MARKING WRITTEN SCRIPTS DR ANNAH HEALY Adelaide 2008

Brevity is a deficit factor in writing A grammatical approach to analysis requires an amount of text proportionate to the phase of development ! Year 3-9: Very brief texts cannot receive more than the lowest categories as evidence is only gathered over half a page or more of writing.

Effective application of writing criteria 1.Criterion for each category must be used in isolation from others – a poor result against one criterion should not prejudice other categories. 2.Assessors of writing should not assume circumstance or experience. 3.Assessors must not take personal pre-conceptions of a what year group should do to the analysis

2008 National Writing Test Criteria Audience Text Structure Ideas Character and setting Vocabulary Cohesion Paragraphing Sentence Structure Punctuation Spelling

CONSISTENCY Persuasive text – reasoned and detailed Explanation – consistency in response to the issue Exposition/argument – issue consistently argued; coherent Narrative – cause and effect logic; dynamic intro; characters live Information – logical; relevant; information sectioned

TEXT STRUCTURE: Introduction Persuasive text – detailed opening statement includes purpose Explanation – writer positions self in relation to situation Exposition/argument – issue established with preview of argument/s Narrative – Orientation Complication Resolution - engaging/powerful Information – states major point and information categories

TEXT STRUCTURE: Sequence- Persuasive text – letter organisation; meaningful information divisions [paragraphs] Explanation – cause and effect to link events; organised schematically [paragraphs] Exposition/argument – issue, writer’s position; cause and effect; evidence [paragraphs - use topic sentence to introduce new argument/evidence] Narrative - variety possible: climax first – setting/ one major character (don’t always encourage stereotypical intro-conflict-resolution-conclusion Information – categories or fields clearly sectioned

TEXT STRUCTURE: Conclusion Persuasive text – may briefly restate case; uses strong or emotive language to conclude Explanation – summarises/evaluates; may contain an author position statement Exposition/argument – powerful summation of argument Narrative – satisfies the evolution of text – resolution or may be left open Information – does not necessarily have a conclusive statement

VOCABULARY Persuasive text – clear and appropriate; synonyms to avoid repetition Explanation – engage the reader; convey mood of writer; colloquial/metaphoric for emphases Exposition/argument – precise and accurate; creative; powerful/evocative Narrative – simile/metaphor; language nuances Information – factual; accurate; correct formal terms

TEXT FEATURES: Sentence Structure A balance of simple, compound and complex sentences are appropriate for all text types. Using the three sentence types supplies readability and interest (rhythm and balance)

TEXT FEATURES: Tense/verb form Agreement of tense and verb at all times Text types are sometimes restricted to one tense in the one text (past, present or future): - reporting; exposition; persuasive; information Narrative can use any, or a mix of tenses if the author switches between reminisence, description of current events and prediction of what is to come.

TEXT FEATURES: Cohesion Conjunctions are varied and appropriate Pronoun refs are always correct and located nearest its referent The semi-colon only unites longer clauses that have related content and is more effective than a conjunction To avoid repetition the writer uses a range of subject-linked vocabulary (slide; manoeuvre; jostle; sidle; edge)