Assessing
Writing
Claudia Galilea Salazar Velazquez
Danna Gabriela Toscano Carrasco
Eimy Yannet Fuentes Gómez
Esmeralda Karime Herrera May
Writing task example
Writing task example
A2 Level CEFR
Can write very simple personal letters
expressing thanks and apology.
Can take a short, simple message provided
he/she can ask for repetition and reformulation.
Can write short, simple notes and messages
relating to matters in areas of immediate need.
Writing is the skill that is most often used for testing
because:
Provides a permanent record of performance
It is generally believed to give an insight into the
thinking behind the production of the response
And the effects of a writing task should:
Provide meaningful information about students writing quality
Provide students with meaningful learning opportunities
Guidelines
When we plan to create or choose a writing test, we need to keep in
mind this components:
1. The writing situation
1.- The task 2. The topic
2.- The writer 3. The task(s) (Items)
3.- The scoring procedure 4. The wording of the rubric
4.- The reader(s) or 5. The rhetorical
‘raters’ specifications
6. The scoring criteria
Scoring Criteria
The purpose and audience for which a person is writing
determines:
• Content / topic (what to write about)
• Genre (e.g., narrative, description, argument, etc.)
• Tone/style (formal, informal, humorous, etc..)
• Linguistic choices (vocabulary, grammar, etc.)
• Rhetorical features (language choices within and
between sentences)
6 + 1 traits of writing
The NorthWest Regional Education Lab/NCTE publish the ‘6+1
traits of writing’ scoring scale for writing.
They are:
Ideas - the main message.
Organization - the internal structure of the piece.
Voice - the personal tone and flavor of the author’s
message.
Word Choice - the vocabulary a writer chooses to convey
meaning.
Sentence Fluency - the rhythm and flow of the language.
Conventions - the mechanical correctness.
Presentation - how the writing actually looks on the page.
Rubric
a) Decide which aspects of writing have been important to your discussion about
your students’ writing.
b) The criteria you use should be related to the learning outcome(s) that you are
assessing.
c) Determine your performance levels.
d) Make a rubric grid to fill in your rubric.
e) The hardest part of this task is to create a description for each criterion and
each performance level.
f) Look closely at your rubric and the scores students have been awarded, and
consider what has happened, and revise it as necessary.
References
Tsagari, D., Vogt, K., Froelich, V., Csépes, I.,
Fekete, A., Green A., Hamp-Lyons, L., Sifakis, N.
and Kordia, S. (2018). Handbook of Assessment
for Language Teachers. Retrieved from:
http://taleproject.eu/. ISBN 978-9925-7399-1-2
(digital).
