Grade 8

Argumentative

Writing Extended Response

Compose Full Texts

Penny

Conventions

Evidence/Elaboration

Organization/Purpose

Although there are some awkward sentences (e.g., “This method will overall be more costly than producing pennies already is”) and problems caused by needless passive voice (“Some American citizens have seen this penny be changed…and have seen the penny represent…”), there are no actual sentence formation errors.

There are commas missing after introductory elements (e.g., &#8220;In these next few paragraphs I will…&#8221; and &#8220;If there are no pennies to pay for the 96 cents then the price… and for these many reasons I think that…&#8221;). Additionally, there is a missing comma in a compound sentence (&#8220;The penny represents how ani who Americans used to be and that affects….&#8221;). The misplaced period in the second sentence of the second paragraph is likely a typo.

The “i” in the first sentence of the sixth paragraph should be capitalized.

There are several grammar errors with verb tense and mood. As one example, the shift from &#8220;If the penny was to be eliminated&#8221; (paragraph 1) and &#8220;if the penny were to be eliminated&#8221; (paragraph 2). As another example, the verbs in paragraph two move from “would take place,” “would be confusing,” and “could well be” to “will overall be more costly.” There is an error with a frequently confused word (paragraph 4: &#8220;it’s&#8221; should be “its”) and another error with the incorrect word &#8220;and&#8221; instead of &#8220;an” (paragraph 2).

The response includes a variety of specific details from multiple sources to adequately support the position.

There is no source attribution, although the response does incorporate information from more than one source.

Most of the development relies on summary, and sometimes cursory summary (paragraph 5), with little or no elaboration. As an example, in paragraph 3, there is the beginning of a nice analysis regarding the differing accounts of the penny’s manufacturing costs; however, the writer fails to account for the fact that one is the cost for Canada, while the other represents the cost for America. At other times, inferences drawn are unexplained (e.g., &#8220;This rounding system would be confusing, awkward, and pricey for the consumer and the business&#8221; &#8211; there is no subsequent explanation for why the system would be confusing or awkward). Other conclusions (e.g., &#8220;The penny represents how ani who American used to be and that affects how we are now&#8221;) resonate with the reader but again are subsequently unexplained, contributing to an overall uneven development of ideas.

The language use is inconsistent. Some phrasing (e.g., &#8220;Some American citizens have seen…the penny represent American culture in multiple ways&#8221;) and word choices (e.g., &#8220;confusing, awkward, and pricey&#8221;) are mature. However, in other places, the language is general, wordy, and repetitive (&#8220;My thought on…&#8221;; &#8220;I have thought out…&#8221;; &#8220;there are reasons…&#8221;) and is ineffective for the purpose.

There is an evident style, but it is somewhat formulaic and doesn’t enhance the argumentative purpose. (e.g. &#8220;In these next few paragraphs I will address every reason and explain them thoroughly…&#8221;).

The claim (&#8220;…the penny should be preserved&#8221;) is somewhat buried in the first sentence (&#8220;My thought on the penny being preserved or eliminated is that…&#8221;). Once established, however, the focus on that claim is generally maintained throughout.

Most transitions are adequate (&#8220;For example&#8221;; &#8220;Another reason&#8221;; &#8220;For this reason&#8221;), and the transitions between body paragraphs are generally effective (using generalizations to move to the next paragraph/idea. For example, building from cost of rounding to cost of the coin as well as transitioning from sentimental value to historical value).

The perfunctory introduction reads more like a rough draft with unnecessary introspective comments distracting the reader rather than clarifying the writer’s intent (e.g., &#8220;In these next few paragraphs I will address every reason and explain them thoroughly&#8221;). Further, the conclusion is weak for the argumentative purpose.

While the overuse of formulaic phrases is distracting and occasionally interferes with a smooth reading, the progression of ideas is overall logical (e.g., cost considerations, to sentimental and historical, to charity).

An opposing/alternate argument is presented (e.g., Some people that are on the sidle that thinks the penny should be eliminated state that the penny costs more to manufacture than its actual value&#8221;). The counterclaim is logically addressed in the final sentence of that paragraph (paragraph 3).

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An annotation is the educator’s explanation of how a portion of the student’s response relates to the rubric and contributes to that trait’s score. For example, the educator might explain how the response meets the expectations of a specific score point. An annotation can also describe aspects of a student response that relate to multiple score points on the rubric to demonstrate nuance when determining a score.

Annotation

One of three traits scored for the ELA performance task full write, this trait measures a student’s ability to demonstrate command of grade-level conventions of standard English: grammar usage (including sentence formation), capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

This trait measures students’ ability to select and integrate details that support, explain, illustrate, or develop ideas. Students should elaborate these details—that is, explain and connect them, guided by the writing purpose and audience needs.
For informative/explanatory and opinion/argumentative writing purposes, these details come from source materials.
For narrative writing, this trait is called Development/Elaboration, and students are expected to integrate and develop grade-appropriate story elements such as descriptive details and dialogue. For these tasks, events and experiences are inspired by source materials.

This trait measures students’ ability to establish and sustain a focus for the writing. This focus should be consistent with the task’s designated purpose and the intended audience. Strong introductions and conclusions (or, for narrative writing, beginnings and endings) and transitions help to create coherence.

Performance tasks measure a student’s ability to demonstrate critical-thinking and problem-solving skills by challenging students to apply their knowledge and skills to complex, real-world problems. In the performance task, students are presented with a collection of questions and activities connected to a single theme or scenario. These activities ask students to demonstrate capacities such as depth of understanding, writing and research skills, and complex analysis, which cannot be adequately assessed with traditional assessment questions. Performance tasks are taken on a computer (but are not computer adaptive) and take students one to two class periods to complete.

Performance Task

The prompt is the text provided to the student that requests their response. It includes some contextual information, but also includes a specific task that students complete in their writing response.

Prompt

For a deeper dive into the content behind this student response, navigate to the Sample Items Website to access the writing prompt or visit the Content Explorer to learn more about this content area.

Prompt & Target

“Purpose” is the context for a piece of writing, or what the writer intends to accomplish. Students write texts with the following purposes:
<ul>
<li>Narrative (grades 3–8): tell a story</li>
<li>Informational (grades 3–5): present facts or data using source material</li>
<li>Explanatory (grades 6–11): explain a topic or concept by analyzing source materials</li>
<li>Opinion (grades 3–5): present and defend a position</li>
<li>Argumentative (grades 6–11): present an argument using research to form and support claims</li>
</ul>
Purposes have subtle differences depending on grade, and each writing purpose has its own scoring rubric.

Purpose

This text was written by a student in response to a Performance Task writing prompt.

Response

A rubric is a set framework for scorers to reference when determining the quality of student writing. Each trait has its own rubric, and every point value is defined in detail with examples of what to expect from student writing at each level.

Rubric

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Sample Term One

Sample Term Two

Traits are different dimensions of a student response that educators evaluate when scoring. For example, an educator will assess grammar and spelling as part of the Conventions trait (maximum of two score points) but not take grammar or spelling into account when assessing the other traits. This approach ensures that scorers evaluate student writing from multiple angles.

Example for Grade 8: Argumentative – Penny - ID: 4213

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