How To Make A Good Writing?

By Author: Blown
Total Articles: 39
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The NAEP data indicate that when asked to think on paper, most students produce rudimentary and fairly run-of-the-mill prose. Writing at the basic level demonstrates only a limited grasp of the importance of extended or complex thought. The responses are acceptable in the fundamentals of form, content, and language. . . . On the whole, readers are able to understand what these Omega Seamaster Replica Watches students are trying to say. However, about three-quarters of students at all grade levels are unable to go very much beyond that. By grade 12, most students are producing relatively immature and unsophisticated writing. (National Commission on Writing, Writing and School Reform 55)

Consider what the College Board, maker of the SAT, has to say about good writing:
W4.1-1.6A Uses a variety of strategies (e.g., reading the draft aloud, seeking feedback from a reviewer, capturing and evaluating the organization of the draft in an outline or organizational map, reading the draft from the perspective of the intended audience) to evaluate ...
... whether the thesis claim is clear and substantive; whether the progression of ideas is coherent and smooth; whether claims and opinions are supported by evidence (i.e., reasons, examples, and facts); whether his or her opinions and/or use of sources displays bias; whether counterarguments are anticipated and addressed; whether audience "pressure points" (i.e., interests, values, opinions, background knowledge, norms, and attitudes) are appealed to; whether organizational patterns are clear and developed; and whether the conclusion is appropriate, persuasive, and compelling, in order to guide ongoing drafting, including identification of areas requiring further invention and research.

Mindless "test prep" by English teachers is thus an ironic error. If we really understood testing—its Purpose and Audience—we would not make this mistake and kill off good writing in the process. An outstanding writing program will be reflected in test scores in the same way that we do well on the physical exam if we live fit, nutritious, healthy lives day in and day out. Mere safe use of formulae in writing by teachers locally is thus akin to practicing all year for the doctor's annual physical exam instead of working all year to be healthy. The state test is, by design, an Omega Replica audit of the local program, to shift analogies. It uses simple and generic prompts and crude rubrics because that is all it can do logistically and financially, but that is all it needs to do to assure the public that good writing instruction and assessment is going on locally. You don't run your business for the auditors, you run it to achieve worthy purposes with your clients—your audience.