An Example of a
CUNY/ACT Writing Sample Assignment
The question below is an example of the kind of question that
students will be given for the CUNY/ACT Writing Sample. This one
includes some information about a decision that must be made by a group
of people and the criterion that will be used to make the decision. The
student is asked to assist the group by choosing one alternative and
explaining why it is the better choice.
Sample Question: THIS IS THIS WEEK'S ESSAY QUESTION, FOR
Assessment 13
A Parks Board in a large city has received a generous
donation and
wants to use the donation to benefit the city as a whole. The Board is
considering 2 options, but there is only enough funding for 1. One
option is to improve the city's parks by planting more flower gardens
and creating more recreational areas. The other option is to improve
the overall appearance of the city by planting flower beds and small
trees along city streets and at intersections. Write a letter to the
Parks Board in which you argue for improving the city's parks or for
improving the appearance of the city, explaining how your choice will
benefit the city as a whole. Begin your letter: Dear Parks Board
|
Scoring the Writing Sample
Because this is a test of writing skills, responses should be as
well-written as possible in the time allotted. Your response will be
evaluated on your ability to address the question you have chosen, to
develop and organize your ideas, and to use correct English sentence
structure, usage, and mechanical conventions. Your response should
conform to the conventions of edited American English.
Evaluators will use a scale (printed below) to score the papers. Each
score point reflects an evaluator's holistic (overall) judgment of the
writer's performance in relationship to the skills identified above.
Two CUNY evaluators who are carefully trained to score writing using
this scale will read each paper.
CUNY
ACT Scoring Scale [see Assessment
13
Worksheet]
Upper-range papers.
These papers clearly engage the issue identified in the prompts and
demonstrate superior skill in organizing, developing, and conveying in
standard written English the writer's ideas about the topic.
Mid-range papers.
Papers in the middle range demonstrate engagement with the issue
identified in the prompt but do not demonstrate the evidence of writing
skill that would mark them as outstanding.
Lower-range papers.
Papers in the lower range fail in some way to demonstrate proficiency
in language use, clarity of organization, or engagement of the issue
identified in the prompt.<>
This page is
adapted from
http://portal.cuny.edu/cms/id/cuny/documents/informationpage/002149.htm
CUNY
Testing home: http://portal.cuny.edu/cms/id/cuny/documents/informationpage/002155.htm
|