The Levels of Writing FLASHCARDReview
Level 1 writing is: WTL (WRITING to LEARN) thinking through writing meant for the writer him/herself informal—like talking to close friends
Level 2 writing is: meant to communicate to others emphasizes content & may be scored for that, but not usually for other traits
Level 3 writing is: formal, academic meant to display knowledge to others scored on all the traits, depending on the assignment
Keep in Mind: The THREE levels need to be explained to students frequently Level 1 writing does NOT require assessment of content Level 2 focuses exclusively on content Level 3 focuses on many or all of the Six Traits, or other analytic scoring system
Writing & Grading…general rules LEVEL 1- no scoring of content LEVEL 2- scored for content only LEVEL 3- scored consistently and analytically by trait across faculty
More on Assessing Writing to Learn (WTL)or LEVEL 1 Writing Level 1 assessment is based on satisfactory completion. Use a binary system. Level 2 will typically be scored for content correctness only
Giving Feedback to WTL… (Level 1) Use the work in class...e.g., begin class by having students read aloud from their response journals, etc Respond in writing OCCASIONALLY, answering content with content Use binary grading
What about Grading & Level 3? Writing that is polished, requires revisions, and is not done ‘on demand’ is Level 3 writing and should be assessed using all or some of the 6 Traits—
Polished writing (Level 3) needs Six Trait (analytic) assessment! If you assign polished pieces, especially those that adhere to conventions of your subject, then we suggest putting the burden of proofreading squarely where it belongs--on the writer, then use the 6 TRAITS assessment!
WTL (Level 1) vs Customary School Writing Tasks: WTL Traditional Writing Tasks SPONTANEOUS vs planned SHORT vslengthy EXPLORATORY vsauthoritative EXPRESSIVE vstransactional INFORMAL vs formal PERSONAL vsaudience-centered UNEDITED vs polished UNGRADED vs graded
FREQUENCY OF LEVELS Level 1 – should be done in ALL classes daily. It should represent about 70% of all student writing Level 2 – may be about 20% of all writing, but no more Level 3 – should be done only about 1 time per grading period, reflecting about 10% of all writing.
Flash Cards Identify the following typical writing examples as Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3:
READY? HERE GOES:
Notes from a small group discussion
Level 1
A business letter
Level 3
An overnight homework assignment
Level 2
A summary of a chapter
Level 2 or Level 1, depending…
A first draft of an essay
Level 1
A Lab Report
Level 3
A journal entry
Level 1
Lab Notes
Level 1 or Level 2, depending…
The second draft of an essay
Level 2
An essay for a contest
Level 3
Congratulations!