How Writer’s Workbench Can Help in Preparing for the PSAE

 This document illustrates how Writer’s Workbench helps guide students toward exceeding standards in preparing for the writing portion of the 11^th grade Prairie State Achievement Examinations (PSAE).  The text in black was extracted from the Illinois Board of Education’s website under PSAE Performance Definitions, last updated August 5, 2003.
The text in blue shows those analyses and exercises that guide the student toward exceeding Illinois state standards.

The ISBE defines "Exceeds Standards."

·         Exceeds Standards – Student work demonstrates advanced knowledge and skills in the subject. Students creatively apply knowledge and skills to solve problems and evaluate the results. 

Writing

The PSAE writing test consists of two components: ACT Assessment English and production of a single writing sample in response to an assigned prompt. These components assess the Illinois Learning Standards for writing contained in State Goal 3: usage, structure, grammar, and punctuation and the ability to compose coherent writing for specific audiences and for a variety of purposes.

The ACT Assessment English component uses a multiple-choice format in which students are expected to use standard English to edit documents for clarity, style, subject-verb agreement, adverb and adjective agreement, verb tense, and word choice and to proofread for correct usage, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

The writing assignment requires students to write one essay that is either a persuasive essay in which they take a position on a given issue or an expository essay in which they explain an assigned topic. All students write to the same prompt. The resultant writing sample is evaluated on how effectively the writer integrates focus, support, and organization to produce an effective paper. Focus is the clarity with which a paper presents and maintains a clear idea or point of view. Support is the degree to which the main point is backed up by specific reasons and details. Organization is the clarity of the logical flow of ideas and the explicitness of the text structure or plan. Organization has a vertical dimension, coherence, indicated by the use of paragraphing and transitions to signal the plan or structure of the text and a horizontal dimension, cohesion, evidenced by the connection of one sentence to the next.

Exceeds Standards

Student work at the Exceeds Standards level demonstrates advanced knowledge and skills in writing. Students creatively apply knowledge and skills to solve problems and evaluate the results that contribute to the development of focus, support, and organization in writing and editing.

Focus/Topic Development

Students whose performance exceeds the Standards demonstrate advanced knowledge of topic development by analyzing the influence sentences have in effectively developing, supporting, and maintaining the focus of the text or in reaching a more difficult purpose. They determine if the result of adding new sentences will accomplish a specific purpose, such as providing explanations or descriptions, and they determine when it is necessary to delete unrelated material that interferes with the focus of the text. Students apply knowledge of focus and purpose to a variety of texts of varying degrees of complexity. Students evaluate writing to determine if the sentences they use effectively maintain the focus and logic of the writing and successfully carry out its desired purpose and goal. They produce writing that displays sophistication in developing and maintaining focus and logic throughout through use of literary elements such as anecdotes.

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.

Organization/Coherence

Students whose performance exceeds the Standards apply a complete understanding of how effective use of transitions influence organization and coherence of the text. For example, they include transitions that successfully maintain the logic of the text and improve sentence fluency. They demonstrate a clear understanding of the writing task and successfully employ strategies, such as repeating words, phrases, or supplying transitions, to develop and support their ideas in a sophisticated way that creates strong overall coherence and cohesion. They apply these skills to develop writing that effectively incorporates strategies, such as examples, concrete details, facts, summaries, or quotations, to develop introductions, succeeding paragraphs, and closings that unify 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.
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).

Support/Word Choice/Sentence Structure

They generate documents that display extensive depth of detail, enhanced word choice, and varied sentence structure. They produce writing that demonstrates sophisticated use of analytical and evaluative thinking by successfully including material that is consistent in subject and voice. They produce documents that exhibit a comprehensive understanding of the successful use of sophisticated writing techniques, such as explanations and evidence, that are appropriate to purpose and audience, and apply these techniques to develop and maintain clarity of focus, logic, and organization. They successfully use techniques, such as varying sentence structure, for stylistic effect.

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.
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).

Conventions/Usage/Punctuation

Students whose performance exceeds the Standards produce and edit a variety of texts in a way that reflects comprehensive knowledge of sentence structure, usage, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. For example, they apply their knowledge of punctuation to maintain the flow of sentences in the text. They apply basic rules of standard English in sophisticated ways to edit documents for clarity, subject-verb agreement, adverb and adjective agreement, and verb tense. They creatively apply these elements to create stylistic effect and organizational power in their writing.

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.
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.
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.
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).

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Last modified 09/15/06.