abrupt and very brief introduction to both the essay and the issue (I believe that school librarys should subscribe to popular magazines that kids like, even through they arent related to academic subjects); however, the essay lacks a discernible conclusion. Using Language: Show limited control of language by: correctly employing some of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, but with distracting errors that sometimes significantly impede understanding; using simple vocabulary; using simple sentence structure. (Level 3-4) Language control is weak, with some distracting errors. The essay lacks control at the sentence level; as ideas are added, single sentences run on trying to contain those ideas (I think there is probably one big thing wrong with getting popular magazines for students to read, because they probably have a lot of things in them that students shouldnt read, because it will make them think about things they shouldnt think about). Linking words are missing where they are needed (Sports magazines, car magazines, [and] teen magazines are all educational) and included where they are more misleading than useful (Its very smart to order the magazines because it also gets students into the library and from there who knows we could read a book or two).

25

PAPER B SCORE = 6 (212

SCALE)

I feel that schools should not subscribe to popular magazines. Sometimes the magazine articles are misleading and dont tell the truth. And some students may not know between right and wrong. I get Seventeen magazine every month. There are some subjects in the articles that I feel should not be allowed. The have put in college searches which are helpful, but other articles have girls talking about things that are not right. Teenagers are sometimes too young to read some of the articles that the popular magazines have. Also, popular magazines will not help students to be encouraged to read. Popular magazines have short articles that are based on opinion and gossip and they are filled with quizzes and advertisements. And the other articles are a waist of time too because they are full of gossip and mostly pictures. If school libraries really want to help students, they need to subscribe to magazines that are academic, like Time and National Geographic. There is no reason to subscribe to any other kind of popular magazines. If schools libraries did, they would find that popular magazines give students something to do instead of the research they should use the library for. School libraries should not subscribe to popular magazines, especially when funding is limited.

26

CORRESPONDING COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDS DESCRIPTORS FOR PAPER B

Expressing Judgments: Show a basic understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the issue in the prompt but may not maintain that position; Show a little recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt by acknowledging, but only briefly describing, a counterargument to the writers position. (Level 56) This essay shows a basic understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the issue and maintaining that position throughout, opening (I feel that schools should not subscribe to popular magazines) and finishing the essay (School libraries should not subscribe to popular magazines, especially when funding is limited) with limited position statements. A counterargument taken from the prompt is vaguely referenced ( . . . popular magazines will not help students to be encouraged to read), but this claim is not clearly supported or explained. Focusing on the Topic: Maintain a focus on the general topic in the prompt throughout the essay. (Level 56) The writer maintains focus on the general topic throughout the essay. Although some of the discussion seems somewhat loosely tied to the topic (I get Seventeen magazine every month. There are some subjects in the articles that . . . should not be allowed), the focus on magazines does not waver. Developing a Position: Offer limited development of ideas using a few general examples; resort sometimes to merely repeating ideas; Show little movement between general and specific ideas and examples. (Level 56) This essay offers limited development and some repetition of ideas (Popular magazines have short articles . . . based on opinion and gossip . . . because they are full of gossip and mostly pictures). The essay shows only a little movement between general and specific ideas and examples (There are some subjects in the articles that I feel should not be allowed. The have put in college searches which are helpful, but other articles have girls talking about things that are not right).

Organizing Ideas: Provide a simple organization with logical grouping of ideas in parts of the essay; Use some simple and obvious transitional words, though they may at times be inappropriate or misleading; Present a discernible, though underdeveloped, introduction and conclusion. (Level 56) The essay demonstrates simple organization through the use of paragraphing, and some logical grouping of ideas ( . . . some students may not know between right and wrong . . . There are some subjects in the articles that . . . should not be allowed . . . other articles have girls talking about things that are not right. Teenagers are sometimes too young to read some of the articles that popular magazines have). The writer uses only a few simple transitions (Also, And) and provides no discernible introduction; however the essay does have an underdeveloped conclusion in the form of a restatement of position. Using Language: Show a basic control of language by: correctly employing some of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, but with distracting errors that sometimes impede understanding; using simple but appropriate vocabulary; using a little sentence variety, though most sentences are simple in structure. (Level 56) There is basic control of language throughout the essay. There are a few distracting errors, such as misspelling waste as waist. The writer uses simple, and often repetitive, vocabulary throughout (And, are). There is little sentence variety, and the writer often uses short, choppy sentences (And some students may not know between right and wrong. I get Seventeen magazine every month).

27

PAPER C SCORE = 8 (212

SCALE)

High school libraries have only a very limited fund. The big question is how do they spend the fund. Some people think only the magazines that are about academics should be bought, but others point out that if students are interested in what is being read, they will read more, learn more and like school more. This second group is exactly right. First, anytime someone reads, their learning. Studies show that students who read thirty minutes a day in their free time perform better than those who dont. Students are not going to want to pick up Shakespeare in their study hall, theyre going to pick up Seventeen. If you want them to get in that thirty minutes, you have to give them something they will actually open and look at. Remember its not what were reading, its just the reading that counts. Also, popular magazines can help students learn about current events. Its important to keep up with information that hasnt had time to get in the textbooks yet. Many popular magazines contain articles about new health discoveries, wars and events in other countries, and can even provide resources for research papers. This is important for our education. Most importantly, popular magazines offer a break from the stress of schoolwork. After hours of listening to lectures and taking tests, people need to relax by reading something fun. If their is nothing fun to read, a bad attitude could develop toward libraries and school. This could hurt students much more than it would hurt us to read about movie stars and new music during study hall. In conclusion, for students mental health, knowledge, and love of reading, popular magazines should stay in our library. While some people may want to debate the issue, the right decision is clear. Interesting magazines are important for students in lots of ways.

28

CORRESPONDING COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDS DESCRIPTORS FOR PAPER C

Expressing Judgments: Show understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the issue in the prompt; Show some recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt by: acknowledging counterarguments to the writers position; providing some response to counterarguments to the writers position. (Level 78) This essay shows understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the issue in the prompt. It also shows some recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt by acknowledging and providing some response to the counterargument to the writers position (Some people think only the magazines that are about academics should be bought, but others point out that if students are interested in what is being read, they will read more, learn more, and like school more . . . Students are not going to . . . pick up Shakespeare in their study hall, theyre going to pick up Seventeen). Focusing on the Topic: Maintain a focus on the general topic in the prompt throughout the essay and attempt a focus on the specific issue in the prompt; Present a thesis that establishes focus on the topic. (Level 78) This essay maintains a focus on the general topic and issue in the prompt as well as a focus on the specific issue in the prompt. The writer also provides a thesis that establishes the focus ( . . . others point out that if students are interested in what is being read, they will read more, learn more, and like school more. This second group is exactly right). Developing a Position: Develop ideas by using some specific reasons, details, and examples; Show some movement between general and specific ideas and examples. (Level 78) The essay develops three separate ideas in support of the writers position ( . . . anytime someone reads, their learning; popular magazines can help students learn about current events; and popular magazines offer a break) in the discussion. There is some movement between general and specific ideas and examples ( . . . popular magazines can help students learn about current events . . . Many popular magazines contain articles about new health discoveries, wars and events in other countries . . .).

Organizing Ideas: Provide an adequate but simple organization with logical grouping of ideas in parts of the essay but with little evidence of logical progression of ideas; Use some simple and obvious, but appropriate, transitional words and phrases; Present a discernible introduction and conclusion with a little development. (Level 78) This essay is organized around a simple but adequate five-paragraph framework. The grouping of ideas in parts of the essay is logical, though predictable (First, anytime someone reads, their learning. Studies show that students who read thirty minutes a day in their free time perform better than those who dont . . . If you want them to get in that thirty minutes, you have to give them something they will actually open and look at). The transitional words and phrases used are simple and obvious, but appropriate (First, Also, Most importantly, In conclusion) and move the reader effectively through the essay. The introduction and conclusion are present and somewhat developed, with the introduction offering information necessary to set up the discussion, and the conclusion making clear the writers position and reasoning (In conclusion, for students mental health, knowledge, and love of reading, popular magazines should stay in our library). Using Language: Show adequate use of language to communicate by: correctly employing many of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, but with some distracting errors that may occasionally impede understanding; using appropriate vocabulary; using some varied kinds of sentence structures to vary pace. (Level 78) This essay shows adequate use of language, although there are some spelling errors that occasionally distract. Appropriate vocabulary is used, as well as some varied sentence structures (If their is nothing fun to read, a bad attitude could develop toward libraries and school).

29

PAPER D SCORE = 10 (212

SCALE)

High school libraries have a dilemma on their hands. Should they buy popular magazines as well as academic books and publications? In a perfect world, our school library would be able to offer everything thats possible and appropriate. But with budget limits throughout the school system, the administration must be sure theyre making the best choices of books and magazines, so magazines like Teen People and YM should not be paid for instead of educational books and publications. The purpose of school, and school libraries, is learning. Supporters of popular magazines argue that there is something to be learned from any reading material, but I believe some kinds of learning are more important to students futures than other kinds. If the school library has to choose between teaching teenage girls about the achievements of Harriet Tubman and letting them read about their favorite movie star, I know which one I would vote for. Furthermore, one of the school librarys most important functions is offering students the learning resources they might not be able to find or afford on their own. Everybody would agree the school library should have Internet access for the people who dont have a computer at home. Shouldnt the library also offer full sets of encyclopedia, hard cover books and high quality magazines like National Geographic to students who cant buy all these materials, especially when they may only need them for one paper all year? On the other hand, anybody can spend $3.99 at the drugstore to find out about Justin Timberlakes love life if they want to. The school library shouldnt have to finance that. If youre in study hall and you have an urgent celebrity trivia question that just cant wait, you can always use the Internet, at no extra cost to the school. Reading for pleasure is a great thing, and one of my personal favorite leisure activities, but magazines just for entertainment shouldnt be a priority for school libraries. Learning is the reason for school, and should be first in mind as this decision is made. When funding is so limited, the school library must always put learning materials first.

30

CORRESPONDING COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDS DESCRIPTORS FOR PAPER D

Expressing Judgments: Show clear understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the specific issue in the prompt and offering a broad context for discussion; Show recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt by: partially evaluating implications and/or complications of the issue, and/or posing and partially responding to counterarguments to the writers position. (Level 910) This essay shows a clear understanding of the task. The writer takes a position ( . . . Teen People and YM should not be paid for instead of educational books and publications) after establishing a broad context for discussion (In a perfect world, our school library would be able to offer everything thats possible and appropriate. But with budget limits throughout the school system, the administration must be sure theyre making the best choices . . .). The essay recognizes complexity by responding succinctly to counterarguments to the writers position (Supporters of popular magazines argue that there is something to be learned from any reading material, but I believe some kinds of learning are more important to students futures than other kinds). Focusing on the Topic: Maintain a focus on discussion of the specific topic and issue in the prompt throughout the essay; Present a thesis that establishes a focus on the writers position on the issue. (Level 910) This essay maintains a focus on the specific topic and issue in the prompt throughout the essay, as well as presenting a thesis that establishes the focus of the writers position ( . . . the administration must be sure theyre making the best choices of books and magazines, so magazines like Teen People and YM should not be paid for instead of educational books and publications). Developing a Position: Develop most ideas fully, using some specific and relevant reasons, details, and examples; Show clear movement between general and specific ideas and examples. (Level 910) Most ideas are developed fully, with relevant reasons ( . . . one of the school librarys most important functions is offering students the learning resources they might not be able to find or afford on their own). The essay demonstrates clear movement between claims and the details that explain and support them ( . . . I believe some kinds of learning

are more important to students futures than other kinds. If the school library has to choose between teaching teenage girls about the achievements of Harriet Tubman and letting them read about their favorite movie star, I know which one I would vote for).
Organizing Ideas: Provide unity and coherence throughout the essay, sometimes with a logical progression of ideas; Use relevant, though at times simple and obvious, transitional words and phrases to convey logical relationships between ideas; Present a somewhat developed introduction and conclusion. (Level 910) The essay provides unity through its logical progression of ideas and use of relevant transitions (On the other hand, anybody can spend $3.99 at the drugstore to find out about Justin Timberlakes love life if they want to. The school library shouldnt have to finance that. If youre in study hall and you have an urgent celebrity trivia question that just cant wait, you can always use the Internet . . .). The introduction and conclusion are both clear and generally well developed, offering necessary context and adding emphasis to clarify the argument. Using Language: Show competent use of language to communicate ideas by: correctly employing most conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, with a few distracting errors but none that impede understanding; using some precise and varied vocabulary; using several kinds of sentence structures to vary pace and to support meaning. (Level 910) Language use is competent and engaging, with some precise vocabulary (academic books and publications; most important functions; leisure activities) and sentence variety (If the school library has to choose between teaching teenage girls about the achievements of Harriet Tubman and letting them read about their favorite movie star, I know which one I would vote for). Minor errors are only minimally distracting.

31

PAPER E SCORE = 12 (212

SCALE)

High schools nowdays are struggling to draw the line between what is educational and what is not. School programs are cut based on how much educational content theyre perceived to have. Now the administration is trying to purge the libraries of popular magazines because they contain non academic subjects. Its important that the library buy dictionaries and encyclopedias, but education purists need to be reminded that if you separate academic from non-academic too strictly, you separate school from the real world its supposed to prepare us for. Educators are the ones who tell us we should spend more time reading. The only way to build the reading comprehension and vocabulary skills so important for getting into and through college is to practice, and that means reading things other than school assignments. No one ever gained reading proficiency from daily struggles through their Chemistry or History textbooks. We read these because we have to, but we would continue readingeven during precious homework free momentsif we had something interesting to turn to. The magazines that teenagers enjoy reading are the ones that cover our interests and address our concerns, like Seventeen or Teen People. These are the magazines that some would banish from the library. Its true that not every page in youth magazines is an intellectual challenge. Many pages show models selling zit cream, or contain dream date quizzes. But the critics of popular magazines should take a closer look at them. These same magazines have articles on suicide prevention, the spread of AIDS among teens, and college comparisonssubjects that the adult oriented news media doesnt cover. Even the frivolous features have something to teach the reader who wants to learn. All those Great Looks Cheap may be a first step toward becoming a smarter consumer. The silly quiz may open up questions about the nature of scientific proof or lead to more self-knowledge. Learning is where you find it, and students may find it in places administrators and librarians might not think to look. Learning can be found in popular magazines as well as approved academic texts. There should be room in the school library for both.

32

CORRESPONDING COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDS DESCRIPTORS FOR PAPER E

Expressing Judgments: Show clear understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the specific issue in the prompt and offering a critical context for discussion; Show understanding of the complexity of the issue in the prompt by: examining different perspectives, and/or evaluating implications or complications of the issue, and/or posing and fully discussing counterarguments to the writers position. (Level 1112) This essay demonstrates a clear understanding of the persuasive task. The writer takes a clear position, develops the essay, and states the position directly in the conclusion (Learning can be found in popular magazines as well as approved academic texts). This position is placed in a wider, critical context without disrupting the essays focus (High schools nowdays are struggling to draw the line between what is educational and what is not. School programs are cut based on how much educational content theyre perceived to have). The essay shows understanding of the complexity of the issue by anticipating counterarguments to the writers position (Its true that not every page in youth magazines is an intellectual challenge . . . But the critics of popular magazines should take a closer look at them. These same magazines have articles on suicide prevention, the spread of AIDS among teens, and college comparisonssubjects that the adult oriented news media doesnt cover). Focusing on the Topic: Maintain a clear focus on discussion of the specific topic and issue in the prompt throughout the essay; Present a critical thesis that clearly establishes the focus on the writers position on the issue. (Level 1112) A clear focus on the specific topic and issue in the prompt is maintained throughout the essay. A critical thesis is offered, clearly reflecting the focus on the writers position on the issue (Learning is where you find it, and students may find it in places administrators and librarians might not think to look. Learning can be found in popular magazines as well as in approved academic texts. There should be room in the school library for both). Developing a Position: Develop several ideas fully, using specific and relevant reasons, details, and examples; Show effective movement between general and specific ideas and examples. (Level 1112)

The writers ideas are not evenly developed over all the paragraphs, but their development is succinct, relevant, and logical (No one ever gained reading proficiency from daily struggles through their Chemistry or History textbooks. We read these because we have to, but we would continue readingeven during precious homework free momentsif we had something interesting to turn to). The essay elaborates general statements (Even the frivolous features have something to teach the reader who wants to learn) by effectively moving to more specific details and examples (All those Great Looks Cheap may be a first step toward becoming a smarter consumer). Organizing Ideas: Provide unity and coherence throughout the essay, often with a logical progression of ideas; Use relevant transitional words, phrases, and sentences to convey logical relationships between ideas; Present a well-developed introduction and conclusion. (Level 1112) The organization of the essay is clear and unified, and the logical progression of ideas grows out of the writers intent to persuade. Transitions convey logical relationships between ideas and help the essay flow smoothly from one paragraph to the next (Its true that not every page in youth magazines is an intellectual challenge; Even the frivolous features have something to teach the reader who wants to learn). Both the introduction and conclusion are clear. The introduction is especially well developed and connects the writers position to a strong critical claim ( . . . if you separate academic from non-academic too strictly, you separate school from the real world its supposed to prepare us for). Using Language: Show effective use of language to clearly communicate ideas by: correctly employing most conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, with just a few, if any, errors; using precise and varied vocabulary; using a variety of kinds of sentence structures to vary pace and to support meaning. (Level 1112) The essay shows effective language use. Word choice is precise and persuasive (purge the libraries; frivolous features). Facility with words and sentence structure enable the writer to maintain a light, amused tone (The silly quiz may open up questions about the nature of scientific proof or lead to more selfknowledge). There are few errors in this essay and they are too minor to distract the reader.

33

THINKING YOUR WAY THROUGH THE ACT TEST

In our increasingly complex society, students ability to think critically and make informed decisions is more important than ever. The workplace demands new skills and knowledge and continual learning; information bombards consumers through media and the Internet; familiar assumptions and values often come into question. More than ever before, students in todays classrooms face a future when they will need to adapt quickly to change, to think about issues in rational and creative ways, to cope with ambiguities, and to find means of applying information to new situations. Classroom teachers are integrally involved in preparing todays students for their futures. Such preparation must include the development of thinking skills such as problem solving, decision making, and inferential and evaluative thinking. These are, in fact, some of the skills and understandings that underlie the ACT Writing Test. In general, successful writers engage in logical reasoning and reflective thinking in the course of completing the writing task. First, they pay attention to what is being asked of them. If the writing task is to produce a persuasive essay, competent writers understand they must express their own thoughts, provide an opinion on the issue in a clear and appropriate way, and craft an argument based on sound logic and reason. But how exactly do writers do thishow do they critically reflect on their thoughts, demonstrate understanding of the task, and express logical, persuasive opinions, while writing? They do so by approaching the essay using problem-solving skills. Successful writers must first evaluate the most effective way to get the essay written, and to say what they want to say in the manner in which they want to say it. That is, writers map out what they will write. And when good writers map out what they will write, they first determine the appropriate components of the type of essay they want to produce. To start, when writing persuasively about an issue or debate, good writers demonstrate a recognition of context. They must understand, evaluate, and respond to the setting in which the issue is placed. Another component of effective persuasive writing involves consideration of multiple perspectives. Writers must show that they are able to perceive several points of view for a particular argument, and must demonstrate an understanding of why others may think as they do about a particular issue. In

HOW CAN WRITING THINKING SKILLS?

AN

ESSAY BUILD

All students, whether they are planning on attending college or going directly into the workforce, will need creative and critical thinking skills in order to be successful. Learning how to apply these skills to a writing process will help students strengthen these necessary abilities, and students will become stronger writers as a result. When students take the ACT Writing Test, they are asked to write a persuasive essay in response to an issue presented to them in a writing prompt. Their task is to write an essay in which they provide their opinion on the issue. Writers who are able to produce successful essays can do so because they use specific critical thinking skills while crafting their essay. How does this happen? What skills are these writers exercising that enable them to write successfully?

Learning is fundamentally about making and maintaining connections . . . among concepts, ideas, and meanings.
American Association for Higher Education, American College Personnel Association, & National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, June 1998

34

addition, writers need to fully think through why they perceive the issue they are writing about in the way that they do. In other words, not only must they decide their position, they must also be aware of why they have adopted that position. Knowing why one thinks as one does is an essential component of critical thinking. Finally, writers must explain their position through a reasoned discussion of ideas that reveals their thinking and ultimately supports their position on the issue. All of these componentsrecognition of context, understanding of other possible perspectives on an issue, adopting a clear position, and developing and supporting argumentsrequire writers to understand and address the underlying assumptions they may be bringing into their writing and thinking (or even that someone else responding differently might bring into the argument). Good writers question where these assumptions come from and why they persist, and decide whether the assumptions about the issue are based in logic, evidence, personal emotions, or experience. Only after writers have made these evaluations can they determine how their thinking about the issue may have been influenced by the assumptions, and whether they should overtly acknowledge these assumptions in the discussion. Good writers can also project what the various outcomes might be if an issue were to be resolved in favor of their point of view, or in favor of another point of view. What kinds of future implications would there be if a decision were made based on their way of thinking about the issue? Who might be affected by that kind of decision and how would they be affected? Recognizing the complexity and complications of ones own perspective is another skill that good writers bring to the task. Every situation and viewpoint has shortcomings. What are the drawbacks to the writers position? There might be difficulties left unresolved or unaddressed if the writers point of view were to be adopted. Or perhaps new complications might be introduced. Are there contradictions within the writers position? Writers with good critical thinking skills demonstrate in their writing that they are prepared to be as critical of their own point of view as they are of others points of view. In addition to considering the underlying assumptions that inform their position on an issue and understanding the possible outcomes resulting from the decision made, successful writers also evaluate what their strongest arguments are and why. These form the core of their position. Moreover, they evaluate

how arguments can be presented so that their audience will be persuaded to seriously consider their opinion on the issue. During such evaluation, writers must consider if the key ideas being offered in support of their argument are clear and prominent, as well as logical and fully explained. Once writers have decided which arguments to present, they must consider how best to organize what they have written in support of their opinion. The writer needs to make thoughtful choices about how to present the discussion so that their arguments and the supporting reasons have a logical flow and are easy for a reader to follow, thus making the presented opinion more accessible, reasonable, and persuasive. Good writers synthesize their ideas so there is an obvious unity to the argument. As they build one idea on another, they make the relationships between their ideas clear, thus providing the reader with a coherent and cohesive essay. Finally, good writers consistently evaluate the kinds of sentences and vocabulary they are using throughout their writing. Choosing the right language gives readers the access necessary to understand what the writers opinion is, how the writer supports it, and what the discussion is about. Clear, accessible language allows the reader to know exactly what the writer means, rather than causing misunderstanding or confusion. This ultimately gives the writer the best chance to persuade the reader of his or her opinion. Acts of writing are unique opportunities in which writers can explore and reveal their own thinking on an issue. A writers position often becomes apparent and complete only through the act of writing. Writers frequently stumble across key insights while writing that they did not anticipate at the beginning of the writing process. Because awareness and knowledge grow during writing, writers must always be open to new insights yet flexible enough to incorporate new thinking while maintaining their focus and position. This is the real challenge of critical thinkingmuch valuable understanding is often revealed to writers only in the exploration and execution of their intended writing map. Sample Paper E, which earned a score of 12, is reprinted on the following page. This paper demonstrates some of the critical thinking processes that good writers use, as discussed above. Portions of the paper are followed by annotations that detail the specific skills the writer used successfully in order to craft an effective and persuasive essay.

35

SAMPLE PAPER E High schools nowdays are struggling to draw the line between what is educational and what is not. School programs are cut based on how much educational content theyre perceived to have. [One of the critical questions that is
inherent in the issue, along with its underlying complications, is immediately noted by the writer. The writer also understands and gives voice to the broader question, the WHY behind

Its true that not every page in youth magazines is an intellectual challenge. Many pages show models selling zit cream, or contain dream date quizzes. But the critics of popular magazines should take a closer look at them. These same magazines have articles on suicide prevention, the spread of AIDS among teens, and college comparisonssubjects that the adult oriented news media doesnt cover. [The writer demonstrates
understanding of the necessity to evaluate and analyze the reasons and evidence posited on the other side of the argument, and to use clarity and logic when refuting that evidence.]

Now the administration is trying to purge the libraries of popular magazines because they contain non academic subjects. Its important that the library buy dictionaries and encyclopedias, but education purists need to be reminded that if you separate academic from non-academic too strictly, you separate school from the real world its supposed to prepare us for. [The writer
the issue.] demonstrates the capability to see and understand that there is more than one legitimate viewpoint about the issue. The writer also shows the ability to place the issue within a critical context, and acknowledges that there are always outcomes to decisions.]

Even the frivolous features have something to teach the reader who wants to learn. All those Great Looks Cheap may be a first step toward becoming a smarter consumer. The silly quiz may open up questions about the nature of scientific proof or lead to more self-knowledge. [The writer
demonstrates the ability to provide serious analysis of elements within an argument that may at first seem without merit or weight, or unworthy of analysis, thus providing further insight into the issue. The writer also uses effective sequencing as a means to more deeply explore the ideas presented.]

Educators are the ones who tell us we should spend more time reading. The only way to build the reading comprehension and vocabulary skills so important for getting into and through college is to practice, and that means reading things other than school assignments. No one ever gained reading proficiency from daily struggles through their Chemistry or History textbooks. We read these because we have to, but we would continue readingeven during precious homework free momentsif we had something interesting to turn to. The magazines that teenagers enjoy reading are the ones that cover our interests and address our concerns, like Seventeen or Teen People. These are the magazines that some would banish from the library. [The writer uses an overall
framework of cause and effect and formulates specific reasoning and evidence that supports the opinions given on the issue.]

Learning is where you find it, and students may find it in places administrators and librarians might not think to look. Learning can be found in popular magazines as well as approved academic texts. There should be room in the school library for both. [Overall, the writer demonstrates in
this essay an understanding that there are implications and outcomes to be considered when decisions are made on complex issues.]

36

THE ASSESSMENT-INSTRUCTION LINK

WHY I S IT I MPORTANT TO LINK ASSESSMENT WITH I NSTRUCTION?
Assessment provides feedback to the learner and the teacher. It bridges the gap between expectations and reality. Assessment can gauge the learners readiness to extend their knowledge in a given area, measure knowledge gains, identify needs, and determine the learners ability to transfer what was learned to a new setting. When teachers use assessment tools to gather information about their students, then modify instruction accordingly, the assessment process becomes an integral part of teaching and learning. Using assessment to inform instruction can help teachers create a successful learning environment. Students can use assessment as a tool to help them revise and rethink their work, to help integrate prior knowledge with new learning, and to apply their knowledge to new situations. Connecting assessment to classroom instruction can help both teachers and students take charge of thinking and learning. As teachers review student performances on various measures, they can reexamine how to help students learn. As Peter Airasian, the author of

Classroom Assessment, says, Assessment is not an end in itself, but a means to another end, namely, good decision making (p. 19). Linking assessment and instruction prompts both teachers and students to take on new roles and responsibilities. Through reflecting together on their learning, students and teachers can reevaluate their goals and embark on a process of continuous growth.

THE

ARE YOUR STUDENTS DEVELOPING N ECESSARY SKILLS?

Many high schools monitor the effectiveness of their educational program by tracking the success of their graduates after they leave high school. Some of the criteria by which schools measure success are the number of graduates who enroll in postsecondary institutions, the courses into which those students are placed, and the attrition rate of those students. Because many colleges use ACT scores as one piece of information in making decisions about admissions and course placement, high schools can use students ACT scores as they review their schools performance. It is important to tie all the assessment information you gather to the goals of your English Language Arts program and to discuss how these goals are aligned with information about postsecondary institutions. With an ever-increasing number of high school graduates entering college, it becomes the schools responsibility to ensure that its graduates have mastered the prerequisite skills necessary for success in entry-level courses. The ACT can help provide information about students level of knowledge and skills that can be used to guide students secondary school learning experiences.

Every objective, every lesson plan, every classroom activity, and every assessment method should focus on helping students achieve those [significant] outcomes that will help students both in the classroom and beyond.
Kay Burke, editor of Authentic Assessment: A Collection

37

As students and others review test scores from the ACT, they should be aware that ACTs data clearly reveal that students ACT test scores are directly related to preparation for college. Students who take rigorous high school courses, which ACT has defined as core college preparatory courses, achieve much higher test scores than students who do not. ACT has defined core college preparatory course work as four or more years of English, and three or more years each of mathematics, social studies, and natural science. ACT works with colleges to help them develop guidelines that place students in courses that are appropriate for their level of achievement as measured by the ACT. In doing this work, ACT has gathered course grade and test score data from a large number of first-year students across a wide range of postsecondary institutions. These data provide an overall measure of what it takes to be successful in a standard first-year college course. Data from 98 institutions and over 90,000 students were used to establish the ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scores (see Table 3), which are median course placement scores achieved on the ACT that are directly reflective of student success in a college course.

studies, and science, namely English Composition, College Algebra, an entry-level College Social Studies/Humanities course, and College Biology. The ACT scores established as the ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scores are 18 on the English Test, 22 on the Mathematics Test, 21 on the Reading Test, and 24 on the Science Test. The College Readiness Benchmark Scores were based upon a sample of postsecondary institutions from across the United States. The data from these institutions were weighted to reflect postsecondary institutions nationally. The Benchmark Scores are median course placement values for these institutions and as such represent a typical set of expectations. With respect to the Writing Test, ACT research indicates that the writing skills described in the score ranges 34 and 56 of the College Readiness Standards for the ACT Writing Test represent the minimum level of writing skills needed by students to be ready for college-level writing assignments. The following sections are devoted to descriptions of how ACT Writing Test results can be used to help develop students writing skills across the score scale.

Success is defined as a 50 percent chance that a student will earn a grade of B or better. The courses are the ones most commonly taken by first-year students in the areas of English, mathematics, social

Table 3:

College Readiness Benchmark Scores

ACT

Subject Test English Mathematics Reading Science

Test Score 18 22 21 24

38

USING ASSESSMENT INFORMATION TO HELP SUPPORT LOW-SCORING STUDENTS

Students who receive a Composite score of 16 or below on the ACT will most likely require additional guidance and support from their teachers and family in order to meet their post-high school goals, particularly if one of their goals is to attend a four-year college or university. College admission policies vary widely in their level of selectivity. Students who score at or below 16 on the ACT might best be served by exploring those institutions that have an open or liberal admission policy. ACT Composite scores typically required by colleges having varying levels of selectivity are shown in Table 4 on page 40. This information provides only general guidelines. There is considerable overlap among admission categories, and colleges often make exceptions to their stated admission policies. A students score on each content-area test on the ACT should also be reviewed with respect to his or her future goals. For example, a student who wishes to become a journalist will need a solid English background. High English Test and Writing Test scores can be used as evidence that the goal is realistic. Low scores (or subscores) suggest the student should consider ways of improving his or her English skills through additional course work and/or additional assistance in the area.

a strong, clearly thought-out curriculum in which knowledge gained in one grade is built upon in the next; dedicated educators working in their field of expertise; school-wide commitment to learning, to becoming a community of learners; a blend of students from diverse backgrounds; high expectations for all students; and systematic monitoring of student progress through an assessment system.

There are also factors that have a negative impact on student achievement. For example, some students may not know about, know how, or feel entitled to take academic advantage of certain opportunities, like college preparatory courses, college entrance exams, and extracurricular learning opportunities (Goodwin, 2000, p. 3). All students need to be motivated to perform well academically, and they need informed guidance in sorting out their educational/career aspirations. Teachers who challenge their students by providing a curriculum that is rigorous and relevant to their world and needs (Brewer, Rees, & Argys, 1995; Gay, 2000), and who have a degree and certification in the area in which they teach (Ingersoll, 1998) and ample opportunities to collaborate with their peers (McCollum, 2000), are more likely to engender students success in school.

WHAT ARE SOME FACTORS THAT AFFECT STUDENT PERFORMANCE?

Many factors affect student achievement. Diane Ravitch, a research professor at New York University, has identified several positive factors in her book The Schools We Deserve: Reflections on the Educational Crisis of Our Time (1985, pp. 276 and 294). These factors, which were common to those schools that were considered effective in teaching students, include

MAKING

THE

I NVISIBLE VISIBLE

a principal who has a clearly articulated vision for the school, and the leadership skills to empower teachers to work toward that vision;

Using assessment information, such as ACTs Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS), can help bring into view factors that may affecteither positively or negativelystudent performance. Reviewing and interpreting assessment information can encourage conversations between parents and teachers about what is best for students.

39

Using data is one way of making the assumptions you have about your students and school, or the needs of students, visible. Collecting assessment information in a systematic way can help teachers in various ways. It can help teachers see more clearly what is happening in their classrooms, provide evidence that the method of teaching theyre using really works, and determine what is most important to do next. As teachers become active teacher-researchers, they can gain a sense of control and efficacy that contributes to their sense of accomplishment about what they do each day. There are many different types of assessment information that a school or school district can collect. Some types yield quantitative data (performance described in numerical terms), others qualitative data (performance described in nonnumerical terms, such as text, audio, video, or photographs, etc.). All types, when properly analyzed, can yield useful insights into student learning. For example, schools and teachers can collect information from

progress reports (qualitative, quantitative, or both) on student skills and outcomes; self-reports, logs, journals; and rubrics and rating scales.

Reviewing student learning information in the context of demographic data may also provide insight and information about specific groups of students, like low-scoring students. Schools therefore would benefit by collecting data about

enrollment, mobility, and housing trends; staff and student attendance rates and tardiness rates; dropout, retention, and graduation rates; gender, race, ethnicity, and health; percent of free/reduced lunch and/or public assistance; level of language proficiency; staff/student ratios; number of courses taught by teachers outside their endorsed content area; retirement projections and turnover rates; and teaching and student awards.

standardized tests (norm- or criterion-referenced tests); performance assessments (such as portfolios, projects, artifacts, presentations); peer assessments;

Table 4:

The Link Between ACT Composite Scores and College Admission Policies

Admission Policy Highly Selective

Typical Class Rank of Admitted Students Majority of accepted freshmen in top 10% of high school graduating class Majority of accepted freshmen in top 25% of high school graduating class Majority of accepted freshmen in top 50% of high school graduating class Some of accepted freshmen from lower half of high school graduating class All high school graduates accepted to limit of capacity

Typical ACT Composite Scores of Admitted Students 2530

Selective

2126

Traditional

1824

Liberal

1722

Open

1621

40

WHAT DOES IT M EAN SCORING STUDENT?

TO

BE

LOW-

lack of concentration; reluctance to ask for help with tasks/assignments; and test anxiety.

Low-achieving students tend to be those students who score low on standardized tests. Students who slip behind are the likeliest to drop out and least likely to overcome social and personal disadvantages. According to Judson Hixson, a researcher at the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL), students who are at risk should be considered in a new light: Students are placed at risk when they experience a significant mismatch between their circumstances and needs, and the capacity or willingness of the school to accept, accommodate, and respond to them in a manner that supports and enables their maximum social, emotional, and intellectual growth and development. As the degree of mismatch increases, so does the likelihood that they will fail to either complete their elementary and secondary education, or more importantly, to benefit from it in a manner that ensures they have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to be successful in the next stage of their livesthat is, to successfully pursue post-secondary education, training, or meaningful employment and to participate in, and contribute to, the social, economic, and political life of their community and society as a whole. The focus of our efforts, therefore, should be on enhancing our institutional and professional capacity and responsiveness, rather than categorizing and penalizing students for simply being who they are. (Hixson, 1993, p. 2) Hixsons views reveal the necessity of looking at all the variables that could affect students performance, not just focusing on the students themselves. Low-achieving students may demonstrate some of the following characteristics:

Many of these characteristics are interconnected. A low-scoring student cannot do the volume of work a successful student can do if it takes a much longer time to decipher text passages because of low reading skills. There is also the issue of intrinsic motivation in that students have little desire to keep trying to succeed if they habitually do not experience success. But again, we must not focus only on the students themselves, but also consider other variables that could affect their academic performance, such as

job or home responsibilities that take time away from school responsibilities; parental attitude toward and involvement in students school success; students relationships with their peers; lack of opportunities to engage in complex problems that are meaningful to students; and lack of adequate support and resources.

For example, some students who score low on tests are never introduced to a curriculum that challenges them or that addresses their particular needs: Much of the student stratification within academic courses reflects the social and economic stratification of society. Schools using tracking systems or other methods that ultimately place low-income and marginal students in lower-level academic courses are not adequately preparing them to plan for postsecondary education, succeed in college, and prepare for lifelong learning (Noeth & Wimberly, 2002, p. 18). As Barbara Means and Michael Knapp have suggested, many schools need to reconstruct their curricula, employing instructional strategies that help students to understand how experts think through problems or tasks, to discover multiple ways to solve a problem, to complete complex tasks by receiving support (e.g., cues, modifications), and to engage actively in classroom discussions (1991). Many individuals and organizations are interested in helping students succeed in the classroom and in the future. For example, the Network for Equity in

difficulty with the volume of work to be completed; low reading and writing skills; low motivation; low self-esteem; poor study habits;

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Student Achievement (NESA), a group of large urban school systems, and the Minority Student Achievement Network (MSAN), a group of school districts in diverse suburban areas and small cities, are organizations that are dedicated to initiating strategies that will close the achievement gap among groups of students. Many schools and districts have found participation in such consortia to be helpful. According to Michael Sadowski, editor of the Harvard Education Letter, administrators and teachers who are frustrated by persistent achievement gaps within their school districts have started to look for answers within the walls of their own schools. Theyre studying school records, disaggregating test score and grade data, interviewing students and teachers, administrating questionnairesessentially becoming researchersto identify exactly where problems exist and to design solutions (Sadowski, 2001, p. 1). A student may get a low score on a standardized test for any of a number of reasons. To reduce the probability of that outcome, the following pages provide some suggestions about what educators and students can do before students achievement is assessed on standardized tests like the ACT.

tougher sequence of core academic courses in high school. Urban students taking a more rigorous sequence of courses in mathematics and science and finding success in those courses score at or above national averages on the ACT. Regardless of gender, ethnicity, or family income, those students who elect to take four or more years of rigorous English courses and three or more years of rigorous course work in mathematics, science, and social studies earn higher ACT scores and are more successful in college than those who have not taken those courses (ACT & Council of Great City Schools, 1999). Subsequent research has substantiated these findings and confirmed the value of rigor in the core courses (ACT, 2004a; ACT & The Education Trust, 2004).

Teach test-taking strategies. Students may be helped by being taught specific test-taking strategies, such as the following:

Pace yourself. Taking a few minutes to plan your essay is a much better strategy than writing a first draft with the intent to copy it over for the final essay. Carefully consider the prompt and make sure you understand it. Reread it if you are not sure. As you plan your essay, decide how you want to answer the question in the prompt, then jot down your ideas on the topic. This might be simply a list of ideas, reasons, and examples that you will use to explain your point of view on the issue. While planning, write down what you think others might say in opposition to your point of view and think about how you would refute their argument. Before you begin writing your essay, think of how best to organize the ideas in your essay. As you begin writing your essay, make sure readers will see that you understand the issue. Explain your point of view in a clear and logical way. If possible, discuss the issue in a broader context or evaluate the implications or complications of the issue. Address what others might say to refute your point of view. Vary the structure of your sentences, and use varied and precise word choices. Make logical relationships clear by using transitional words and phrases. Do not wander off topic. End your writing with a strong conclusion that summarizes or reinforces your position.

WHAT CAN EDUCATORS AND STUDENTS DO BEFORE STUDENTS TAKE THE ACT?
Integrate assessment and instruction. Because the ACT is curriculum-based, the most important prerequisite for optimum performance on the test is a sound, comprehensive educational program. This preparation begins long before any test date. Judith Langer, the director of the National Research Center on English Learning and Achievement, conducted a five-year study that compared the English programs of typical schools to those that get outstanding results. Schools with economically disadvantaged and diverse student populations in California, Florida, New York, and Texas predominated the study. Langers study revealed that in higher performing schools test preparation has been integrated into the class time, as part of the ongoing English language arts learning goals. This means that teachers discuss the demands of high-stakes tests and how they relate to district and state standards and expectations as well as to their curriculum (Langer, Close, Angelis, & Preller, 2000, p. 6). Emphasize core courses. ACT research conducted in urban schools both in 1998 and 1999 shows that urban school students can substantially improve their readiness for college by taking a

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Take a few minutes before the end of the testing session to read over your essay. Correct any mistakes in grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling.

Maintaining a focus on the general topic in the prompt. Offering development of ideas with examples that are specific and not repetitive. Providing an organizational structure that logically groups ideas. Using transitional words and phrases, introductions, and conclusions. Showing a control of language through the use of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, as well as an understanding of appropriate vocabulary and sentence structure.

Students are more likely to perform at their best on a test if they are comfortable with the test format, know appropriate test-taking strategies, and are aware of the test administration procedures. Test preparation activities that help students perform better in the short term will be helpful to those students who have little experience taking standardized tests or who are unfamiliar with the format of the ACT.

Search out other sources of help. School personnel in urban or high-poverty middle schools can investigate programs such as GEAR UP, which provides federal funds for schools to prepare low-income middle school students for high school and college preparation through multiple school reform efforts. School districts, colleges, community organizations, and businesses often form partnerships to provide teachers with enhanced professional development opportunities to ensure they have the necessary tools and strategies to teach middle school and high school effectively (Noeth & Wimberly, 2002, p. 18).

In sum, some students who score below 78 may be able to make some basic decisions about constructing pieces of writing and solve some simple writing problems. However, these students need practice in writing that will enhance their abilities to develop their ideas fully, organize their ideas in a coherent and logical fashion, offer a broad context for discussion, maintain a focus on the specific topic and issue throughout their essay, and show competent use of language as they communicate their ideas.

WHAT DO THE ACT WRITING TEST RESULTS I NDICATE ABOUT LOW-SCORING STUDENTS?
Students who score below 78 on the ACT Writing Test are likely to have some or all of the knowledge and skills described in the ACT Writing Test College Readiness Standards for the 34 and 56 ranges. In fact, they might have some of the skills listed in the 78, 910, or 1112 ranges. However, these students need to become more consistent in demonstrating these skills in a variety of writing situations. The Writing College Readiness Standards indicate that students who score below 78 have difficulty demonstrating their skills in some or all of the following areas:

THE

WHAT DOES RESEARCH SAY ABOUT PROFICIENT WRITER?

Showing an understanding of the purpose of writing a persuasive essay. Taking and maintaining a position on an issue in a writing prompt. Showing recognition of the complexity of an issue in a prompt by being able to acknowledge and describe a counterargument to the writers position.

A great deal of research in the 1970s and 80s examined what student writers actually do as they create their work. Researchers hoped to learn what the average student needs to be taught in order to become proficient at the craft of writing. Among the leaders in these investigations were Emig (1971), Perl (1979), Calkins (1980), Flower and Hayes (1981), and Graves (1983). Emigs research (1971) suggested that creating a finished piece of writing is not a simple, linear process but a recursive one, in which writers move back and forth between stagesfor example, drafting, editing, revising, drafting new portions, generating other ideas, and then revising and editing again. This finding shifted teachers focus from the end productthe finished essay, story, or research paperto the process that proficient writers use as they build their work. Emig identified five stages of the writing process, stages that do not always necessarily proceed in this order:

Prewritinggenerating ideas, thinking about the piece one is planning to work on Draftingwriting out a rough copy of the piece

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Revisionliterally, this means reseeing, rearranging, revisioning the piece that has been drafted Editingfixing mechanical errors such as spelling or grammatical mistakes Publicationthe sharing of a finished product

Teaching students how to effectively use this process, and helping each student find his or her own recursive writing strategies, has been emphasized in writing education and research for the past thirty years now. Teachers promote learning about the writing process in a variety of ways. For example, teachers can help students work at their writing through

use of writers workshops where teacher and students comment on student writers in-process work, collaborative writing circles where peers help each other rework drafts, and conferences between teacher and student before the students work is finished and ready for publication.

Besides helping students work through the writing process, many teachers use writing as a way of helping their students learn across content areas (Langer & Applebee, 1987). Through daily informal journal writingwhether that journal writing consists of the student jotting down questions about literature read, taking notes on current events, entering drafts of a homework assignment, or recording experiments in biology classthe student will gain understanding of the subjects he or she is studying. All students, but particularly students who score low on standardized tests, need daily, informal writing practice. Such consistency of practice has been shown to improve students attitudes toward writing in general. Moreover, combined with careful responses from their teachers, daily informal writing encourages students to use a more sophisticated thinking process during writing (Christenbury, 1998). But just because a student writer receives instruction in the writing process, just because a student is provided with daily opportunities to record experience in journals, that students finished piece of writing will not automatically be one most would rate proficient. What is it, then, that makes the difference between the work of writers whose end product is good enough and writers whose end product is not?

Researchers have recently compared the thought processes of expert, or more accomplished, writers with those of novice, or less mature, writers. Bryson and Scardamalia describe the thought process of the expert writer as being one which involves problem solving at a sophisticated level. As expert writers compose, these researchers say, they move between solving problems of contentdeciding what to say and solving problems of rhetoricdeciding how to say it. As these writers work, the content they use for their text is reconfigured and they often see it in a new light. As the content changes, so the form in which the writers present the content changes. Each decision the writers make about which ideas to include in their papers, for example, forces them to make new decisions about where to place those ideas in relation to the material already present. Each decision the writers make about what tone to present their ideas in forces them to make decisions about what material is appropriate to that tone. With this back-and-forth problem-solving process comes a sense of creating something entirely new, which may be the reason so many expert writersRobert Frost, for exampledescribe their experience of writing as being one of discovery (Bryson & Scardamalia, 1991, p. 147). The novelist E. M. Forster captures the experience of many expert writers when he recounts the anecdote of an old lady asking, How can I tell what I think till I see what I say? (Forster, 1927, p. 101). In contrast, novice writers do not describe their writing process as being one in which they learn something new. These less mature writers show little evidence of working out a connection between form and content. Bereiter and Scardamalia (1987) found that novice writers conceive of a writing project as being simply the telling of what they know about the topic, rather than seeing the project as being a way of learning a new aspect of the topic. According to this research, writers who are knowledge tellers say that their biggest problem in writing is finding enough material to fill the page-number requirement given them by their teacher. These knowledge tellers dont solve problems of either form or content very often, because the way they conceive of the task of writing bypasses both content-area problems and rhetorical problems (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1987, p. 147). Novice writers thinking, then, as they are producing drafts, is more linear than the thinking of expert writers. Novice writers, in these researchers findings, look to the teacher to tell them what to write about, and what form to present the information in. In

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the novice writers thinking process, decisions about form and content never interconnect or influence each other, as they do in the expert writers thinking process. Novice writers show little concern about planning, about emphasizing main ideas or using specific or graceful language. They begin writing as soon as theyre given the assignment and decide theyre finished when theyve filled up enough pages. Its important to be aware that these two models of thinking-when-writing are generalizationsboth proficient writers and novice writers use many different methods to compose their work. But the research usefully suggests that what novice writers need is to learn how to transformnot merely telltheir knowledge. Some ideas of ways teachers might help student writers develop the skills and the thinking processes that help them transform, not simply tell, in their writing are included in the next pages.

These researchers suggest that the assumption that students need to spend time on remediation rather than learning the higher-order thinking skills that are a part of the expert writers repertoire is a large part of what causes these students to be low achievers in writing. What do these researchers describe as ways to improve the writing of such students? The following list is a combination of suggestions from Language Arts: A Chapter of the ASCD Curriculum Handbook (Christenbury, 1998); suggestions from Bryson and Scardamalias chapter Teaching Writing to Students at Risk for Academic Failure (1991); and ideas from other education researchers, including Mayher, Lester, & Pradl (1983), Fulwiler (1987), Shaughnessy (1977), Lerner (1989), Delpit (1995), and Heath (1983):

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO H ELP NOVICE WRITERS WRITE BETTER?

Though, according to 1998 NAEP data, over 80 percent of fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade students report that their teachers talk to them about their writing and ask them to write more than one draft of a paper at least sometimes, there is some evidence that in some schools low-scoring students are required to perform writing tasks that consist primarily of fill-in-the-blank or short-answer exercises (Britton, 1975; Applebee, 1981; Carbo, 1994) rather than tasks in which writing is used for thinking. In a chapter called Teaching Writing to Students at Risk of Academic Failure, Bryson and Scardamalia (1991) state that Writing instruction for chronic low achievers typically focuses on techniques for remediating so-called basic skills such as spelling, grammar, and handwriting. A central assumption made by many educators of low-achieving students is that the acquisition of so-called low-level text production skills is a necessary prerequisite to the acquisition of composing skills associated with writing as a powerful tool for personal learning, such as problem solving strategies and rhetorical knowledge. (p. 142)

Its important that students have multiple, daily opportunities to write ungraded work in every class. The more students are asked to write short, informal texts, the more comfortable they become with the act of writing and the more proficient they are apt to become at all kinds of writing. Research indicates that using ungraded journals in science, social studies, or mathematics classes as well as in English classes can help students think about content concepts more clearly and help them become more comfortable using writing as part of the thinking process (Mayher, Lester, & Pradl, 1983; Fulwiler, 1987). Its important to develop writing topics that are appropriate to students ages and interests. For teachers, this means learning about students lives and working as much as possible to encourage writing assignments that build on students strengths (Christenbury, 1998). Low-scoring students need opportunities to imitate, practice, appropriate and modify a wide variety of discourses. Low-achieving students in particular may not have had access to experiences that teach them the style of academic discourse; they may need carefully designed scaffolding to support their efforts to acquire experience with the use of language that characterizes academic literacy (Heath, 1983; Shaughnessy, 1977).

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As well as opportunities to learn a new style of writing and speakingwhat weve here called academic discoursestudents need teachers who respect and build on the strengths of their home language. Teachers need to learn about the writing styles and values of students from cultures other than their own. While they help those students learn to write in standard English, teachers must work to identify and eliminate sociocultural biases that constrain traditional school-based definitions of literacy (Bryson & Scardamalia, 1991; Delpit, 1995). In their more formal writing experiences, students need some prewriting assistance. They can be given a list, a first sentence, a poem to imitate, or a chart to fill in, to help them think about ways of organizing their writing (Christenbury, 1998). In their more formal writing experiences, students also need enough time to write and rewrite their work. They need to be allowed to write drafts in which concern about mechanics is not paramount (Shaughnessy, 1977). They need time to be away from their writinga day or twoso that they can come back and evaluate it with fresh eyes (Christenbury, 1998). Low-achieving students need teachers who make overt the covert cognitive activities that underlie expert-like composing; they need modeling and discussion of problem-solving strategies in writing (Bryson & Scardamalia, 1991). All students need opportunities to get feedback about their writing-in-process and they need time for revision. With teacher assistance, students can learn how to respond to their peers writing, critiquing other students work and helping them to revise and improve it. Peer review is helpful for the critic, as wellseeing flaws in others work can help a student notice the flaws in his or her own (Christenbury, 1998). Developing a social context for writing through collaborative writing sessions helps everyone become a reader and a writer (Bryson & Scardamalia,1991). Students need opportunities to write in a variety of genres to a variety of audiences. When students write only personal essays, when they write only for the audience of the teacher, their motivation can diminish (Christenbury, 1998). The use of computers can encourage low-scoring students to write longer compositions and to revise more. Computers can be used to help students present their writing to audiences other

than the teachervia e-mails to fellow students, news posted on electronic bulletin boards, or class newsletters developed with the help of a word processing program (Lerner, 1989).

Finally, sentence-combining activities, in which students are instructed to combine simple sentences using conjunctions and punctuation in order to form more complex sentences, have been found to be particularly useful with low-scoring adolescent students (Lerner, 1989).

WHAT KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS ARE LOW-SCORING STUDENTS READY TO LEARN?

For students who score below 78 on the ACT Writing Test, their target achievement outcomes could be the College Readiness Standards listed in the 78 range:

Show understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the issue in the prompt. Show some recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt by acknowledging counterarguments to the writers position and providing some response to counterarguments to the writers position. Maintain a focus on the general topic in the prompt throughout the essay and attempt a focus on the specific issue in the prompt. Present a thesis that establishes focus on the topic. Develop ideas by using some specific reasons, details, and examples. Show some movement between general and specific ideas and examples. Provide an adequate but simple organization with logical grouping of ideas in parts of the essay . . . Use some simple and obvious, but appropriate, transitional words and phrases. Present a discernible introduction and conclusion with a little development. Show adequate use of language to communicate by correctly employing many of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics . . . ; using appropriate vocabulary; and using some varied kinds of sentence structures to vary pace.

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By no means should these be seen as limiting or exclusive goals. As stated earlier, it is important to use multiple sources of information to make instructional decisions. Individual students learn at different rates and in different sequences. What is important is to get students writing texts of various types, including:

HOW I S

THE

ACTIVITY ORGANIZED?

Personal writing such as journal writing or personal narratives. Descriptive writing such as ekphrasis (verbal interpretations of paintings) or How To papers that describe some process. Creative writing such as stories, poems, or plays. Persuasive writing such as editorials, letters to the editor, personal commentary, essays of opinion, cause-and-effect essays, and problem/solution essays. Academic writing such as research writing, literature reviews, or interviews. Responses to literature, such as book reviews, literary analysis, or character analysis.

The instructional activity first lists the Writing Strands that will be addressed and taught in the subsequent activity. The activity also offers two Guiding Principles, which are statements about instruction and student learning that are relevant to writing. (The bibliography beginning on page 73 of this guide includes the source for each statement referenced.) Following the Guiding Principles is the title of the lesson plan and the relevant College Readiness Standards. These are followed by the Description of the Instructional Activity, Suggestions for Assessment, Ideas for Progress, and Suggested Strategies/Activities.

The College Readiness Standards section lists the skills statements tied directly to the strands that are focused on in the activity. The Description of the Instructional Activity section provides an instructional activity that incorporates writing within a whole-classroom setting, and in groups, as well as opportunities for individual writing. The Suggestions for Assessment section offers ideas for documenting and recording students learning during the instructional activity. The Ideas for Progress section offers ways, based on the ideas for progress in Table 1, to strengthen the skills taught in the instructional activity. The Suggested Strategies/Activities section provides ways to expand and develop writing skills further.

When this kind of varied, regular writing occurs in classrooms, students ability to create sophisticated pieces of writing will improve. As a result, essaywriting skills like those tested on the ACT Writing Test will improve.

WHAT STRATEGIES/MATERIALS CAN TEACHERS USE IN THEIR CLASSROOMS?

According to Bryan Goodwin, senior director of communications at the Mid-continent Research Education Laboratory (McREL), it is important to note that improving the performance of disenfranchised students does not mean ignoring other students. Indeed, many of the changes advocatedsuch as making curricula more rigorous and creating smaller school unitswill benefit all students (Goodwin, 2000, p. 6). Pages 4850 provide a teacher-developed activity that could be used in a classroom for all students, not just those who have scored low on a standardized assessment like the ACT. The activity is called What Are We Talking About and Why Are We Talking About This? Clearly Expressing Our Ideas on a Complex Subject. This instructional activity is designed to help improve the writing skills of lower-performing students, but it can easily be adapted to teach writing skills to higher-performing students as well.

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Linking Instruction and Assessment

Strands: Expressing Judgments; Using Language

Description of the Instructional Activity Guiding Principles

If you want to be a writer, you must do two

things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There is no way around these two things that Im aware of, no shortcut. (King, 2000, p.145)
What a good writing teacher does is help

students see where writing comes from: in a chance remark or article that really burns you up. I still hold by my original statement: if kids dont write more than three days a week, theyre dead, and its very hard to become a writer. If you provide frequent occasions for writing, then the students start to think about writing when theyre not doing it. I call it a state of constant composition. (Donald Graves, quoted in National Writing Project & Nagin, 2003, p. 23)

Students should be introduced to an issue, possibly one currently debated in the local community with which they might be familiar. The teacher should provide students with two pieces of writing on the issue (e.g., essays, letters to the editor, position papers, opinion pieces) that represent two different perspectives or positions. One stronger piece that discusses counterargument and one weaker piece that does not acknowledge counterargument may be most effective for purposes of comparison for lowerperforming students. Students should be asked which piece of writing is more persuasive and asked why it is more persuasive. During class discussion of their answers, students should be reminded to use the text to show which parts of the writing most persuade them. The teacher can help students understand and name what kind of writing technique the writer has used in the portions of text identified as convincing (acknowledgment of, engagement with, or refutation of counterargument; good specific examples; strong persuasive phrases or language; logical sequence of reasoning; useful comparisons for illustration or explanation). Developing a classroom list of effective persuasive techniques students identify in the stronger piece of writing would help students learn the techniques initially as well as help students remember the techniques later when they write drafts of their own persuasive essays. Also, having students propose general solutions or revisions for the areas of text they identify as weak in either piece of writing (e.g., they need to give us examples, they need to explain why the other way wont work as well) can begin preparing students for writing their own essays. Next, the class should look at a specific issue of interest to teenagers, such as the fact that some parents and officials think that drivers under the age of eighteen should not have other people in their cars; these adults would like to make a law banning passengers in cars driven by young drivers. Working in pairs, students should address the following questions: Who are all the people affected by this issue? Why is it an important issue to each of these people?

WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT AND WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS? CLEARLY EXPRESSING OUR I DEAS ON A COMPLEX SUBJECT
College Readiness Standards (Level 34)

Show a little understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task Show limited recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt Show limited control of language by using simple sentence structure

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Linking Instruction and Assessment

Strands: Expressing Judgments; Using Language

As a class, students could also generate and write down additional questions to help them think about the various angles of the issue, and thus look at the complexity of the topic. Some sample questions might be:

Other possible sentence starters could include Overall, I agree, I disagree, Finally, Another reason, It is logical, and It is illogical. The teacher should demonstrate by completing several possibilities for most of these types of sentences so that students understand the underlying persuasive focus of the language used in the sentence starters. Then students should be asked to complete sentences of their own using ideas from their lists or charts. After generating plenty of ideas and many possible sentences, students could number the sentences in the order they think would make the most logical sense, and then write a first draft of an essay from their notes. Teachers should be sure to remind students that they may not use all the material they developed during their thinking and sentence-completion exercises when they draft their essay, and that they will have to add new material to their essays in order to introduce, illustrate, or explain the ideas they choose to focus on. Suggestions for Assessment The teacher could highlight sentences in the drafts that show where the position is stated, or maintained, leaving unmarked those sentences that do not maintain the position. Students could revise the essay to eliminate discussion not in support of the writers position. The teacher could mark the parts of the drafts that demonstrate some recognition of the complexity of the topic. Students could revise the essay to include some recognition of the complexity of the topic or to further develop ideas related to the complexity they introduce. Additionally, the teacher could highlight any sentences that do not use correct sentence structure. Students could correct and rewrite sentences to practice good grammatical structures in a context they have created.

What kinds of arguments would people who favor this idea want to explain? What kinds of arguments would people who would not like this idea want to explain? Who would favor this kind of law and why? Who would oppose it and why? If this law passed, how would it affect people? (Practically? Emotionally? Monetarily?)

Each pair of students could discuss the answers to these questions, making lists or a chart of their responses. Each pair of students could then join another pair to share thoughts, adding to their lists or charts as they engage with new ideas. After sufficient time has been given for students to consider the issue, students should be asked to identify their own position on the issue and decide which arguments from the list they would like to use in order to persuade someone to side with their position. Students will be asked to draft a persuasive essay, but before beginning to write, students could work with sentence-starters, such as: I think __________ because __________ People who support __________ arent considering __________ While __________ is important, __________ is more important. If __________ , then __________ One side may say __________ , but __________ An argument for __________ is __________ , but __________ It may sound good to say __________ , but __________ In reality, __________ Another reason __________ The problem is __________

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Linking Instruction and Assessment

Strands: Expressing Judgments; Using Language

Ideas for Progress Students could work to improve fluency with language and writing stamina by having an issue of the day for quick writes of five to ten minutes, two to three times a week, for a period of several weeks. Giving students an opportunity to generate these topics might result in more successful exercises, as it would validate their concerns as well as engaging their interest. This could result in increased effort on the task from students. Students could also work with a topic of the week in which different issues related to the topic were addressed each day. For example, if the topic of required dress codes in schools were used, students could write about specific issues such as:

Suggested Strategies/Activities Before being graded, the students could read their essays to (or have them read by) one other trusted adult and one other teenager, asking for further input into the arguments presented. What additional idea or suggestion from each person could be incorporated into this essay that would make it a better piece of persuasive writing? Some readers or listeners may disagree with the writers position. The class could discuss what effect it would have on their essays if students included some discussion representing an opposing viewpoint. How could a writer effectively include a different perspective without weakening the position of the essay? After this class discussion, students could revise their essays to incorporate at least one other perspective in a way that ultimately strengthens the writers own argument.

Whether or not teachers should also comply with the dress code Whether or not students should have some input about what the dress code would be like What would be fair ways to deal with dress code violations

At the end of each writing period, students could talk about the ideas they wrote about. Students could then incorporate other peoples ideas or respond to others ideas in their own writing later in the week. At the end of the week, after writing and discussing their ideas each day, students could each compose an informed and logical essay on that weeks topic, making additions from their quick writes to help develop the essay more fully.

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INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR ACT WRITING

WHY ARE ADDITIONAL I NSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES I NCLUDED?
The set of instructional activities that begins on page 52 was developed to illustrate the link between classroom-based activities and the skills and understandings embedded in the ACT Writing Test. The activities are provided as examples of how classroom instruction and assessment, linked with an emphasis on reasoning, can help students practice skills and understandings they will need in the classroom and in their lives beyond the classroom. It is these skills and understandings that are represented on the ACT Writing Test. A variety of thought-provoking activities, such as small- and large-group discussions and both independent and collaborative writing activities, are included to help students develop and refine their writing skills. The instructional activities that follow have the same organizational structure as the one in the previous section. Like the other activity, these activities were not developed to be a ready-to-use set of instructional strategies. ACTs main purpose is to illustrate how the skills and understandings embedded in the ACT Writing Test can be incorporated into classroom activities. Some of the instructional activities include supporting instructional materials such as graphic organizers and evaluation sheets, as well as ways to provide teacher and peer group feedback; for the other activities, teachers will need to devise supporting instructional materials appropriate for the activities and the students performing them. Each instructional activity is designed to address some, but not all, of the writing skills present in the College Readiness Standards. The activities address various College Readiness Standards score levels (for example, 56 and 78), but these listed levels are general guidelines only. Teachers are encouraged to use the activities with students performing at all skill levels, and to incorporate writing skills from other College Readiness Standards strands. For the purpose of this part of the guide, we have tried to paint a picture of the ways in which the activities could work in the classroom. We left room for you to envision how the activities might best work for you and your students. We recognize that as you determine how best to serve your students, you take into consideration your teaching style as well as the academic needs of your students; state, district, and school standards; and available curricular materials. The instructional activities are not intended to help drill students in skills measured by the ACT Writing Test. It is never desirable for test scores or test content to become the sole focus of classroom instruction. However, considered with information from a variety of other sources, the results of standardized tests can help you identify areas of strength and weakness. The activities that follow are examples of sound educational practices and imaginative, integrated learning experiences. As part of a carefully designed instructional program, these activities may result in improved performance on the ACT Writing Testnot because they show how to drill students in specific, isolated skills but because they encourage thinking and integrated learning. These activities can help because they encourage the kind of thinking processes and strategies the ACT Writing Test requires.

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Strands: Focusing on the Topic; Developing a Position; Organizing Ideas

Description of the Instructional Activity Guiding Principles Writing is a complex, high-level human behavior. It cannot be crowded into hurry-up quarter courses or left to one grade level or relegated to one day a week. Proficiency in writing requires daily practice . . . (Kirby & Liner, 1988, p. 2) Because were convinced that writing is learned in a certain way with recognizable stages, and because we believe that writing proceeds in similar stages, then we believe that writing is understandable. Writing is . . . not a magic something that rises from dark depths within us, unknowable and unknown. We know what it is and how it works. And that means we can teach it. (Kirby & Liner, 1988, p. 17) As part of a unit on individual decision making and accountability, students will discuss legal accountability. The teacher will talk with students about the structure of trials, perhaps using scenes from movies or clips from Court TV to show the structure of a lawyers argument: opening argument to state the case, supporting evidence to prove the claims, and closing argument to summarize. This will give students a way to connect the structure of persuasive arguments with something that they may be familiar with from television or the news. In addition, this discussion prepares students to apply the trial model to a piece of literature. To connect this activity to the units readings, the teacher will select a reading in which a person makes controversial decisions. (John Krakauers Death of an Innocent works well for this because it details Chris McCandlesss decision to rid himself of all earthly possessions and ties and live alone in the Alaskan wild. Teachers could also use a novel like Mildred Taylors Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and examine Staceys decision to sabotage the white childrens bus.) In preparation for reading, the teacher asks students to write for five to ten minutes about a time when they made a decision that directly affected others. The teacher can further focus the writing by having the students answer the following questions:

CHARACTERS CLASSMATES

ON

TRIAL: CONVINCING

College Readiness Standards (Levels 56, 78) Maintain a focus on the general topic in the prompt throughout the essay Present a thesis that establishes focus on the topic Develop ideas by using some specific reasons, details, and examples Provide an . . . organization with logical grouping of ideas Use . . . appropriate transitional words and phrases Present a discernible introduction and conclusion

What was the decision? Why did you decide the way you did? Who was affected? How? Did you realize these individuals would be affected?

Then, the teacher will distribute the reading and ask students to read with the following prompt in mind: Decide whether you think the main character in the essay/story/selection is making good decisions based on noble ideals, or whether s/he is making selfish decisions that harm others. If using the Krakauer piece, the teacher can offer a more specific prompt such as: Is Chris McCandless a noble idealist who dies the death of an innocent, or is he a selfish young man who needlessly hurts those who love him? As students read, they will develop an opinion

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Strands: Focusing on the Topic; Developing a Position; Organizing Ideas

on this prompt, and then mark with sticky notes at least three places in the reading that support that opinion. By doing so, they are actively forming opinions and seeking supporting evidence in the text. After students finish reading (perhaps the next day), the teacher could begin class by having students write for five to ten minutes. They should write in response to the prompt they were given earlier, explaining why they chose the position they did, and using their notes from active reading to support a preliminary position. When students finish their individual responses, the teacher will ask them to divide into groups according to their position on the prompt question. Those who feel the character/person has made admirable choices move to one side of the room, while those who feel the character made poor/selfish choices move to the other. Once students choose sides, the teacher explains that the class will put the person or character on trial: one side of the class must defend him/her from charges of selfishness and prove s/he is noble, while the other side must prove s/he has made irresponsible, hurtful decisions. Members of the groups will begin by sharing with the rest of their group what they wrote at the beginning of class. One member of the group could be designated note taker and have the responsibility of jotting down all the supporting points the group lists. By the end of the preliminary discussion, the group will have brainstormed a lengthy list of support/reasons for its position. The teacher should then move the students toward selecting the best possible claims to support their points. Using their brainstormed lists, students should articulate several of the best reasons why a jury should believe their case. In doing so, the group members are collaboratively moving from brainstorming into focusing and supporting an argument. In their conversations, the teacher, who is moving between groups, should encourage them to choose the reasons for which they can present the best evidence, encouraging them to use reasons that are the most persuasive, and that have good textual support.

At this time the teacher should provide the Graphic Organizer (see page 56) and have group members agree on the thesis and the supporting reasons (the first column). Students will plan their cases using the Graphic Organizer. The team must determine the order of supporting reasons so that each subgroup can use a transition phrase to connect ideas. After narrowing their focus to a certain agreedupon number of supporting reasons (the teacher could ask students to focus fewer or more reasons, depending on the size of the groups and the time constraints of the classroom), students will divide into subgroups: one for the opening argument, one for each supporting reason, and one for the closing argument. Within the subgroups, the students use the reading and their notes to find the best specific evidence to support their reasons, at the same time anticipating counterarguments from the other side. In doing so, they are completing the Graphic Organizer. Then, they compose a paragraph for each reason. The collaborative writing process allows students to model for one another and gives the teacher a chance to scaffold the writing process. Each group will need to combine their paragraphs once they are completed, making certain that the resulting piece of writing is unified, and clearly sets forth the argument the group wants to make. The writing process in small groups may take a significant amount of time, but once it is complete, the entire class comes together for the trial. The teacher passes out the Jury Evaluation Sheet (see pages 5758) and reminds students that a good argument will have a clear introduction with a thesis, clear, developed paragraphs that present evidence, and a strong closing that sums up the argument. Each student should listen for these as the trial progresses. Asking students to outline an existing argument strengthens their understanding of structure in writing and gives them the evaluative tools to decide which side has made the better case (Applebee, 2005). The teacher may also want to explain that she will be completing a Judge Evaluation Sheet (see pages 5960) as well, that will evaluate each teams ability to present arguments and make a good case.

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Strands: Focusing on the Topic; Developing a Position; Organizing Ideas

One person from each subgroup presents the teams argument. Teams could alternate: one opening argument, then the other; first defense paragraph, then first prosecution paragraph; and so on. As students present, the jury, the entire class, is listening and filling in their forms. The teacher also listens and fills out the Judge Evaluation Sheet. When everyone has finished presenting, students vote (by closing their eyes and raising their hands) for the team that made the most convincing argument. The judge/teacher announces the verdict. After the verdict, the class should discuss why one side won. What did they do in their opening argument to make it strong? Were listeners able to outline their paragraphs? Why? What was effective about the closing argument? This should lead to a conversation about clear thesis statements and topic sentences, engaging introductions, and effective conclusions, with the teacher listing any especially insightful and helpful observations on the board. Ultimately, this activity should be a lead-in to individual persuasive essays relating to the issue of individual decision making, using other literature (for example, was Joe Keller in Arthur Millers All My Sons a family man blinded by devotion, or was he a businessman blinded by greed?). Before the students write, the teacher should review the process that was used previously: expressing a judgment, brainstorming support, focusing the argument, developing the position, and organizing ideas. Peer response can be part of the revision process.

Suggestions for Assessment

Peer ResponseAfter the trial, the teacher could collect the Jury Evaluation Sheets and give subgroups copies of two or three of the most instructive responses. Use these to discuss strategies for making organization more apparent to audiences. This will help students see the link between organization and clearly stated positions. Teacher ResponseThe teacher should copy his or her Judge Evaluation Sheet for all members of the group and give them specific feedback in the areas targeted in the lesson. This will give students a clear sense of goal areas before they move into individual essays. Self-EvaluationAfter the trial, have individual students write short paragraphs evaluating what they did well as a group and what they felt they could improve upon next time. The teacher should collect these and offer feedback (agreement, disagreement) prior to the students work on the essays. To focus students responses, teachers should offer specific prompts. For example, did you explain how your evidence proves your point? It is useful to connect this to what a lawyer must do, reminding students that evidence does not speak for itself. Persuasive Essay RubricThe Persuasive Essay Rubric (see page 61) could be used to evaluate individual essays and to get a sense of individual development in the College Readiness Standards.

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Ideas for Progress

Suggested Strategies/Activities After students complete individual persuasive essays, teachers could reinforce the writing and organizational process by giving students two-day in-class persuasive essay topics, not necessarily related to the theme of individual decision making. These topics should be things all students are able to brainstorm about from their individual experience (e.g., the school dress code, personal stereos in school). This activity should allow the teacher to see if individual students are becoming more proficient in the process of focusing on a topic, developing an argument, and organizing an idea. These essays could also become the basis of a community-based activity, perhaps an issue students want to focus on in a campaign for local changes.

Revise group arguments to strengthen language. Have subgroups swap paragraphs to offer peer feedback on transitions and language before presenting. Use color-coded highlighting to have groups identify key parts (e.g., thesis statement, grouping of ideas, use of transitions, introductory and concluding sentences) of the paragraphs they write.

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Graphic Organizer
Opening Arguments/Introduction:

Thesis Statement:

Supporting reasons (why your group is right) 1.

Counterarguments (what the other side could say against these reasons)

Evidence (proof that your group is right and/or the other side is wrong)

2.

3.

4.

Closing argument (summary of your reasons and powerful restatement of your arguments):

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Jury Evaluation Sheet

Jurors Name _________________________________________________________ Directions: As you listen to the cases both sides make in the trial, fill in the following form to help you decide how you will vote. Choose what you feel are the best supporting points. Remember, a good juror is impartial and listens to the evidence carefully! Defense
Opening argument: What is the main claim this side wants to prove? This is their thesis. Write it below.

Prosecution
Opening argument: What is the main claim this side wants to prove? This is their thesis. Write it below.

What was one strength of the opening argument?

What was one strength of the opening argument?

Supporting Points
First Point:

Supporting Points
First Point:

Evidence to support first point:

Evidence to support first point:

Convincing? Yes Second Point:

No

Convincing? Yes Second Point:

No

Did you hear a transition into this new point?

Did you hear a transition into this new point?

Evidence to support second point:

Evidence to support second point:

Convincing? Yes Third Point:

No

Convincing? Yes Third Point:

No

Did you hear a transition into this new point?

Did you hear a transition into this new point?

Evidence to support third point:

Evidence to support third point:

Convincing? Yes

No

Convincing? Yes

No

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Supporting Points
Fourth Point:

Supporting Points
Fourth Point:

Did you hear a transition into this new point?

Did you hear a transition into this new point?

Evidence to support fourth point:

Evidence to support fourth point:

Convincing? Yes Fifth Point:

No

Convincing? Yes Fifth Point:

No

Did you hear a transition into this new point?

Did you hear a transition into this new point?

Evidence to support fifth point:

Evidence to support fifth point:

Convincing? Yes Closing argument:

No

Convincing? Yes Closing argument:

No

What points did the closing summarize?

What points did the closing summarize?

What was one strength of the closing argument?

What was one strength of the closing argument?

1. Which group had a stronger opening argument? Why?

2. Which group did a better job making their points clear? How so?

3. Which group used the most convincing evidence to support their points and to refute counterarguments?

4. Which group had the most convincing closing argument? Why?

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Judge Evaluation Sheet

Team: Names ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Opening argument
Engages our interest Previews the case States a strong argument/a clear thesis Comments:

Supporting Point Clearly stated point Point supports thesis Specific evidence proves the point and refutes counterarguments Comments:

Supporting Point Transition from previous point Clearly stated point Point supports thesis Specific evidence proves the point and refutes counterarguments Comments:

Supporting Point Transition from previous point Clearly stated point Point supports thesis Specific evidence proves the point and refutes counterarguments Comments:

Supporting Point Transition from previous point Clearly stated point Point supports thesis Specific evidence proves the point and refutes counterarguments Comments:

59

Closing argument
Summarizes points group made Powerfully restates main argument/thesis Comments:

Overall evaluation of strengths and weaknesses

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Persuasive Essay Rubric

1. Needs Improvement Argument
No clear argument. No clear evidence to support points.

2. Average
Argument is present but vague; thesis is general. Evidence to support points is not specific.

3. Very Good
Thesis makes a specific and clear argument. Specific evidence supports the thesis.

4. Exceptional
Thesis presents convincing and original argument. Specific evidence effectively persuades the reader. Writer convincingly refutes the counterargument.

Counterargument

No recognition of a counterargument.

Writer makes an effort to acknowledge the counterargument, but it is not discussed. Clear organizational structure; some introduction and conclusion; sometimes stronger transitions needed.

Writer acknowledges and refutes the counterargument.

Organization

No clear organizational structure.

Clear organizational structure with strong transitions between ideas; solid introduction and conclusion.

Strong organizational structure with sophisticated transitions between and within paragraphs; engaging introduction and conclusion. Sophisticated sentence structure variety; word choice is specific. Writing is clear and concise.

Language Use

Ideas are unclearly expressed.

Complete sentences throughout but little variation in sentence structure and types. Most ideas are clearly expressed. Occasional spelling or grammatical errors.

Good variety in sentence type and structure. Ideas are clearly expressed.

Mechanics

No evidence of proofreading; numerous grammatical or spelling errors.

Very few spelling or grammatical errors.

Overall, writing is error-free; the only errors present are minor ones.

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Linking Instruction and Assessment

Strands: Organizing Ideas; Using Language

Guiding Principles There is no great writing, only great rewriting. (attributed to Justice Louis D. Brandeis) If you tell me, its an essay. If you show me, its a story. (attributed to childrens author Barbara Greene)

ALL GROWN UP: REVISITING CHILDRENS STORIES

College Readiness Standards (Level 56)

The teacher might also use pieces of childrens literature that focus on sequences of events (such as Rosetta Stones Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo! or Dr. Seusss The Sneetches). These texts could be used to discuss how phrases such as then one day and when he woke up help young readers understand when a new part of the story is being introduced and how ideas are connected. Whatever literature is used, teachers will want to offer a wide range of stories that reflect the cultural histories of their studentsfor example, Faith Ringgolds Tar Beach, or Gary Sotos Too Many Tamales. The teacher can then ask the class to work together to rewrite one of the stories already discussed in the classroom so that it is more appropriate for an audience of mature readers (like high school students). During this revision exercise, the teacher should indicate to the students that the class will concentrate on changing the storys organization and language rather than its content. The task is to tell the same story but make it more complex (although not more complicated). One aspect of this task (the teacher might point out) requires thinking about how to change the order of the story so it is more engaging yet still maintains clear connections between ideas and still indicates clear sequencing of events. The other aspect (the teacher might explain) requires replacing simple sentences with sentences more varied in structure and substituting expressive and precise language for basic vocabulary. The class may find it helpful to brainstorm a word and phrase bank of appropriate examples of expressive and precise words or phrases for different parts of speech (verbs, adverbs, phrases indicating sequence or time, synonyms for common nouns), including a wide variety of transitions and conjunctions that they can then use to rewrite the classroom story. When the class has completed the classroom story revision exercise with the teacher, they should be asked to revise a different story (another story from class or one they remember from their own childhood) on their own. It will be necessary for all students to bring the original text of the story to class rather than just remembering what happens in the story. The goal

Use . . . transitional words Use . . . sentence variety Use . . . appropriate vocabulary

Description of the Instructional Activity As a means of introducing a lesson on organizing ideas or a unit on short stories, the teacher might begin by reminding students of how very young children tell stories: I got up, and then I ate breakfast, and then I watched Sesame Street, and then my mommy and I read Clifford, and then we went out to the garden, and so on. Children often connect all parts of their stories with a transition such as and then, but these transitions only indicate that one thing happened after the other chronologically; they do nothing to suggest how pieces of information are related, or when were moving from one subject to the next. Thats a fine strategy for young storytellers, but (the teacher might say) we want to practice some ways of connecting information that helps the reader follow the story and understand relationships. The teacher might then read, recite, or play a recording of a childrens story, rhyme, or song (such as The Little Red Hen, The House That Jack Built, or I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly). The teacher can point to instances when conjunctions are used, like and, but, or because, to provide additional information to the reader/listener, as well as clarify how the relationship between the pieces of information is indicated by the conjunction.

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Strands: Organizing Ideas; Using Language

should be the same as the classroom revision lesson: to rewrite the story so that it is more appropriate for a mature audience. The process should also be the same: to change the storys organization and language rather than its content. The students might find it useful to reference the word and phrase bank compiled by the class as they rewrite their stories. Access to a thesaurus might also be helpful. Finally, students could group themselves into pairs or trios in order to workshop their stories. The teacher might ask students to focus on vocabulary at this time, to help one another change simple or predictable words to more interesting language that would keep an audience engaged. It might be appropriate to turn to previous assignments written by students or recent reading the class has done together for examples of precise and engaging vocabulary that could serve as models. Suggestions for Assessment

Ideas for Progress

Add or revise the storys opening, focusing on grabbing the readers interest. Revise to edit punctuation; students may initially have trouble with comma rules and conjunctions.

Suggested Strategies/Activities If possible, once their stories have been revised and edited, many students might enjoy having the chance to read them aloud or to have others read them. This might be done by organizing a story marathon (where stories are read aloud continuously throughout the class period) or by publishing a collection of student stories and distributing it to the whole class or throughout the whole school. As a later review of transitions and conjunctions, the teacher could replace the transitions and conjunctions from select student-revised stories with a blank space indicating only what part of speech had been removed (transition or conjunction). These stories could then be copied onto the board or onto transparencies and the class asked to supply appropriate words to fill in the blanks. Discussion should be necessary as the class decides which word would best fill each blank in order to achieve a clear and engaging story. At the end of the exercise, the original student revision could be compared to the story resulting from the class work.

Short Story ReflectionStudents could read over their stories and write informally about why they chose the conjunctions or transitions they included, what ideas are explained by using them, and how they connect ideas in the story. These reflections might prove useful if the teacher asks students to engage in peer revision, because such reflections might allow students to engage in discussions about whether the transitions convey the meaning the writers intend. Continued RevisionStudents should have the chance to continue revising their stories, based on the comments of both the teacher and other students. When commenting on the stories, teachers should begin with the organizational innovations and evocative language, as thats what students will be most invested in. However, teachers should also be sure to comment on how effectively students used conjunctions and transitional words and phrases in the stories.

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Linking Instruction and Assessment

Strands: Expressing Judgments; Developing a Position; Organizing Ideas

Guiding Principles Put the argument into a concrete shape, into an image,some hard phrase, round and solid as a ball, which they can see and handle and carry home with them,and the cause is half won. (Emerson, 1870)

Students should write yes or no after the question, and list as many reasons as they can to defend their positions. Its important that students have at least six reasons; ideally they should have between eight and ten. The teacher might give between three and five minutes for students to write this list, depending on the ease with which they can generate their reasons. Students should then discuss their reasons in small groups (three or four students per group). Using the Choosing Arguments Worksheet (see page 67), students should help one another figure out which reason fits into each category. The teacher should make clear that each student is responsible for writing his or her own reasons first, before eliciting help from classmates. Later, this will provide the teacher with a clearer indication of what students are able to do individually before their reasons become part of the groups combined work. Once students have had a chance to think further about and discuss their arguments, hand out the Responding to Counterarguments Worksheet (see page 68). Taking the extra credit example, the teacher might suggest that students list several reasons why it is unlikely that extra credit would be offered, or why the teacher might be in favor of itwhichever opposes the students viewpoint. It is important to include some discussion of why students should consider an alternative viewpoint, as some students might find it sufficient to simply discuss their own well-reasoned positions. Students could be asked to recall situations when they have tried to convince their parents of something, such as allowing them to borrow the car, or to have a later curfew. If asked, they may share responses they are likely to get in such situations. They may even have their own examples of when it has proven beneficial to consider what responses they were likely to get before having such conversations. In any case, the teacher should address the fact that acknowledging and/or responding to counterarguments makes it clear that the writer has been reasonable and has looked at other points of view. Students may need additional time to individually complete the Responding to Counterarguments Worksheet, or they may have time to discuss the counterarguments with peers in class. In either case,

OKAY, CONVINCE M E: WRITING ARGUMENTS AND RESPONDING TO COUNTERARGUMENTS

College Readiness Standards (Level 78)

Show understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the issue in the prompt Develop ideas by using some specific reasons, details, and examples Show some recognition of the complexity of the issue in the prompt by acknowledging counterarguments to the writers position and by providing some response to counterarguments to the writers position Provide . . . logical grouping of ideas in parts of the essay

Description of the Instructional Activity As part of a unit on reading or writing, students will be introduced to ways in which personal ideas are introduced into a public forum (letters to the editor, published opinion pieces, position statements on proposed legislation, etc.). The teacher should begin by asking students to write on a piece of paper the following (or a similar) question: Should extra credit be available in this class? The teacher should tailor the question content to her/his particular group of students; the purpose of the question is to spark authentic debate, so it should be a question about which most students, if not all, will have not only an opinion but a personal interest in having the opportunity to convince the teacher of their positions. The topic should be school- or classroom-specific, so that students are assured of having the appropriate context for developing their own arguments and counterarguments.

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Strands: Expressing Judgments; Developing a Position; Organizing Ideas

the teacher should collect the Choosing Arguments Worksheet, to get a sense of what students thought were their best and weakest arguments. That evening, the teacher should compile a complete list of the student arguments that were generated in each small group, and group them by reasons. After a photocopy is made for each small group, they can be cut into strips, one reason per strip. The following day the teacher should hand out all the sets of reasons, cut into strips, to each group, and ask them to sort the reasons into four categories, using the Grouping Arguments Together Worksheet (see page 69) to guide them. The students should decide on the criteria for the categories. They might group the reasons according to motivating factors for the availability of extra credit (e.g., encouraging certain student behavior, giving students additional chances to improve grades). Or they might categorize the reasons according to how original or convincing the arguments are. Ultimately, it is the discussion of how reasons might be grouped together that is most important, rather than any one way being correct. Once students are finished categorizing their arguments, that discussion should be taken up by the whole class, so that students might see alternative ways of grouping arguments, as well as other students rationales for making the choices they made. Once students are comfortable with grouping the arguments together, they should be given the chance to complete an essay based on their compiled list of arguments and counterarguments. Students should compose the first draft of such an essay in class, and could do so on their own paper, or in a computer lab. The teacher should encourage students to choose the arguments and counterarguments that they feel most confident about developing and expanding. The teacher should make certain that the students know, before they begin writing, what elements (e.g., responding to counterarguments, using specific reasons to defend a position, logical grouping of ideas) he or she will be looking for and evaluating in the students essays. The teacher may also want to include in the evaluation other elements of essay writing that have previously been addressed in class.

Suggestions for Assessment

Teacher FeedbackRather than using a rubric to grade a first draft, simply commenting on students essays is much more likely to give the students an idea of whether they hit or missed their marks. In this case, focusing those comments on clearly taking positions, grouping ideas logically, and addressing counterarguments will be most beneficial. Choosing Arguments WorksheetThis worksheet should provide an opportunity for the teacher to have specific conversations with individual students who are less clear on which arguments are especially persuasive or original. Because students are asked to explain their answers, those conversations can be easily focused, which should allow the teacher to have as many of them as needed. Responding to Counterarguments Worksheet Like the Choosing Arguments Worksheet, this worksheet should allow the teacher a window into students thinking on specific arguments. Some students will need additional assistance, beyond the group discussions with peers, with responding to those counterarguments. The teacher should remind students that the purpose of the worksheets is ultimately to write an essay, and that not all counterarguments will be addressed in such an essay. Students will therefore have the opportunity, in their essays, to choose counterarguments they feel confident refuting. Grouping Arguments Together WorksheetThe teacher may find that the most helpful way to evaluate students work on this component of the lesson is to move around and discuss the worksheet with student groups as they are filling it out, rather than to collect it and evaluate students individually. This should give the teacher a better idea of how much students are contributing, and their reasons for the ways in which they are grouping the arguments.

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Strands: Expressing Judgments; Developing a Position; Organizing Ideas

Ideas for Progress

Suggested Strategies/Activities Further extensions of the lesson might include asking students to choose a few arguments they did not use in their original essay, and to use those arguments to outline or to prepare the first draft of another essay, a speech, or a television ad, with emphasis on the use of specific examples that would clarify or provide evidence for those arguments. Students will likely also benefit from participation in peer revision groups, exposing them to the work of other students, as well as providing additional feedback. While students expertise on the technical aspects of writing will vary, their opinions on whether arguments seem credible may certainly prove helpful. Students should be encouraged to try these techniques in more complicated writing assignments as well. Essays based in research, for example, are ideal for teaching students how to rally specific evidence to the cause of an argument. The teacher might reinforce these techniques in oral assignments, which might take the form of a persuasive speech to be presented to the whole class, or even a one-on-one debate with another student.

Read editorials from the school, local, or national newspapers, both to critique and to use as models. Revise writing to include transitional words or phrases that guide the reader from one idea to the next. Revise writing for another audience, either one which does not agree with the writers position, or one whose position is undecided.

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Choosing Arguments Worksheet

Name ____________________________________________________________ Period ___________ Date___________________ In the Argument column below, write the argument from your list that best answers each question on the left. In the Explanation column below, explain why that argument fits the question well. Question
Which of your reasons is the most convincing?

Argument

Explanation

Which of your arguments is the least convincing?

Which of your arguments is the most simple?

Which of your arguments is the most complex?

Which of your arguments is the most obvious?

Which of your arguments is the most original?

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Responding to Counterarguments Worksheet

Name ____________________________________________________________ Period ___________ Date___________________ In the first column below, write arguments that a writer with an opposing viewpoint might make. These are counterarguments. In the second column, briefly describe how you might respond to the counterargument.

Counterargument

Response to Counterargument

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Grouping Arguments Together Worksheet

Name ____________________________________________________________ Period ___________ Date___________________ With your partners, arrange the arguments into groups. You can divide them up however you like, but you must give your reasons for putting the groups together. What do the arguments have in common? Do they have enough in common that youd give these arguments in the same paragraph of an essay?

Group One

How are these arguments similar?

Group Two

How are these arguments similar?

Group Three

How are these arguments similar?

Group Four

How are these arguments similar?

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Description of the Instructional Activity Guiding Principles Where can students find models for the kinds of personal and persuasive essays that we so often assign? . . . Examples of excellent student writing can be useful models of cohesive prose, but young writers need to read professional essays to develop a feel for the genre. (Jago, 2002, p. 23) To get students thinking about the ways that language enhances or impedes our ability to express judgments, the teacher should present a variety of published opinion pieces as well as letters to the editor to students. The teacher can give students copies and look at them on an overhead. For each letter, students should discuss the following topics:

Is the writers position on the issue clear? Does the writer tell us why this issue matters? Does the writer acknowledge that there is another side to this issue? What words or sentences make the position more powerful? Does the writer use rhetorical questions anywhere? Do you see language techniques like parallel structure or repetition? What words or phrases could alienate readers?

NOW H EAR THIS: LETTERS EDITOR

TO THE

College Readiness Standards (Levels 78, 910) Show clear understanding of the persuasive purpose of the task by taking a position on the specific issue . . . and offering a broad context for discussion Show some recognition of the complexity of the issue . . . by acknowledging counterarguments to the writers position and by providing some response to counterarguments to the writers position Show competent use of language to communicate ideas by using some precise and varied vocabulary and by using several kinds of sentence structures to vary pace and to support meaning

Writing these questions on the board or in a handout will allow students to return to them throughout the lesson. The point of this activity is to make students aware of the importance of using appropriate language to express a respectful and reasonable position. Students should critique both good and bad examples to strengthen their understanding of what it means to contextualize an issue and refute counterarguments effectively. Then, students begin gathering information on local issues. The teacher could assemble folders with newspaper articles about specific topics. These topics should be current events of interest to the students in the class (e.g., steroid use in baseball, the new American Idol, drilling in Alaska, upcoming elections, grade point requirements for athletes). The articles should reflect individual students interests and can be on a national, state, local, community, or school level. Students divide into groups by topic and read and discuss the issues.

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Linking Instruction and Assessment

Strands: Expressing Judgments; Using Language

After these discussions, students write their own letters to the editor on the topics. They should assume that its okay to write longer letters, so they should follow an essay structure rather than a letter format. The teacher collects the letters and has them put onto transparencies. The next day, the class discusses the letters and makes suggestions for improvement. To workshop these letters, the class will use the same set of questions they used for the published letters (the bulleted list above). The writers will then revise letters and publish them in a class publication entitled Now Hear This! or send them in to local or school newspapers. Suggestions for Assessment

Ideas for Progress

Read professional essayists and imitate their language techniques. A good example is Barbara Kingsolvers Stone Soup. Write monthly letters to local papers or to the school newspaper or newsletter.

Suggested Strategies/Activities The teacher could provide students with texts and videos of actual historical or contemporary political speeches or of political speeches from films. The students could evaluate the clarity of the writers position, the engagement with counterarguments, and the language used in those speeches. Then, students could write the text of speeches on an issue theyd feel strongly about if they ran for school or government office. Have the students present essays in the form of speeches to the class. After each presentation, the class could discuss both language use and the speakers ability to set up a context for the discussion and to refute counterarguments.

Revising a LetterThe teacher could ask students to revise one of the weaker published letters they examine as a class to improve the clarity of the writers position, the engagement with counterarguments, and the language use. Students should use the bulleted guiding questions from the classroom board or the handout to make improvements. Letters to the EditorThe teacher could evaluate the students final letters on the following criteria: clarity of position, context for discussion, acknowledgment of counterarguments, sentence variety, language techniques, and vocabulary use.

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PUTTING

THE

PIECES TOGETHER
WHAT OTHER ACT PRODUCTS SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE?
AND
In addition to the College Readiness Standards Information Services, ACT offers many products and services that support school counselors, students and their parents, and others. Here are some of these additional resources: ACTs Website www.act.org contains a host of information and resources for parents, teachers, and others. Students can visit www.actstudent.org, which is designed to aid students as they prepare for their next level of learning. PLANa comprehensive assessment program designed to improve tenth-grade students postsecondary planning and preparation and to enable schools to assist students and parents in this important process. EXPLOREan eighth- and ninth-grade assessment program designed to stimulate career explorations and facilitate high school planning. WorkKeys a system linking workplace skill areas to instructional support and specific requirements of occupations. ACT Online Prep TMan online test preparation program that provides students with real ACT tests and an interactive learning experience.

ACT developed this guide to show the link between the ACT Writing Test results and daily classroom work. The guide serves as a resource for teachers, curriculum coordinators, and counselors by explaining what the College Readiness Standards say about students academic progress. The guide explains how the scoring of the ACT Writing Test is related to the College Readiness Standards and describes what kinds of thinking and writing skills are measured. The sample instructional activities and classroom assessments suggest some approaches to take to help students develop and apply their thinking and writing skills.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM H ERE?

ACT recognizes that teachers are the essential link between instruction and assessment. We are committed to providing you with assistance as you continue your efforts to provide quality instruction. ACT is always looking for ways to improve its services. We welcome your comments and questions. Please send them to: College Readiness Standards Information Services Elementary and Secondary School Programs (32) ACT P.O. Box 168 Iowa City, IA 52243-0168

The Real ACT Prep Guidethe official print guide to the ACT, containing three practice ACTs.

A mind, stretched to a new idea, never goes back to its original dimensions.
Oliver Wendell Holmes

DISCOVER a computer-based career planning system that helps users assess their interests, abilities, experiences, and values, and provides instant results for use in investigating educational and occupational options.

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(Please note that in 1996 the corporate name The American College Testing Program was changed to ACT.)

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