Transcript Slide 1
8th Grade Writing Assessment What is the topic? You won’t know the topic until Wednesday, but it is always something that every 8th grader in the state of Georgia can write about. In the past the topic has been centered around school, since everyone has experience with going to school. We won’t know until test day, so you should be prepared for anything. How do I know when to include DSDS? (DSDS)Dialog-Sensory-Details-Description-Specifics should be used to emphasize an important aspect of your writing. It can also be used when you need to include more supporting details. A strong paragraph with elaboration should have 6-8 ideas/ sentences. Showing, Not Telling (DSDS) should only be included 2-3 times in a short writing piece like the writing test. What happens if I don’t pass? You will receive a letter in March/ April that gives you your results. The following scores are assigned: Does Not Meet, Meets, Exceeds These scores will follow you to high school and possibly be used to determine high school placement. See next slide… Will this affect High School clases? Yes, your language arts teacher determines your high school literature placement. Not passing the writing test might mean that you need extra support in writing. Therefore, you might be placed in a different class. You must pass the 11th grade writing assessment to graduate. You also have to take a timed writing test on ACT/SAT/PSAT/GRE and other tests. How will I come up with ideas if the topic is boring? You will brainstorm and pull from any experience or situation that can help you. Get creative! Show, Don’t Tell to expand on your ideas. Think of movies, books, magazines, TV shows, past experiences, and dreams Borrow ideas from anything that fits the topic. Write on a topic that you know the MOST about. Don’t pick something because it sounds cool if you don’t have any experience with the topic! How many paragraphs should I write? You should write 5 paragraphs in this timed writing. 6 paragraphs would make your body paragraphs too short. You have limited time, but you want to make your 5 paragraphs really strong. You should have an introduction (with a thesis statement) 3 body paragraphs and a conclusion. How do ideas affect your score? Ideas=40% Organization=20% Style=20% Conventions=20% Ideas are doubled; they include your perspective, opinions, examples, and facts associated with the topic. They are the most important domain on the rubric. This is why you must choose a strong topic that fits the prompts and considers the audience. How can I make my introduction better? Your hook engages the reader. Your hook can be a quote (make one up), a short narrative, a puzzling question (don’t make these boring, this is overused), a provocative statement. Everything must lead to the thesis statement. This is the last sentence of the introduction. Can you use showing, not telling for any topic? Showing, not telling will give the reader your unique perspective. You can stretch, describe, and expand ideas on any topic if you use (DSDS)Dialog-Sensory-DetailsDescription-Specifics For example, if the topic is about cleaning the school: Why do we have to take the writing test? All 5th, 8th, and 11th graders in the state of Georgia must take the writing assessment. If they can do it, so can you! More employers are asking potential employees to take a writing test. You also have to take a timed writing test on ACT/SAT/PSAT/GRE and other tests. High school, college, and the working world requires individuals to be excellent writers. Why do some people have persuasive and some people have expository? ½ of the class will have persuasive ½ of the class will have expository Prompts will be passed out randomly You cannot choose, so you must be prepared for both. High school, college, and the working world requires individuals to use persuasive & expository reading, writing, and speaking more than any other types of writing. How do I improve my conventions? Make sure you do the basics correctly! Many people make careless errors, which makes excellent writing difficult to comprehend. Capitalize the beginnings of all sentences. Punctuate the end of all sentences. Capitalize proper nouns-including “I”. Don’t use abbreviations (&) Indent all paragraphs. Spell everything in the prompt correctly. Proofread and do the best you can! How can I use advanced vocabulary words if I can’t spell them? Great Question! Spelling is only one small aspect of conventions. Don’t avoid all advanced vocabulary words just because you can’t spell them perfectly. If the reader can understand what you meant, you won’t lose many points. Try to sound out words and spell them the best you can. Do you need to have neat handwriting? Yes, if the graders can’t read your work you will receive an UNSCORABLE. They won’t even read your work or grade it at all! Take your time on the final and proofread. You don’t write for yourself; you write for the reader. How do you organize your ideas better? Attack the prompt and create an outline. Use transitions. Make sure the outline is well-planned before moving on. Make sure the outline matches what the prompt is asking you to do. Before drafting make sure all supporting details in one sentence match the topic sentence of that sentence. The Basics Do not skip lines on the final Indent at the beginning of all paragraphs Use blue or black ink pen, bring a pen you like to write with Begin your essay on the first page with lines Have confidence, rest, eat breakfast, and do your best!