Grade 7

Argumentative

Writing Extended Response

Compose Full Texts

Second Language Learning

Conventions

Evidence/Elaboration

Organization/Purpose

The response has generally correct sentence construction with the exception of one awkward construction at the end of the final sentence of paragraph 1 (&#8220;then there is a way to them to do all the work needed.”).
&nbsp;

There are no errors in capitalization.
There are no spelling errors in this response.

There are two instances of errors in end punctuation within quoted excerpts from the source material. In paragraph 2, the ending period needs to occur within the quotation marks (&#8220;research suggests that monolingual and bilingual children meet major developmental milestones at similar times”). In paragraph 3, there should be a period at the end of the quotation.

There is a possible pronoun/antecedent issue in paragraph 2 (“When someone learns a new language, they can learn other things more easily.”).

This stronger score point 2 response incorporates some evidence from more than one source, and there is some attribution of source materials. However, the use of text details, and—in particular—attempts to elaborate on these details is uneven.  Paragraph 2 does an adequate job of summarizing information from Source #1 (advantages of second language learning and research supporting that). There is little elaboration, but the details are nicely integrated and the conclusion (“So essentially”) reiterates the conclusions in that source. However, paragraph 3 provides only a general and unelaborated detail from Source #2. Paragraph 4 provides vague and unattributed (“can participate with”) information, concluding with an unexplained (and, therefore, irrelevant) detail about non-native speakers getting homework in a different language.

The language use is general (“things”) and somewhat repetitive given the length of the response (“learning”; “learn”).

With the exception of the first exclamatory sentence, which attempts to draw the reader in, there is little evidence of style.

The introduction is effective, beginning with a strong call to action and an equally strong claim (“We need to make a change! Schools should teach a second language”). The rest of the introduction provides an outline of sorts for the details to come. This “outline” is a bit protracted in spots (“Secondly, it would help people talk to other people from around the world. It can be limiting to go to a place and not know how to speak the language there”) and confusing in others (“if someone comes to a school and does not speak English, but the school teaches a language that that person does speak, then there is a way to them to do all the work needed”). The conclusion is ineffective (“These three reasons are why you people&#8230;”) and detracts from the argumentative purpose.

The transitions are uneven: the mechanical transitions that introduce reasons/paragraphs (&#8220;First&#8221;; &#8220;Secondly&#8221;; &#8220;Also&#8221;; &#8220;First&#8221;; &#8220;Next&#8221;; &#8220;Finally&#8221;) do little to advance the argument. Internal transitions in nicely clarify relationships in paragraph 2(e.g., “The question is&#8221;; &#8220;So”), but internal transitions in paragraph 4 fail to make connections logical (“In addition”).

The progression of ideas begins strong but fades, diminishing the effectiveness of the argument. Specifically, paragraph 2 progresses logically, moving from an understanding that speaking more than one language is a benefit, to addressing the issue of ideal timing, and the conclusion that younger is better. Paragraph 3 ends with a generalized interpretation (“doubles the chances”) that is somewhat self-evident. Then, paragraph 4 falters. The focus of the paragraph is general (“if there is a second language spoken, people will be able to understand one another”) and, as presented, the example at the end of the paragraph seems to drift from that focus (“people who do not speak English can get their homework in a different language, which will help them get better grades”). The response fails to acknowledge or address the opposing point of view.

Content Explorer

Sample Items Website

Tools for Teachers

Smarter Reporting

Remote Teaching and Learning

More Resources for Teachers

Privacy

Diversity, Inclusion & Equity

Web Accessibility Statement

Policy

Instagram

YouTube

Pinterest

Twitter

Facebook

Connect

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

Donec sed odio dui. Aenean eu leo quam. Pellentesque ornare sem lacinia quam venenatis vestibulum. Nulla vitae elit libero, a pharetra augue. Nullam id dolor id nibh ultricies vehicula ut id elit. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

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 7: Argumentative – Second Language Learning - ID: 975

More Resources for Teachers

Connect

Policy