Writing Assessment

Writing assessment

Content 25%                 Have you done what you were asked to do?

Register 25%                Have you used the appropriate register for the task?

Organisation 25%          Are the paragraphs organised in a logical order?

Language 25%      Are the grammar and vocabulary adequate?

Length

If the piece is too short it might not use the range of language expected.

If the piece is too long it may contain irrelevant content that may have a negative effect.

Register

Burlington includes the following types of writing, which we will 

1      Article

2      Cover letter (letter of application)

3      Blog entry

4      Descriptive essay

5      Narrative essay

6      Opinion essay

7      Letter of complaint

8      Review

1 Article

Headline                   Short and sweet

Introduction             Main information about the subject (Topic Sentence + Supporting Sentences)  

Body                          One or two paragraphs – develop the introduction  (TS + SSs)

Conclusion                Comment

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

As you all know, this is your first assignment. Please send it to my email address and I'll send back a corrected version. 

Module 1 -  ARTICLE

Communities

Choose one of the activities from the list below – the one you would like to participate in- and imagine you are planning a community event.

I suggest you use ‘Maplegrove Park reopens its doors’ as a model, but, of course, you’re expected to use your own ideas.

The list below has been taken from the reading and listening activities in Burlington Module 1.

Write an article OF NO MORE THAN 150 WORDS to invite and persuade people to take part in it.

1      a sports community

2      a library

3      a museum

4      voluntary work for the community

5      a hobbies fair

6      a marathon

7      a mountain biking group

8      an online gaming competition

9      an NGO (Non Government Organization)

Dolphins

And for our last news item today, a special report from Diane Hassan on an animal that is rapidly becoming known as ‘man’s best friend’, the dolphin.

Last week, a 28-year-old diver who went swimming in the Red Sea with a group of dolphins, learnt the hard way just how caring these creatures can be. When the diver was suddenly attached by a shark, they saved him by forming a circle around him and frightening the shark away.

It’s not the first time such a rescue has happened and it’s been known for some time that dolphins will do for humans what they do for their own kind. They are, in fact, the only animals in the world whose brains match ours in terms of size, and their intelligence and ability to feel emotion continue to fascinate scientists and doctors alike.

For some time now, their healing powers have been well known. A swim with a group of dolphins, for example, is a recognised ‘medical’ activity for everyday problems such as stress. But some dolphins are playing a far more serious medical role for us than that.

Amanda Morton, who suffered from a life-threatening illness, argued that being with dolphins saved her life because they were able to read her feelings. ‘They knew how I was feeling,’ she was quoted as saying. And it’s the idea that they actually ‘care’, that they are gentle, happy creatures that want to befriend us, which has led to projects with children as well.

In one such project, dolphins are being used to help children who are slow learners learn to read. The dolphins do things like carrying small boards on their noses. These boards show words or pictures which the children are asked to identify. When the children get it right, they spend more time swimming with the dolphins and touching them and they see this as a reward.

So what is it that makes contact with dolphins so powerful? They certainly have an engaging smile… in each jaw they have up to 52 teeth, but rather than frightening us to death, it is one of the warmest greetings in the world!

They’re also fantastic swimmers to watch… the spotted dolphin has been observed reaching 20 miles an hour and keeping this up for two days at a time. And they know they’re good at it so they show off in front of humans by diving in and out of the water and showing us just how much fun they’re having.

They’re great communicators too. They make all kinds of fascinating high-pitched noises. They catch fish, for example, by sending out sound waves which tell them everything they need to know –where it is, what it is and how big it is.

The only creatures that concern dolphins, in fact, are sharks and man. We don’t necessarily harm them on purpose, but we trap them in fishing nets and we pollute the water they swim in. Pollution, in fact, is one of the dolphin’s greatest problems.

So with all the good they do for us, isn’t it time we started caring about them?

How to succeed? Get more sleep

How to succeed? Get more sleep

Arianna Huffington 

ted.com

December 2010

http://www.ted.com/talks/arianna_huffington_how_to_succeed_get_more_sleep?language=en

My big idea is a very, very small idea that can unlock billions of big ideas that are at the moment dormant inside us. And my little idea that will do that is sleep.

This is a room of type-A women. This is a room of sleep-deprived women. And I learned the hard way, the value of sleep. Two-and-a-half years ago, I fainted from exhaustion. I hit my head on my desk. I broke my cheekbone, I got five stitches on my right eye. And I began the journey of rediscovering the value of sleep. And in the course of that, I studied, I met with medical doctors, scientists, and I'm here to tell you that the way to a more productive, more inspired, more joyful life is getting enough sleep.

And we women are going to lead the way in this new revolution, this new feminist issue. We are literally going to sleep our way to the top, literally.

Because unfortunately for men, sleep deprivation has become a virility symbol. I was recently having dinner with a guy who bragged that he had only gotten four hours sleep the night before. And I felt like saying to him -- but I didn't say it -- I felt like saying, "You know what? If you had gotten five, this dinner would have been a lot more interesting."

There is now a kind of sleep deprivation one-upmanship. Especially here in Washington, if you try to make a breakfast date, and you say, "How about eight o'clock?" they're likely to tell you, "Eight o'clock is too late for me, but that's okay, I can get a game of tennis in and do a few conference calls and meet you at eight." And they think that means that they are so incredibly busy and productive, but the truth is they're not, because we, at the moment, have had brilliant leaders in business, in finance, in politics, making terrible decisions. So a high I.Q. does not mean that you're a good leader, because the essence of leadership is being able to see the iceberg before it hits the Titanic. And we've had far too many icebergs hitting our Titanics.

In fact, I have a feeling that if Lehman Brothers was Lehman Brothers and Sisters, they might still be around. While all the brothers were busy just being hyper-connected 24/7, maybe a sister would have noticed the iceberg, because she would have woken up from a seven-and-a-half- or eight-hour sleep and have been able to see the big picture.

So as we are facing all the multiple crises in our world at the moment, what is good for us on a personal level, what's going to bring more joy, gratitude, effectiveness in our lives and be the best for our own careers is also what is best for the world. So I urge you to shut your eyes and discover the great ideas that lie inside us, to shut your engines and discover the power of sleep. Thank you.

Glossary

Arianna Huffington is the owner of the news website The Huffington Post

to unlock (ideas) = to release, open, free

type-A (women) = a personality type characterized by ambition, impatience, and competitiveness, and thought to be susceptible to stress and heart disease

sleep-deprived (women) = suffering a severe and damaging lack of sleep

to faint = to pass out, lose consciousness, fall unconscious, collapse, black out

stitches = a surgical incision = puntos

to sleep one’s way to the top = to reach the top by sleeping

to brag = to boast, congratulate oneself

one-upmanship = the art or practice of successively defeating a competitor

to get (a game) in = to manage to include

I.Q. = intellectual quotient

hyperconnected = excessively connected

24/7 = twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; all the time

Module 1 Communities

Module 1

Communities

Choose one of the activities from the list below – the one you would like to participate in- and imagine you are planning a community event. Use the sample as a model, but, of course, you’re expected to use your own ideas.

The list below has been taken from the reading and listening activities in Burlington Module 1.

Write an article OF NO MORE THAN 150 WORDS to invite and persuade people to take part in it.

1        a sports community

2        a library

3        a museum

4        voluntary work for the community

5        a hobbies fair

6        a marathon

7        a mountain biking group

8        an online gaming competition

9        an NGO (Non Government Organization)

...................................................................................................................................................................

Sample article

Maplegrove Park reopens its doors

We are pleased to announce that Maplegrove Park will be reopened to the public on December 6. The park was closed in October because some of its facilities were unsafe.

It is a popular meeting place for all members of our community. Teenagers meet there to play basketball, while young children enjoy the fantastic playground. You will also find sports enthusiasts jogging in the morning, as well as senior citizens taking their daily walk. On weekends, the park is filled with young families having picnics.

Maplegrove Park has been a central part of our town for many years. Since its opening in 1952, it has been the venue for our annual community fairs and many sporting events. It is also home to our local basketball team.

We eagerly look forward to the reopening of the park and hope that it continues to serve our community for many years to come.

  ..................................................................................................................................................................

Headline

• Write a headline that expresses the topic and the main idea of the article.

• A headline should be short and does not need to be a full sentence.

Maplegrove Park reopens its doors

Paragraph 1

• Write the topic sentence of the article. It should contain the main idea.

Which event are you describing? When did it / will it take place?

• Add supporting sentences.

We are pleased to announce that Maplegrove Park will be reopened to the public on December 6. The park was closed in October because some of its facilities were unsafe.

Paragraphs 2 and 3

• Write two paragraphs providing background information.

• each paragraph should contain a topic sentence with one main idea.

• each paragraph should contain supporting sentences.

It is a popular meeting place for all members of our community. Teenagers meet there to play basketball, while young children enjoy the fantastic playground. You will also find sports enthusiasts jogging in the morning, as well as senior citizens taking their daily walk. On weekends, the park is filled with young families having picnics.

Maplegrove Park has been a central part of our town for many years. Since its opening in 1952, it has been the venue for our annual community fairs and many sporting events. It is also home to our local basketball team.

Conclusion

• conclude your article.

• include a personal comment or wish.

We eagerly look forward to the reopening of the park and hope that it continues to serve our community for many years to come.

 .................................................................................................................................................................. 

Assessment Rubric





	Possible score	Student's score
The headline is short and contains the main idea of the article.	10
The writing is divided into clear paragraphs.	10
The first paragraph includes information about the event you are describing.	10
 There are two paragraphs that provide background information.	10
Each of these paragraphs contains a topic sentence and supporting sentences.	25
There is a concluding statement with a personal comment or wish.	10
 The article is written in grammatically correct English.	20
 The spelling and punctuation are correct.	5
	100