The Georgia Writing Exam - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The Georgia Writing Exam

2011Slide2

The Georgia Writing Exam

The examStudents are given a writing situation and directions for writing, and must produce a persuasive essay.Slide3

Writing Situation

: Many factors come together for a student to be successful. Are parents or their children responsible for school success?

Directions for writing

: Discuss in an essay whether you think parents or children are more responsible for school success. Explain your viewpoint clearly.

Students are given time to write an outline, a rough draft, and a final copy

Example Prompt…Slide4

Exams are graded on 4 domains:

Ideas: degree to which a writer establishes a controlling idea and elaborates with appropriate main examples, illustrations, facts or details

Organization:

degree to which ideas are arranged in a clear order and overall structure is persuasive

Style:

degree

to which the writer controls language and engages the readerConventions: degree of control of sentence formation, usage, and mechanicsSlide5

Grading of the Test

The scoring range is from 100 to 350

Below 200-Does not meet the standard

200-249-Meets the standard

250 and above-Exceeds the standard

Your grade becomes a permanent part of your transcriptSlide6

Scoring the Test

Does not meet the standard

Limited focus on topic

Minimal development

Shows little awareness of reader concerns

May lack introduction or conclusion

Word choice simple and/or repetitiveBrevity of responseLimited transitionsSlide7

Meets the standard

Generally focusedClear introduction, body, conclusion

Position clear and developed

Developed with some examples and details

Clear Sequence, some transitions

Engaging word choice, sentence variety

Clear voice, awareness of audienceConventions generally correctSufficient length to demonstrate effective skillsSlide8

Exceeds the standard

FocusedPosition well-developed, validity established

Supporting ideas fully elaborated

Specific details that fully address reader’s concerns and/or counterarguments

Logical

Precise word choice

Varied transitional elementsSentence varietyDistinctive voiceCorrect conventionsMinor, infrequent errorsSufficient length to demonstrate effective skillsSlide9

Successful students will…

Clearly establish a positionDefend position

Anticipate and counter audience’s position

Use specific facts, personal experience, statistics

Appeal to logic or emotion

Use appropriate structure

Use multi-paragraphsIntroduce, develop, closeCorrect conventionsSlide10

New areas of emphasis

Topic, audience, purpose must be identifiableMust make connections

Must give relevant information, details, examples

Must have depth of development

Must acknowledge that there is a different point of view (address readers’ concerns, counterclaims, biases, expectations)Slide11

What to avoid…

Formulaic writing-standard 5 paragraph formulaRestating the promptListing (must expand)

Repetition or summary

Trite words or expressions

Use of "be” verbs exclusively

Venting or ranting on the topic

Failing to consider audience’s opinionFlat, uninteresting writingImprecisenessErrors in usage, grammar, spellingSlide12

Sample Prompt

Many students do not think the subjects they study in high school prepare them for the real world they will face after graduation. The principal at your school is asking students for their opinions about new courses that could be offered to prepare students for life after high school. What new course do you think should be offered?

Write a letter to convince the principal that your new course should be offered. Be sure to explain why your new course is needed, using specific examples and details.Slide13

Rhetoric

The art or study of using language effectively and persuasivelySlide14

Ethos

credibility-trust

Logos

consistency-logic

Pathos

emotions-imagination

The Rhetorical TriangleSlide15

Logos

Reason

(

logos

) - support your general claims with concrete, specific data.

Inductive:

reason which begins with specifics and moves toward a generalization Example:  Several clubs have reported difficulty completing their business during lunch period.  This proves that lunch periods should be longer.

Deductive:

reason

which starts with a general observation and moves to

specifics

Example:  When people hurry, inefficiency and poor communication are the results.  Under current conditions clubs must hurry at lunch time meetings.  Therefore, lunch period should be lengthened to allow for better club meetings.

Slide16

…Logos

Use two or three different strong reasons to support your argument.

Support your reasons with evidence.

Facts

- can be proven.

Expert

opinions or quotations Definitions - statement of meaning of word or phrase Statistic

s - offer scientific support

Examples

- powerful illustrations

Anecdote

- incident, often based on writer's personal experiences

Present opposition

- and give reasons and evidence to prove the opposition wrong

Conclude with call to action

- urge the reader to do something Slide17

Ethos

Ethics

(

ethos

) - convince your readers that you are fair, honest, and well informed.  They will then trust your values and intentions. Slide18

Pathos

Emotion (

pathos

) - a carefully reasoned argument will be strengthened by an emotional appeal.

Use description or narrate an example, often from your own experience.

Your point of view is demonstrated in an emotional appeal, and is important to the reader.

Careful word choice presents your position accurately. Slide19

More Rhetorical Devices

Parallelism- repeating a grammatical structure or an arrangement of words to create rhythm and momentum

Restatement- expressing the same idea in different words to clarify and stress key points

Repetition- using the same words frequently to reinforce concepts

Analogy- drawing a comparison that shows similarity between two unlike things.