Study Guide

Field 120: French 
Sample Presentational Writing Assignment

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The following materials contain:

• Test directions for the presentational writing assignment
• A sample presentational writing assignment
• An example of a strong and weak response to the assignment, and a rationale for each
• Performance characteristics and scoring scale

Test Directions for the Presentational Writing Assignment

[ start bold Note to examinee: end bold  These test directions are provided here to familiarize you with the directions you will see on the actual test. They may refer to features whose functionality is not enabled in this study guide.]

This section of the test consists of a written expression assignment. You should use your time to plan, write, review, and edit your response to the assignment.

Read the assignment carefully before you begin to write. Think about how you will organize your response. You may use the erasable notebooklet provided to make notes, write an outline, or otherwise prepare your response. However, your final response must be typed in the response box provided for the assignment.

Please note that special characters (such as letters with accents or other diacritical marks) cannot be entered using the keyboard but are available for insertion in the on-screen response box. To access these characters, click on the button that appears in the upper left corner of the screen. Using the mouse, click on the character you wish to include in your response and then select " start bold Insert end bold ." The character will be inserted where the cursor is positioned in the response box.

You will be provided with a list of topics to help direct your response to the assignment. You must address every topic on the list, but you are not limited in your response to only the points indicated. However, your response must be relevant to the assignment, and part of your score will be based on the degree to which you elaborate by addressing the required topics and any other points of your choosing.

Your response to the written expression assignment will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

 start bold PURPOSE: end bold  the extent to which the objective of the assignment is achieved and the appropriateness of the response for the intended audience

 start bold COHERENCE: end bold  organization and clarity of ideas

 start bold CONTENT: end bold  development of ideas and relevance of supporting details

 start bold GRAMMAR: end bold  accuracy of grammatical forms and syntax

 start bold VOCABULARY: end bold  command of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions

 start bold MECHANICS: end bold  accuracy of spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation

Your response must be written in  start bold French. end bold 

Be sure to write about the assigned topic and use multiple paragraphs. You may not use any reference materials during the test. This should be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work. Remember to review what you have written and make any changes you think will improve your response.

Sample Presentational Writing Assignment

Subarea IV
Presentational WritingSubarea roman numeral 4 Presentational Writing

Imagine that you have received an e-mail from a friend who lives in a French-speaking country and who has not heard from you for almost a year. The friend asks for news of your recent activities and future plans, including your professional goals. Write an e-mail of approximately 300–400 300 to 400  words in French in which you give a brief account of your activities over the last year, tell your friend of your plans to become a language teacher, and explain why you have chosen to enter this profession. In your e-mail, you  start bold must end bold  include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• your recent educational and work experiences;
• how a particular person or event influenced your decision to become a language teacher;
• your view of the value of language learning to young people in the United States; and
• aspects of your chosen career that you expect to find especially enjoyable.

Sample Strong Response to the Presentational Writing Assignment

 start bold Please note: The sample response provided below is for review purposes only and should not be used in a response on an operational exam. Use of the exact words and phrases presented in this sample response will result in a score of "U" (Unscorable) due to lack of original work. end bold 

Rationale for the Sample Strong Response

The response thoroughly fulfills the purpose of the assignment and is appropriate for the intended audience. The response is an informal e-mail to a friend that fully addresses the prompt by providing information about recent educational accomplishments and career plans; the influence of a particular person in the decision making process; a point of view on the value of language learning to young people in the United States; and career aspects that are expected to be especially enjoyable.

The response is well organized in paragraphs with an appropriate greeting, a good introduction, and an appropriate closing for this level of formality. The ideas are clear, extensively developed, and well supported with relevant information ("Grâce à l'inspiration et à l'aide de ma voisine Micheline dont je t'ai parlé et qui est chef du département de français de l'université locale, j'ai obtenu en mai mon "BA" en français et mon brevet d'enseignante.")

The response shows a comprehensive command of grammar and syntax particularly in the use and sequence of verb tenses ("Pardonne-moi," "j'ai décidé de devenir professeur de français, ce qui me permettra de retourner à mes racines," "que les étudiants américains aient l'expérience d'apprendre une deuxième langue et de comprendre une autre culture, afin qu'ils puissent s'ouvrir sur le monde," "Ça n'a pas été facile car je devais faire la navette chaque jour ... pour aller à mes cours," "peut-être réussirai-je à leur communiquer mon enthousiasme pour les langues.")

The word choice ("courriel," " épistolaire," "partager," "heureusement," "afin") and idiomatic expressions used ("Grâce à," "faire la navette," "poser ma candidature") reflect a broad command of language. Spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation are accurate. The rare minor errors do not interrupt communication. Such errors include wrong verb tense ("je pense que ce soit très important" instead of "qu'il est") and anglicisms ("mes chances sont bonnes," "Ce serait idéal pour moi").

Sample Weak Response to the Presentational Writing Assignment

Rationale for the Sample Weak Response

The response partially fulfills the purpose of the writing assignment. The response is an informal e-mail that provides information on recent educational and work experiences but barely addresses the other elements of the assignment. There is a vague and unclear allusion to a high school French teacher as the reason for the career change. There is nothing mentioned about the value of foreign language learning to young people or the potential enjoyable aspect of the new career except that to be a teacher is fun and interesting ("Être professeur est amusant et interessant").

The response lacks organization. It has one main paragraph and ideas are somewhat unclear and lack development. There is minimal support for ideas ("j'ai décidé être professeur français parce que mon professeur français au lycée," "France est jolie et la culture est interèssante"). The response uses simple linguistic structures, but some irregular verbs in the present are conjugated correctly ("Mes enfants vont," "quand je vais"). Attempts at using complex sentences are unsuccessful ("Je suis professeur anglais maintenant ...parce que mon professeur français au lycée"). Overall the response shows a limited command of syntax and grammar, and contains frequent errors and anglicisms that partially impede communication of ideas ("J'écris à toi parce que c'est un an je n'écris pas," "J'ai fait beaucoup cet an," "prés de ma maison," "prendre mes enfants avec moi").

The vocabulary used in the response is simple ("Je suis désolée," "professeur," "français," "universite," "maison"). There is a lack or misuse of pronouns, articles, and prepositions throughout the response. There is accuracy in the spelling of many words ("beaucoup," "mes enfants," "jolie"), but while diacritical marks are used accurately in some words ("j'écris," "français," "lycée," "école"), they are missing or used incorrectly in other simple words ("interèssant," "universite," "prés," "ou"). Since the response is written without complex sentences, the punctuation is minimal (a period after each short sentence).

Performance Characteristics for the Presentational Writing Assignment

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the presentational writing assignment.

Characteristics that guide the scoring of responses

PURPOSE	the extent to which the objective of the assignment is achieved and the appropriateness of the response for the intended audience
COHERENCE	organization and clarity of ideas
CONTENT	development of ideas and relevance of supporting details
GRAMMAR	accuracy of grammatical forms and syntax
VOCABULARY	command of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions
MECHANICS	accuracy of spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation

Scoring Scale for the Presentational Writing Assignment

Scores will be assigned to each response to the presentational writing assignment according to the following scoring scale.

Score Scale with description for each score point.

Score Point	Score Point Description
4	start bold The "4" response reflects a thorough application and strong command of the performance characteristics for the written assignment.  end bold  The response thoroughly fulfills the purpose of the written assignment and is completely appropriate for the intended audience. The candidate's ideas are well organized and clearly expressed. Ideas are extensively developed and well supported with relevant information. The response shows a comprehensive command of syntax and grammar, containing only minor errors that do not interrupt communication. Vocabulary reflects a broad command of the language and appropriate use of idiomatic expressions. Spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation are mastered, with few, if any, errors.
3	start bold The "3" response reflects a general application and command of the performance characteristics for the written assignment.  end bold  The response satisfactorily fulfills the purpose of the written assignment and is generally appropriate for the intended audience. The candidate's ideas show some organization and are generally clear. Ideas are adequately developed with some elaboration and support of specific points. The response shows a good command of syntax and grammar, though some errors may cause minor interruptions in communication. Vocabulary and idiomatic expressions are general, but do communicate a complete message. There are minor errors in spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation that do not interfere with communication.
2	start bold The "2" response reflects a partial application and limited command of the performance characteristics for the written assignment.  end bold  The response partially fulfills the purpose of the written assignment and may not be entirely appropriate for the intended audience. The candidate's ideas show limited organization and are somewhat unclear. Ideas are developed in a limited way with minimal support. The response shows a limited command of syntax and grammar, containing frequent errors that partially impede communication of ideas. Vocabulary is simple, lacks key words and expressions, and communicates a partial message. There are some errors in spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation, which partially interfere with communication.
1	start bold The "1" response reflects a weak application and little or no command of the performance characteristics for the written assignment.  end bold  The response does not fulfill the purpose of the written assignment and is inappropriate for the intended audience. The candidate's ideas are unorganized and unclear. Ideas are developed minimally, if at all, and lack any relevant supporting detail. The response shows little command of basic elements of grammar or syntax, containing numerous and frequent errors that impede communication. Vocabulary, with numerous word usage errors, does not communicate a complete message. Errors in spelling, diacritical marks, and punctuation are so numerous that they impede communication.
U	start bold The response is unrelated to the assigned topic, illegible, not written in the required language, not of sufficient length to score, or merely a repetition of the assignment. end bold
B	start bold There is no response to the assignment. end bold

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