Angela Gulick
The Writing Lab
This presentation has three parts:
Part I: Understanding how assessment works
Part II: Getting prepared mentally
Part III: Understanding the four steps to writing an
academic essay
The assessment tests are used at Parkland College to
place students in the classes for which the students are
best prepared.
Sometimes, a student achieves a score on the
computerized test that is very close to the score needed
to be placed into the next higher class (for example, ENG
99 >>> ENG 101) When this occurs, the student is invited
to submit a writing sample for a more complete
assessment of a student’s ability. This allows for a better
and more accurate placement of a student into a course.
If your score qualifies you for the
essay writing sample, make sure you
take advantage of this opportunity to
move on to the next higher class. By
not taking advantage of this
opportunity, you could spend $350
and 16 WEEKS in a class you MAY not
need.
If you are offered the opportunity to write an essay for placement purposes, be
aware of these details:
 You will have 45 minutes to write your essay. You may try a second time, and
this time, you will have 60 minutes to write your essay.
 Please note there is a 48-hour waiting period after you have written the first
essay before you can write the second essay.
 You may write your essay on the same day as you do your other placement
testing, or you may schedule a separate appointment.
 You will write the test using pen and paper. You won’t use a computer. You
will not have any additional tools or technology to use (such as dictionaries,
access to smart phones, and so on).
 You will write your test in room A209.
In putting this presentation together, I spoke with English faculty
who read and evaluate these assessment essays.
Here is what one evaluator said:
 “The biggest piece of advice is to make sure you write an
essay. Organization and mechanics are the two biggest
issues I look at. An introduction, a body with coherent
paragraphs, and a conclusion are a must. Grammar does
not have to be perfect, but it needs to be reasonably
competent, and spelling is probably the biggest grammatical
issue today, followed closely by apostrophe use. Honestly,
‘Take it seriously, and write the best essay you can’ is a big
tip.” – Dr. Rebecca Busker, Humanities Department

Even before you ever write a word, you can set
yourself up for success or misery. The mental
attitude you have about writing can definitely factor
into the writing you ultimately produce. The
following are suggestions to get ready to “do battle.”
 Use the restroom before the test. Once you are in
the room, the clock starts. If you need to leave the
room to use the restroom, blow your nose, and so on,
you may. However, this activity is part of your 45minute time allotment.
 Blow your nose. This way, you aren’t
sniffling and sneezing all through
the test.
Part II: Getting Prepared Mentally

Dress in clothes that make you feel good. Heck, if
you have a lucky pair of socks or underwear, wear
them. This is WAR! If you have a lucky charm, stick
it in your shoe .

However, I don’t recommend putting Lucky Charms
® in your shoes unless you want sticky shoes. And
possibly ants.
Part II: Getting Prepared Mentally

Dress in layers since no one can predict the
temperature of a room. Some people “heat
up” and others “cool down” when anxious,
so dress according to your own body’s
natural responses.
Part II: Getting Prepared Mentally
 Understand your body’s nutritional needs. Eat foods
that are familiar, comfortable, that give you energy. This
is NOT the time to eat that nine-day-old burrito in the
back of your fridge or food that makes you have bad
dreams the night before the test.

For a timed writing task, you will have to do four steps:
1. Understand the question/writing prompt
2. Develop an informal outline for your essay
3. Write the essay
4. Revise and proofread the essay

Here is a suggested outline for how to spend your 45 minutes:
1. Understanding the question(s): 5 minutes
2. Developing an informal outline: 5 minutes
3. Writing the response: 25 minutes
4. Revising and proofreading the response: 10 minutes
Step 1: Read the Prompt Carefully

Don’t rush and start writing immediately. Nerves will make you want to, but
you aren’t doing yourself any favors. Rushing in and kinda/sorta/maybe not at
all-a answering a question is a very common mistake people make. Plus, you’ll
get halfway into your essay and get lost.

Read and re-read the prompt, and pay close attention to any verbs (action
words) you find. These verbs tell you what approach you need to take
(illustrate = show with examples, argue = defend with reasons and evidence,
compare = to point out similarities, contrast = point out differences). You will
be given a dry erase board to jot down any of these important verbs. However,
do not write on the actual prompt given to you by Assessment Services.

Make note of any lists if they are presented in the question; sometimes lists
can be turned around and used to organize your responses.
Sample Prompts
The following are similar in tone and scope to prompts used for the essay.
However, they are not actual prompts.

Should college students be required to take physical education courses? Why
or why not?

If you could ban anything in the world, what would it be and why?

Should prison inmates be allowed to take college courses? Explain why or why
not.

If you were awarded an expense-paid trip to any one place in the world, where
would you go? Why?

Note: These prompts are courtesy of “20 Essay Writing Prompts for FiveParagraph Essays” by Kristina Bjoran (click here for link).
Step 2: Develop an Informal Outline for Your Essay

Often, it is helpful to repeat key terms from the original prompt in
your essay. This shows that you are making the effort to follow
instructions.

Generally, you will be asked to make an assertion or argument and
defend that argument with specific examples.

Pretend you are trying to convince a skeptic that your
understanding of the material is right. When drafting your thesis,
add the words “because ______” or “by ______” to the end, and
list out your reasons and examples.

This is a helpful strategy because in listing out your reasons, you
are providing yourself with an outline for your essay. This strategy
helps keep you organized and your reader focused.
Step 2: Develop an Informal Outline Based upon Prompt

Students are often intimidated by the word “outline,” but all an outline is is an
overall approach or game plan to the essay. For example, here is a quickly
sketched out, yet useful, outline:
Prompt:
Should high schools require that their students do volunteer work in the
community so students become more involved citizens?

Question: What’s your opinion on this issue? Do you agree or disagree with
this concept of mandatory volunteer work?

Let’s say you agree, so you are going to use some of the language of the
original prompt for your thesis statement: “High schools should require that
students seeking high school diplomas do at least 2 hours of volunteer work in
their communities a week…
Step 2: Still Creating an Outline

Question: Is there any way you can add reasons to your thesis statement?

High schools should require that students seeking high school diplomas do at
least 2 hours of volunteer work in their communities a week because…
1.
2.
3.
4.
Students can learn about how other people live.
Students can learn the importance of giving back .
Students can learn some marketable skills.
Students can improve on their academic skills.
Step 2: Plugging in Examples

So here is the final product:
High schools should require that students seeking high school
diplomas do at least 2 hours of volunteer work in their
communities a week because students can 1) learn about how
other people live, 2) recognize the importance of giving back,
3) acquire some marketable skills for the workplace, and 4)
improve on their academic skills.

Now, it’s just a matter of devoting a paragraph to each of the
four reasons and then plugging in real or hypothetical (madeup) examples to illustrate each of your reasons. Remember,
you need examples and evidence to support your thesis
statement.
Step Three: Write your response.

Neatness counts! If an evaluator cannot read a response,
he/she cannot give you credit for it. If your writing is hard to
read, try printing. Be aware, though, that printing takes more
time for most people to do.

Keep reviewing the original essay question so that you are sure
you are answering it accurately and entirely.
Step Four: Revising/Proofreading Your Response

Reserve at least 10 minutes at the end of the testing time just
to revise and proofread your work. You aren’t expected to be
perfect or to write a tremendously long essay in 45 minutes.
However, you will need to be clear and coherent. A missing
word or phrase can really damage a sentence, so make sure all
words are accounted for.

Read your response under your breath to “hear” how it sounds.

If you are running out of time, write the rest of your outline on
the essay. Some evaluators will give partial credit for ideas,
even if they are not in essay form. Some evaluators won’t give
you partial credit, however, so don’t hold me to that!

Listening to suggestions can be helpful, but the best
approach is to practice this skill.

You can search online for “college writing prompts” to get
some sample topics to write about. Here is such a website
mentioned earlier in this presentation: “20 Essay Writing
Prompts for Five-Paragraph Essays” by Kristina Bjoran (click
here for link).

Even if you just practice creating your informal outlines
consisting of your thesis statement, reasons, and examples,
that process will feel more comfortable to you.

Finally, please remember that the Writing Lab is here to help
you. Just come to D120 and tell us how we can help. Good
luck!