Study Guide
Field 121: German
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 German 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
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Presentational Writing
Imagine that you have received an e-mail from a friend who lives in a German-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 to 400 words in German 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 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
Hallo Anke!
Es war schön, noch eine Mail von dir zu bekommen. Es freut mich zu hören, dass es dir und deinen Eltern gut geht. Es tut mir wahnsinnig leid, dass ich mich so lange nicht gemeldet habe: du weißt ja, wie schreibfaul ich bin. Ich habe aber sehr oft an dich während der Zeit gedacht. Danke dafür, dass du mir immer so viel Geduld zeigst.
Mir geht es ausgezeichnet! Mein Praktikum an einer internationalen Mittelschule habe ich im Mai und mein Studium endlich im Juni mit einem M.A. abgeschlossen. Ich suche also jetzt eine Stelle als Deutschlehrer. Ich würde gern an einem Gymnasium (High School) unterrichten, weil ich mich immer noch so gern an Frau Schlösser erinnere, meine Deutschlehrerin aus der Gymnasiumszeit. Ihre Liebe zur deutschen Sprache, Literatur und Kultur war richtig ansteckend. Ich glaube, die meisten von uns, die bei ihr im Unterricht waren, haben uns nach der Schule irgendwie mit Deutsch beschäftigt. Es wäre mir eine große Freude, wenn ich einen ähnlichen Einfluss auf meine eigenen Schüler*innen ausüben könnte.
Erstaunlicherweise ist es ihr gelungen, uns so sehr zu begeistern mit viel weniger Hilfe von der Technologie als uns heute zur Verfügung steht. Die digitalen Entwicklungen beschleunigen sich immer schneller. Ich interessiere mich sehr dafür, wie ich sie gebrauchen kann, um deutsche Sprache und Kultur den Schülern näher zu bringen. Heutzutage in den USA lernen Menschen Fremdsprachen leider nicht um ihrer selbst willen, sondern eher aus beruflichen Grunden. Man sollte Deutsch in realistischen Kontexten unterrichten, die die Sprache und Kultur als lebendig darstellen. Das führt vielleicht dazu, dass Schüler einen kreativen, liebevollen Umgang mit der Sprache entwickeln, der über das Praktische hinausgeht.
Habe ich in meinen früheren Mails eine gewisse Frau namens Sophie erwähnt? Das sag ich als Witz, weil ich weiss, ich habe das sehr oft gemacht. Meine wichtigste Nachricht also: Sie hat sich endlich entschieden, mich zu heiraten, und wir machen das am 28. August in Oklahoma City. Ich würde mich freuen, wenn du und deine Eltern dabei sein könnten. Die offizielle Einladung wird bald geschickt (ich verspreche es!). Vielleicht hast du auch Nachrichten über eine neue Liebesinteresse? Und ich nehme an, deine journalistische Tätigkeit macht dich weiterhin glücklich?
Schreib mal wieder, wenn du Zeit und Lust hast, und erzähl bitte genaueres über dein Leben! Alles Gute wünsche ich dir, und grüß bitte die Familie ganz lieb von mir!
Dein Mark
Rationale for the Sample Strong Response
The response thoroughly fulfills the purpose of the assignment by addressing each of the required tasks. It provides extensive information about the writer's recent educational and work experiences (finishing up an internship at a middle school and earning a Master's degree), a person who influenced the decision to become a German teacher (Ms. Schlösser from back in the writer's high school days), the writer's view of the value of foreign language learning to young people in the United States (that many learn languages for practical reasons but the possibility exists that students can be inspired to learn German for pleasure as well), and aspects of becoming a German teacher the writer expects to find enjoyable (taking advantage of each new type of technology to make German language and culture compelling to students and inspiring them the way his former teacher did). The response is written in the form of an informal e-mail to a friend and uses language functions appropriate for this context (e.g., apologizing for being late to respond, offering details about his personal life, inquiring about her life, sending greetings to the family members with whom he is obviously acquainted).
The response delivers a consistently clear and well-organized message with ideas that are developed and well-supported. Each paragraph focuses on a single topic or a few related topics, and cohesive devices are used to make connections between and among ideas. For example, the discussion about the writer's reason for wanting to teach high school, the hope that he will have a significant influence on his future students, and the launch into the discussion about technology are all related to Ms. Schlösser in some way ("weil ich mich immer noch so gern an Frau Schlösser erinnere"; "wenn ich einen ähnlichen Einfluss . . . ausüben könnte"; "es [ist] ihr gelungen, uns so sehr zu begeistern"). Rather than stating an idea and moving on to the next, the response provides further discussion of each idea using relevant supporting details, as when the writer contrasts learning for practical reasons with learning for pleasure, and subsequently considers how teaching practices may serve to link the two types of learning.
The command of syntax and grammar is comprehensive, and the response uses a variety of structures to deliver a full and clear message. There are simple and complex declarative sentences, as well as interrogative and imperative sentences ("Habe ich . . . Sophie erwähnt?"; "Schreib mal wieder"). The response shows the ability to use different time frames, as well as passive voice ("die . . . Einladung wird bald geschickt") and subjunctive mood ("Es wäre mir eine große Freude, wenn ich. . . ausüben könnte"). Consistently accurate use of relative pronouns, articles, and adjective endings help to clarify the roles played by various sentence elements ("in realistischen start italics Kontexten end italics unterrichten, start italics die end italics die Sprache . . . darstellen"; "dass Schüler einen kreativen, liebevollen start italics Umgang end italics mit der Sprache entwickeln, start italics der end italics über das Praktische hinausgeht").
The word choice (sich melden, sich beschäftigen mit, ansteckend,Tätigkeit, Umgang, zur Verfügung stehen) shows a range of command that lends precision to the message. The language used is idiomatic and appropriate for the level of formality, as is best exemplified in the use of words like start italics wahnsinnig end italics and modal particles in such expressions as "du weißt ja". There is mastery of spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation that allows for a smooth flow of expression. Minor errors within the response do not interrupt communication. Examples of such errors include inconsistent accuracy in orthography ("du weißt," "ich weiss"), incorrect coding of gender ("eine neue Liebesinteresse"), errors in subject-verb agreement ("wenn du und deine Eltern dabei sein start italics könnten end italics "), and incorrect pluralization/missing diacritical marks ("Grunde[n]").
Sample Weak Response to the Presentational Writing Assignment
Hallo Steffen!
Ich schreibe dir weil ich ein Jahr lang nicht geschreiben habe. Es tut mir leid. Ich habe viel gemacht dieses Jahr. Ich bin jezt English Lehrer aber ich habe mich entscheidet Deutsch Lehrer zu sein weil mein gutes Deutsch Lehrer in der Schule. Ich habe Kurse in der Universitat in der Nähe von mein Haus genommen. Ich finde, Lehrer sein macht Spaß und ist interessant. Ich habe gearbeitet mit einer Deutsch Klasse in der Schule wo meine Kinder besuchen. Meine Kinder gehen zu meine Eltern, wann ich Deutsch Unterricht an der Universitat hatte. Ich möchte nach Deutschland gehen zu studieren und ich bringe meine Kinder mit mir. Deutschland ist schön und die Kultur ist sehr interessant. Wir lernen bestimmt sehr viel.
Tschüss,
Joshua
Rationale for the Sample Weak Response
The response partially fulfills the purpose of the assignment by providing basic information about recent educational and work experiences. Other elements of the assignment, such as the value of foreign language learning for young people in the United States, are not addressed. Limitations in the ability to use German to express ideas impact the extent to which the assignment is achieved, as exemplified in the fragmented allusion to a school teacher as having inspired a career change (". . . aber ich habe mich entscheidet Deutsch Lehrer zu sein weil mein gutes Deutsch Lehrer in der Schule") and in the vague, simplistic language used to explain a potentially enjoyable aspect of the new career ("Lehrer sein macht Spaß und ist interessant"). While the response is written as an informal e-mail to a friend, there is no engagement with the friend other than to acknowledge in a matter-of-fact way the long lapse in communication and offer a formulaic apology ("Es tut mir leid").
The response is organized in a limited way with minimal support for ideas. It consists of a list of statements beginning mainly with "ich" that show some logical sequencing but use no cohesive devices to show the relationships among the ideas. For example, the statement about the children staying with the writer's parents while he is going to German classes at the university seems almost completely disconnected from the prior statement about the writer having worked with a German class at his children's school. The individual statements are only occasionally developed with the addition of relevant supporting details, such as the statement about Germany being beautiful and interesting following the expression of the desire to study in Germany, and are not separated out into paragraphs that focus on different subtopics.
The response shows some command of present perfect formation ("habe . . . gemacht," "habe . . . genommen") and word order in simple sentences ("Deutschland ist schön und die Kultur ist sehr interessant"). Errors appear frequently during attempts at more complex constructions that partially interfere with the intended meaning (e.g., the fragment "weil mein gutes Deutsch Lehrer in der Schule", the confusion between present and past tense forms in "Meine Kinder start italics gehen end italics zu meine Eltern, wann ich Deutsch Unterricht an der Universitat start italics hatte end italics "). The vocabulary used in the response is overall very simple ( start italics schreiben, gehen, studieren, interessant, schön, Lehrer, Kinder, Jahr end italics ) and there are a few expressions directly translated from English that make the message confusing in German ("Wir lernen . . . viel"; "mit einer Klasse arbeiten"). Some errors in usage confuse the intended message (" start italics wo end italics meine Kinder besuchen", start italics wann end italics instead of start italics als end italics in "wann ich Deutsch Unterricht an der Universitat hatte"). Some errors in spelling ("geschreiben") and in the use of diacritical marks ("Universitat") interrupt the flow of the message, while the general failure to use commas before attempted subordinate clauses ("Ich schreibe dir weil") and to write compound nouns as a single word ("English Lehrer") partially interfere with communication.
Performance Characteristics for the Presentational Writing Assignment
The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the presentational writing assignment.
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.