The California Writing Exam Grades 4 and 7

1
The California Writing ExamGrades 4 and 7

• Exam Description with Guidelines for Preparation
  and Success

2
What is the CA writing exam?

• The California Writing Standards Exam is
  administered each year to all Grade 4 and Grade 7
  students.
• Students will read a writing prompt, possibly a
  passage, and then write their essays.

3
What is a writing prompt?

• A prompt is a topic the writer is asked to
  write about.
• In other words, someone else tells the writer
  what to write about.

4
Types of Possible Exam Prompts

• Grade 4
• There are 3 different essay prompt types possible
  for the Grade 4 Writing Exam.
• Students will write to one of the following
  prompt types
• Response to Literature
• Summary
• Narrative

5
Grade 7

• There are 5 different essay prompt types possible
  for the Grade 7 Writing Exam.
• Students will write to one of the following
  prompt types
• Response to Literature
• Summary
• Fictional Narrative
• Autobiographical Narrative
• Persuasive

6
Grade 4 Response to Literature prompt asks
students to

• Read a short story and then write an essay
  showing their understanding of the story (allows
  students to reread the story and to mark the
  story or make notesmarks and notes will not be
  scored).
• Support their ideas by referring to the story and
  to what they already know (relate things in the
  story to their own prior knowledge).
• Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and
  capitalization.

7
Grade 4 Summary prompt asks students to

• Read a short informative article and then write a
  summary of what they have read (allows students
  to go back to reread the article at any time and
  to mark the article or make notesmarks and notes
  will not be scored).
• State the main ideas of the article.
• Identify the most important details that support
  the main ideas.
• Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and
  capitalization.

8
Grade 4 Narrative prompt asks students to

• Tell a story about an event or an experience (The
  prompt will suggest whether the story has to be
  real or made up look for clues in the wording of
  the prompt.).
• Organize the story to have a beginning, middle,
  and an end.
• Use details to help the reader imagine the event
  or the experience.
• Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and
  capitalization.

9
Grade 7 Response to Literature prompt asks
students to

• Read a short story and then write an essay
  showing their understanding of the story (allows
  students to reread the story and to mark the
  story or make notesmarks and notes will not be
  scored).
• Show their understanding of authors message and
  their insights into the characters and ideas
  presented in the story.
• Organize their essay around several clear ideas
  and/or images from the story.
• Justify their interpretation by giving examples
  and citing evidence from the text.
• Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and
  capitalization.

10
Grade 7 Summary prompt asks students to

• Read a short informative article and then write a
  summary of what they have read (allows students
  to go back to reread the article at any time and
  to mark the article or make notesmarks and notes
  will not be scored).
• State the main ideas of the article.
• Identify the most important details that support
  the main ideas.
• Write the summary in their own words except for
  quotations.
• Express the underlying meaning of the article not
  just superficial details.
• Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and
  capitalization.

11
Grade 7 Fictional Narrative prompt asks students
to

• Write a fictional story
• Develop a plot with a beginning, middle and end.
• Develop a setting and characters.
• Use appropriate strategies such as action,
  descriptive detail, and perhaps, dialogue to make
  their story interesting.
• Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and
  capitalization.

12
Grade 7 Autobiographical Narrative Essay
(separate guidelines for this type of essay not
yet available) Students would probably be asked
to

• Write an autobiographical incident essay about a
  memorable event.
• Use first-person point of view.
• Develop the essay with a beginning, a middle, and
  an end.
• Describe events in chronological order.
• Develop a setting and characters.
• Use appropriate strategies such as action and
  descriptive detail.
• Use language that shows dialogue.
• Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and
  capitalization.

13
Grade 7 Persuasive prompt asks students to

• Write a persuasive essay or letter.
• State their position on the topic.
• Describe the points in support of their position
  including examples and other evidence.
• Anticipate the readers concerns and arguments
  against their position.
• Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and
  capitalization.

14
Elements of a good NARRATIVE essay

• Clearly addresses all parts of the writing task
• Tells a complete story
• Is written in the order in which the events
  happened
• Has a beginning, a middle an end
• Includes vivid descriptive language and sensory
  details enabling the reader to visualize the
  events
• Establishes a clear point of view
• Includes a variety of sentence types
• Contains correct grammar, spelling, punctuation,
  and capitalization.

15
Elements of a good SUMMARY Essay

• Clearly addresses all parts of the writing task
• States main ideas important details in
  students own words
• Uses only the information provided in the
  article does not include writers own extraneous
  opinion or commentary
• Is often a comparison/contrast type essay
• Is well organized so the reader can easily follow
  the comparisons and contrasts
• Includes a variety of sentence types
• Contains correct grammar, spelling, punctuation,
  and capitalization

16
Elements of a good RESPONSE TO LITERATURE Essay

• Clearly addresses all parts of the writing task
• Shows students understanding of the literary
  work
• Shows students understanding of the authors
  purpose in the literary work
• Students ideas are supported by specific
  references to the text and his/her own prior
  knowledge.
• Includes a variety of sentence types
• Contains correct grammar, spelling, punctuation,
  and capitalization

17
Elements of a good PERSUASIVE Essay

• Clearly addresses all parts of the writing task
• Clearly states students position or perspective
  on the topic
• Position or perspective is supported with
  well-articulated evidence and examples
• Convincingly anticipates and addresses the
  readers concerns, biases, and arguments against
  their position
• Includes a variety of sentence types
• Contains correct grammar, spelling, punctuation,
  and capitalization

18
Tips for success in writing to a prompt

• Four Key Steps
• Prewriting Organizing Your Thoughts
• Free Writing Quick First Draft
• Proofreading Checking it Over
• Final Essay The Polished Piece

19
Prewriting Organizing Your Thoughts

• Read the directions carefully. Ask What kind of
  essay are the directions telling me to write?
  (Narrative, Summary, Response to Literature, or
  Persuasive?)
• Read the prompt several times. Ask What is the
  prompt asking me to write about?
• Take a few moments to think about your ideas.
• Read the directions again.

20
Free Writing Quick First Draft

• Dont worry about spelling, grammar, or neatness
  yet, just get your ideas down on paper. Youll
  proofread later.
• On scratch paper, jot down the main ideas or main
  points you want to cover, leaving room to add
  details later (you can use an outline, circle
  web, or whatever method will help you to quickly
  organize your ideas on paper). These main ideas
  will become topic sentences at the beginning of
  each paragraph.
• Add details that support each main idea.
• Try numbering the order of the main ideas do the
  same with each detail to help organize the
  sequence before you write.
• Read the directions and the prompt again to check
  that youve covered everything youre supposed to
  write about.
• Write a beginning paragraph to introduce your
  essay. Start with a sentence that will grab the
  readers attention. The other sentences in this
  beginning paragraph should tell what youll be
  writing about.
• Write an ending paragraph to wrap up your
  thoughts and conclude your essay.

21
Proofreading Checking it Over

• Take a good look at your draft. Does it have a
  beginning paragraph, 2 or 3 paragraphs in the
  body of the essay, and a concluding paragraph?
• Does your beginning paragraph catch the readers
  interest and tell what you will be writing about?
• Does the body of the essay contain 2 or 3
  paragraphs with sentences that support the
  details of each main idea (topic sentence)?
• Are there places where you could add more detail
  or colorful words?
• Does your last paragraph wrap up what you want to
  say?
• Proofread correct your essay for spelling,
  punctuation, or grammatical errors. Make sure
  each sentence is a complete sentence.
• Read the directions and the prompt one more time
  to check that youve covered everything in your
  essay.

22
Final Essay The Polished Piece

• Write your final draft. Make sure it is written
  neatly so it is easy for someone else to read.
• Indent the first sentence of each paragraph as
  you write. This is hard to change later if your
  writing begins close to the left edge of the
  page.
• Proofread for errors one more time before turning
  in your essay.
• Congratulations! Youve done a great job!