Try Scoring the Practice Assessment
Now that you have written your practice essays, you are ready to try to score them.
Under Sample Answers below you will find links to sample answers to the same questions you answered. Using the WSA Scoring Guide, do your best to score the sample answers. When you have made a guess at the sample's score, you can check your score against the actual score.
WSA Scoring Guide
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6
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Outstanding |
A paper in this category stands out because it demonstrates clear and consistent competence, although it may have occasional errors. Such a paper exhibits most or all of the following strengths:
• Persuasion: addresses the writing task effectively and
insightfully, providing a well-reasoned solution that displays
analysis of data (both numerical and verbal)
• Position: addresses the writing task effectively and insightfully,
providing a well-reasoned position that displays critical thinking
• is well organized, with a clear overall strategy
• is fully developed, with pertinent support for ideas
presented
• in style and tone is easy to read and appropriate for
(Persuasion) the intended writer, reader and situation;
or for (Position) a general audience
• displays consistent facility with written English
(grammar, syntax, vocabulary, punctuation, spelling)
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5
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Strong |
A paper in this category demonstrates reasonably consistent competence, although it will have occasional errors or lapses in quality. Such a paper exhibits most or all of the following strengths:
• Persuasion: addresses the writing task effectively, providing a
reasonable solution that may display analysis of data (numerical or
verbal)
• Position: addresses the writing task effectively, providing a well-
reasoned position that may display critical thinking
• is generally well organized
• is generally well developed, using appropriate examples to support
ideas
• in style and tone is easy to read and appropriate for (Persuasion) the
intended reader; or for (Position) a general audience
• in style and tone is easy to read and appropriate for
• displays facility with written English (grammar, syntax, vocabulary,
punctuation, spelling)
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4
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Adequate |
A paper in this category demonstrates adequate competence, although it will have occasional errors and lapses in quality. Such a paper exhibits most or all of the following characteristics:
• addresses the writing task
• is organized and adequately developed
• in style and tone is generally easy to read and appropriate for
Persuasion) the intended reader or for (Position) a general audience
• displays adequate but inconsistent facility with written English
(grammar, syntax, vocabulary, punctuation, spelling)
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3
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Limited |
A paper in this category demonstrates developing competence. Such a paper either does not address the writing task effectively or addresses the writing task but exhibits one or more of the following weaknesses:
• is inadequately organized
• is limited in development
• (Persuasion) is inconsistent or inappropriate in style and tone
or for (Position) a general audience
• displays limited facility with written English (grammar, syntax,
vocabulary, punctuation, spelling
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2
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Flawed |
A paper in this category demonstrates some incompetence. Such a paper
• does not address the writing task effectively. In addition, such a
paper is flawed by one or more of the following weaknesses:
• has poor organization
• has thin development
• (Persuasion) is generally inappropriate in style and tone or for
(Position) a general audience
• displays a lack of facility with written English (grammar, syntax,
vocabulary, punctua¬tion, spelling
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1
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Fundamentally Deficient |
A paper in this category demonstrates incompetence. Such a paper
• provides little evidence of the ability to address the writing task
effectively. In addition, such a paper is flawed by one or more
of the following weaknesses:
• has very poor organization
• has very thin development
• (Persuasion) is inappropriate in style and tone or for
(Position) a general audience
• contains a pervasive pattern of errors in written English
(grammar, syntax, vocabulary, punctuation, spelling) so
severe that meaning is obscured
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0
|
Off Topic or Illegible |
Does not address the topic |
Sample Answers
Sample Persuasion Task
Answer #1
Answer #2
Answer #3
Sample Position Task
Answer #1
Answer #2
Answer #3
Continue: Score Your Own Writing >>