How Writer’s Workbench Can Help in Preparing
for the 10^th Grade ISAT

 This document illustrates how Writer’s Workbench helps guide students toward exceeding standards in preparing for the writing portion of the 10^th grade Illinois State Achievement Tests (ISAT).  The text in black was extracted from the Illinois Board of Education’s website under ISAT Performance Definitions, last updated August 5, 2003.
The text in blue shows Writer's Workbench analyses that guide the student toward exceeding in the writing portion of the 10th Grade Illinois Standard Achievement Test.

EXCEEDS STANDARDS

The writers at the exceeds level address the topic with a comprehensive and thorough knowledge of the writing process to produce a well-formed paper in which all the features are equally developed throughout. The papers are purposeful, effective and extensively supported with specificity and depth using multiple strategies. The lines of reasoning show strong coherence and cohesion throughout. These writers show mastery of conventions with few errors in proportion to the amount written and the writing conditions.

FOCUS

Persuasive/Expository

The writing has an effective opening, which may or may not include a specific preview. The opening displays sophistication through the use of anecdotes, quotations, definitions, personal appeals or other effective strategies and may develop the focus inductively. The writing is purposeful with logic maintained throughout. An effective closing relates to the opening and unifies the writing through the use of exploration, relevant questions or other devices or ideas.

Narrative

The subject and unifying event of the writing are clear and logically maintained throughout, with the event commented upon at the end. Reactions are effectively connected to the event and indicate the significance of the unifying event. The paper has an effective opening, which displays sophistication through the use of anecdotes, quotations, definitions, personal appeals or other effective strategies. An effective closing unifies the writing.

ORGANIZATION guides student writers to create an effective opening and closing while maintaining a continuum of ideas by framing paragraphs with appropriately chosen sentence content.
Development flags paragraphs that are under-developed, prompting the student writer to enrich those paragraphs with descriptive content.
Diversity calculates a ratio that indicates the diversity or variety of the vocabulary in the composition to encourage the student writer to evaluate the scope of the subject and the adequate use of key words.
Diction Alerts lists potentially problematic words and phrases that may lead to wordiness or may be clichés and lists suggestions that will help the writer edit his or her composition where necessary.
Words to Check lists commonly misused and troublesome word pairs that appear in the composition followed by verification alternatives that are frequently confused with the material that the writer has used.

SUPPORT/ELABORATION

Persuasive/Expository

All major points of the writing are fully developed and supported evenly by specific detail throughout the paper. Extensive, in-depth development of support uses multiple strategies [e.g., explanation, evidence and example]. Word choice enhances specificity.

Narrative

All major episodes of the paper are developed evenly, in-depth and elaborated by specific detail. Multiple strategies are extensively used. Word choice enhances specificity.

Organization guides student writers to create an effective opening and closing while maintaining a continuum of ideas by framing paragraphs with appropriately chosen sentence content.
Development flags paragraphs that are under-developed, prompting the student writer to enrich those paragraphs with descriptive content.
Diversity calculates a ratio that indicates the diversity or variety of the vocabulary in the composition to encourage the student writer to evaluate the scope of the subject and the adequate use of key words.
Style provides, in tabular format, information about the document’s sentences (length and types), verbs (to be, passives, nominalizations) sentence beginnings (subject openers, non-subject openers), other information (number of words and reading level scores - Kincaid, Coleman-Liau, and Flesch).
Transitions identifies words, phrases, and adverbial clauses that serve as transitional devices to encourage the student writer to provide even more links for the reader.

WordUse provides a look-up reference so that the student writer may query this utility for correct use of commonly misused words and phrases (effect | affect).
 

ORGANIZATION

Persuasive/Expository

The structure of the writing is clear, appropriate and effective. All paragraphs are appropriate and purposeful. Coherence and cohesion are demonstrated throughout with effective and varied devices. All points are logically presented and interrelated. Sentence structure is varied, and word choice produces cohesion.

Narrative

The narrative structure of the paper is clear, appropriate and effective. All paragraphs are appropriate and purposeful. The paper demonstrates coherence and cohesion throughout using effective and varied devices. Episodes and reactions are logically presented and interrelated. Extensive use of varied sentence structure and word choice produces cohesion.

Organization guides student writers to create an effective opening and closing while maintaining a continuum of ideas by framing paragraphs with appropriately chosen sentence content.
Development flags paragraphs that are under-developed, prompting the student writer to enrich those paragraphs with descriptive content.
Diversity calculates a ratio that indicates the diversity or variety of the vocabulary in the composition to encourage the student writer to evaluate the scope of the subject and the adequate use of key words.
Style Statistics with Support provides, in tabular format, information about the document’s sentences (length and types), verbs (to be, passives, nominalizations) sentence beginnings (subject openers, non-subject openers), other information (number of words and reading level scores - Kincaid, Coleman-Liau, and Flesch).  It also provides evaluation statements on the document’s scores on sentences (length, types, and beginnings) and on verb choices (“to be” verbs, passives, and nominalizations).  Sentences of over 50 words are listed as are sentences that include passive verbs and sentences that include nominalizations.

CONVENTIONS

Persuasive/Expository/Narrative

Evaluation of conventions takes into consideration the draft status of the ISAT writing assessment. The paper demonstrates command or mastery of sentence construction (e.g., few run-on sentences or fragments). There is command or mastery of verb tense; subject/verb agreement and correct use of pronouns, punctuation and capitalization. There are few minor and very few major errors in proportion to the amount written.

Possible Fragments and Long Sentences lists groups of words that may be sentence fragments or that may be run-on sentences or that may not be punctuated correctly.
            a.  Writers should read through these groups of words to determine if they are, in fact, sentences.
            b.  Possible punctuation errors resulting from the creation of long sentences are explained.
            c.  General revision suggestions are provided.
Helping Verbs prints sentences that include the following “helping verb” problems.
  <Helper?> flags “been, done, gone, seen" when the verb is not preceded by the "has, have, or had."
  <Delete helping verb> flags “went” when it is accompanied by a helping verb.
  <am?is?are?Helper?> flags “be” to alert the writer to change the verb or to use an appropriate helping verb.
  <of have> flags phrases in which “have” should replace the word “of.”
SELF PRONOUNS prints sentences that include “self” or “selves” pronouns.
They are flagged as SELF and SELVES so that the writer can check to see whether he or she can replace the "self" or "selves" pronoun with a personal pronoun (I, me, we, us, you, he, him, she, her, they, them).
SINGULAR INDEFINITE PRONOUNS prints those sentences that include singular indefinite pronouns.  This analysis prints the singular indefinite pronouns in BLUE boldface capitals.  It identifies indefinite pronouns (any, every, one, somebody, anybody, everybody, no one, someone, anyone, everyone, nobody, something, anything, everything, none, each, another, either, neither) to alert the writer that all verbs and pronouns that relate to these indefinite pronouns must be SINGULAR.
PLURAL PRONOUN REFERENCE prints sentences that include third person plural pronouns.  The SorP? precedes three plural personal pronouns (they, them, or their) so that the writer can check to see that these pronouns refer to plural nouns.
THIS THESE THOSE prints sentences that includes those words, and the analysis alerts the writer that he or she should always use a noun or noun phrase following those words.  Each word is replaced with its counterpart this=> or these=> or those=> so that the writer can verify that he or she has used a noun or noun phrase after the word.
PARALLELISM prints sentences that include one or more of four coordinate conjunctions.  The <Parallel?>BOLD words identify four words that are always coordinate conjunctions: and, or, nor, but.  The writer is directed to verify that he or she has used words, phrases, or clauses with the same structure within the pair or series.
Punctuation - INTRODUCTORY ELEMENTS prints sentences that probably include an introductory element.  The analysis flags, in BOLD UPPERCASE letters, the first word in a sentence that begins with a word that is probably an introductory word or that could mark an introductory phrase or clause.  The writer is directed to ensure that the introductory material is followed by a comma.
Punctuation - PAIRS AND SERIES, like the PARALLELISM analysis, prints sentences that include the four words that are always coordinate conjunctions, and, or, nor, but, and flags them with <Pair or Series?>BOLD.  Instruction relevant to punctuation of pairs and series is provided.
Punctuation – COMMA, SEMICOLON, COLON prints sentences that include one or more commas, semicolons, or colons.  Each of those points of punctuation is flagged with [Rule?] to encourage the writer to justify the punctuation or to delete it and to consider other punctuation that may be needed in the sentence.
UNBALANCED OR MISPLACED PUNCTUATION looks for single quotes, double quotes, apostrophes, and left and right parentheses and prints the number of times each of those punctuation elements is used in the document.  It directs the writer to find any unbalanced or misplaced punctuation.
It, then, provides a list of sentences that do not begin with capital letters and/or sentences in which the punctuation is positioned incorrectly with quotation marks.  Each is followed by a revision suggestion.
CAPITALIZATION lists words that are capitalized inconsistently in the document.  It looks for words that have two or more consecutive capital letters and, then, looks for and prints out other words where those words are not capitalized consistently.  As in all analyses, the writer must decide whether or not to make revisions.

INTEGRATION

Persuasive/Expository/Narrative

The paper is fully developed for the tenth grade level. The paper has a clear and purposeful focus with in-depth support/elaboration. In persuasive/expository writing, lines of reasoning are identified and developed coherently and cohesively throughout the paper. In narrative writing, the sequence of episodes is coherently and cohesively developed throughout the paper.

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Last modified 09/15/06.