Study Guide

Field 022: Russian
Sample Reading and Vocabulary Assignment

The following materials contain:

Test Directions for the Reading and Vocabulary Assignment

[Note to examinee: 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 reading comprehension assignment. You will read a passage and respond in writing to a series of questions about the passage.

Your response may be written in either the target language or English. This should be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work. You may use the erasable notebooklet to make notes, write an outline, or otherwise prepare your response. If you choose to respond in English, type your response in the response box presented on-screen. If you choose to respond in the target language, your final response must be written on the response sheet provided. Please label your response sheet with the appropriate assignment (e.g., "Reading and Vocabulary"). Your response sheet must be scanned using the scanner provided at your workstation.

Instructions for scanning your response sheet are available by clicking the "Scanning Help" button at the top of the screen.

Your response to the reading comprehension assignment will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

LITERAL COMPREHENSION:  accuracy and completeness in comprehending literal content of written language

INFERENCE:  demonstrated ability to infer information implied in a reading passage, including subtleties such as underlying mood or point of view

Any time spent responding to the assignment, including scanning the response sheet(s), is part of your testing time. Monitor your time carefully. When your testing time expires, a pop-up message will appear on-screen indicating the conclusion of your test session. Only response sheets that are scanned before you end your test or before time has expired will be scored. Any response sheet that is not scanned before testing ends will NOT be scored.

Sample Reading and Vocabulary Assignment

Subarea II
Reading and Vocabulary

Read the passage below. Then respond to the assignment that follows.

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1existence

Write a brief response in which you:

Be as specific as you can in citing examples from the passage to support your statements.

Your response may be written in either Russian or English.

Strong Response Characteristics for the Reading and Vocabulary Assignment

An excellent response would demonstrate a thorough and accurate understanding of the literal content of the passage, including virtually all significant details. The examinee would accurately infer information implied in the passage, even if it is subtly conveyed in the text. Because this exercise is designed to test your reading skill and not your writing ability, you may write your response in either the target language or English. You should choose the language that is more familiar to you.

Sample Strong Response to the Reading and Vocabulary Assignment

Please note: The sample response provided below is for review purposes only and should not be used in a response on an operational exam.

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Performance Characteristics for the Reading and Vocabulary Assignment

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the reading and vocabulary assignment.

Characteristics that guide the scoring of responses
LITERAL COMPREHENSION accuracy and completeness in comprehending literal content of written language
INFERENCE demonstrated ability to infer information implied in a reading passage, including subtleties such as tone

Scoring Scale for the Reading and Vocabulary Assignment

Scores will be assigned to each response to the reading and vocabulary assignment according to the following scoring scale.

Score Scale with description for each score point.
Score Point Score Point Description
4
  • The candidate demonstrates thorough understanding of the literal content of the reading passage, including significant details.
  • The candidate accurately infers implied information, even if this information is subtly conveyed in the text.
3
  • The candidate demonstrates understanding of the main idea of the passage but misses some details.
  • The candidate shows some ability to infer information from the text but may misinterpret some subtleties.
2
  • The candidate shows partial understanding of the main idea but does not understand significant supporting ideas and details.
  • The candidate generally does not make inferences from the text.
1
  • The candidate does not extract the main idea from the passage, demonstrating comprehension only of isolated words and phrases.
  • The candidate does not make any inferences implied in the text.
U 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.
B There is no response to the assignment.