Study Guide

Field 119: Spanish 
Sample Presentational Writing Assignment

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The following materials contain:

• Test directions for the presentational writing assignment
• A sample presentational writing assignment
• An example of a strong and weak response to the assignment, and a rationale for each
• Performance characteristics and scoring scale

Test Directions for the Presentational Writing Assignment

[ start bold Note to examinee: end bold  These test directions are provided here to familiarize you with the directions you will see on the actual test. They may refer to features whose functionality is not enabled in this study guide.]

This section of the test consists of a written expression assignment. You should use your time to plan, write, review, and edit your response to the assignment.

Read the assignment carefully before you begin to write. Think about how you will organize your response. You may use the erasable notebooklet provided to make notes, write an outline, or otherwise prepare your response. However, your final response must be typed in the response box provided for the assignment.

Please note that special characters (such as letters with accents or other diacritical marks) cannot be entered using the keyboard but are available for insertion in the on-screen response box. To access these characters, click on the button that appears in the upper left corner of the screen. Using the mouse, click on the character you wish to include in your response and then select " start bold Insert end bold ." The character will be inserted where the cursor is positioned in the response box.

You will be provided with a list of topics to help direct your response to the assignment. You must address every topic on the list, but you are not limited in your response to only the points indicated. However, your response must be relevant to the assignment, and part of your score will be based on the degree to which you elaborate by addressing the required topics and any other points of your choosing.

Your response to the written expression assignment will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

 start bold PURPOSE: end bold    the extent to which the objective of the assignment is achieved and the appropriateness of the response for the intended audience

 start bold COHERENCE: end bold    organization and clarity of ideas

 start bold CONTENT: end bold    development of ideas and relevance of supporting details

 start bold GRAMMAR: end bold    accuracy of grammatical forms and syntax

 start bold VOCABULARY: end bold    command of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions

 start bold MECHANICS: end bold    accuracy of spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation

Your response must be written in  start bold Spanish. end bold 

Be sure to write about the assigned topic and use multiple paragraphs. You may not use any reference materials during the test. This should be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work. Remember to review what you have written and make any changes you think will improve your response.

Sample Presentational Writing Assignment

Subarea IVsubarea roman numeral 4 
Presentational Writing

Imagine that you have received a letter from a friend who lives in a Spanish-speaking country and who has not heard from you for almost a year. The friend asks for news of your recent activities and future plans, including your professional goals. Write an e-mail of approximately 300–400 300 to 400  words in Spanish in which you give a brief account of your activities over the last year, tell your friend of your plans to become a language teacher, and explain why you have chosen to enter this profession. In your e-mail, you  start bold must end bold  include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• your recent educational and work experiences;
• how a particular person or event influenced your decision to become a language teacher;
• your view of the value of foreign language learning to young people in the United States; and
• aspects of your chosen career that you expect to find especially enjoyable.

Sample Strong Response to the Presentational Writing Assignment

 start bold Please note: The sample response provided below is for review purposes only and should not be used in a response on an operational exam. Use of the exact words and phrases presented in this sample response will result in a score of "U" (Unscorable) due to lack of original work. end bold 

Rationale for the Sample Strong Response

The response thoroughly fulfills the purpose of the assignment and is appropriate for the intended audience. The response is an informal e-mail to a friend that fully addresses the prompt by providing information about recent educational and work experiences, details about an influential person, a point of view on the value of language learning to young people in the United States, and career aspects that are expected to be especially enjoyable.

The response is well organized in paragraphs with an appropriate greeting, a good introduction, and appropriate closing for this level of formality. The ideas are clearly expressed with the help of appropriate transition words and expressions (de hecho, en mi opinión, por ejemplo, también, sin más). The ideas are extensively developed and supported with relevant information. (Tuve la oportunidad de ser asistente de un profesor… que me influyo a seguir la carrera de profesora).

The response shows a comprehensive command of syntax (me expuso no solamente a la lengua sino también a la cultura de los países hispanos) and grammar, particularly verb tenses and sequence, (Siento no haberte escrito desde hace mucho tiempo, pero he estado ocupadísima por mis estudios; Yo tuve la experiencia de viajar a España cuando era estudiante de secundaria), and prepositions (bajo su orientación; fue de gran beneficio para mí; Escogí esta carrera por mi gran amor de la lengua y la cultura). The rare minor errors do not interrupt communication. The response reflects a broad command of language (ocupadísima; disfruté de haber tenido excelentes profesores durante mi estadía; pues me expuso), and appropriate use of idiomatic expressions (seguir la carrera, abrir la mente), and mechanics (spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation.)

Sample Weak Response to the Presentational Writing Assignment

Rationale for the Sample Weak Response

The response partially fulfills the purpose of the assignment. The response is an informal e-mail to a friend that only partially addresses the prompt and shows limited organization. The ideas are somewhat unclear, developed in a limited way with minimal support, and with no cohesive devices to link or transition between thoughts. The response shows limited command of syntax and grammar, verb tenses are used incorrectly, and overall frequent errors partially impede communication of ideas. The response demonstrates a limited knowledge of vocabulary, lack of key words and expressions, with repetition of basic words, and communicates only a partial message. The response contains many errors in mechanics (spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation) that partially interfere with communication.

Performance Characteristics for the Presentational Writing Assignment

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the presentational writing assignment.

Characteristics that guide the scoring of responses

PURPOSE	the extent to which the objective of the assignment is achieved and the appropriateness of the response for the intended audience
COHERENCE	organization and clarity of ideas
CONTENT	development of ideas and relevance of supporting details
GRAMMAR	accuracy of grammatical forms and syntax
VOCABULARY	command of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions
MECHANICS	accuracy of spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation

Scoring Scale for the Presentational Writing Assignment

Scores will be assigned to each response to the presentational writing assignment according to the following scoring scale.

Score Scale with description for each score point.

Score Point	Score Point Description
4	start bold The "4" response reflects a thorough application and strong command of the performance characteristics for the written assignment.  end bold  The response thoroughly fulfills the purpose of the written assignment and is completely appropriate for the intended audience. The candidate's ideas are well organized and clearly expressed. Ideas are extensively developed and well supported with relevant information. The response shows a comprehensive command of syntax and grammar, containing only minor errors that do not interrupt communication. Vocabulary reflects a broad command of the language and appropriate use of idiomatic expressions. Spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation are mastered, with few, if any, errors.
3	start bold The "3" response reflects a general application and command of the performance characteristics for the written assignment.  end bold  The response satisfactorily fulfills the purpose of the written assignment and is generally appropriate for the intended audience. The candidate's ideas show some organization and are generally clear. Ideas are adequately developed with some elaboration and support of specific points. The response shows a good command of syntax and grammar, though some errors may cause minor interruptions in communication. Vocabulary and idiomatic expressions are general, but do communicate a complete message. There are minor errors in spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation that do not interfere with communication.
2	start bold The "2" response reflects a partial application and limited command of the performance characteristics for the written assignment. end bold  The response partially fulfills the purpose of the written assignment and may not be entirely appropriate for the intended audience. The candidate's ideas show limited organization and are somewhat unclear. Ideas are developed in a limited way with minimal support. The response shows a limited command of syntax and grammar, containing frequent errors that partially impede communication of ideas. Vocabulary is simple, lacks key words and expressions, and communicates a partial message. There are some errors in spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation, which partially interfere with communication.
1	start bold The "1" response reflects a weak application and little or no command of the performance characteristics for the written assignment.  end bold  The response does not fulfill the purpose of the written assignment and is inappropriate for the intended audience. The candidate's ideas are unorganized and unclear. Ideas are developed minimally, if at all, and lack any relevant supporting detail. The response shows little command of basic elements of grammar or syntax, containing numerous and frequent errors that impede communication. Vocabulary, with numerous word usage errors, does not communicate a complete message. Errors in spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation are so numerous that they impede communication.
U	start bold The response is unrelated to the assigned topic, illegible, not written in the required language, not of sufficient length to score, or merely a repetition of the assignment. end bold
B	start bold There is no response to the assignment. end bold

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