Promoting Sustainable Excellence in Testing and Assessment of English
Financed by the TEMPUS programme of the European Union
Promoting Sustainable Excellence in Testing and Assessment of English
Financed by the TEMPUS programme of the European Union
Unit 7. Assessing skills: Writing: purposes and techniques
Prepared by Olga Simonova, Maria Verbitskaya, Elena Solovova, Inna
Chmykh
Content elements of the unit
1. Background reading
2. Lecture: slides and notes
 Notes for students
 Notes for lecturers
3. Workshops activities
 Workshop materials
 Workshop notes for lecturer
4. Extension reading and activities
Total
Contact Independent
hours
study
2
2
2
1
5
2
4
Aims and objectives
On completion of the unit, students will know about:

the purposes for testing writing in a FL classroom;


the difference between writing as a process and writing as a product;
the linguistic and cognitive difficulties of teaching and learning writing in
terms of graphology, spelling, note-taking, and composing different
types of cohesive texts;
holistic and analytical rating scales for assessing writing;

On completion of the unit, students will be able to:

analyze the pros and cons of different types of tasks aimed at
assessing writing;

choose appropriate writing tasks for classroom based assessment and
standardized tests at different levels of language proficiency.
Background reading
Coombe, C., Folse, K. and Humley, N. 2010. A Practical Guide to Assessing Language
Learners. Chapter 4, pp.69-88.
EALTA, 2006. ‘Guidelines for Good Practice in Language Testing and Assessment’. On:
EALTA – European Association for Language Testing and Assessment. [Online.]
Available at: http://www.ealta.eu.org/documents/archive/guidelines/English.pdf.
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Green, A., 2013. Exploring Assessment and Testing. Routledge. Chapter 1, pp. 6-12.
Lecture outline
1. Why teach writing?
2. Stages of learning &teaching writing.
3. Writing: Process vs. Product.
4. Why assess writing? Types of tests & their purpose for different test users.
5. Writing test specifications.
6. Rating scales in assessing writing skills.
References
 Brown, H.D. 2003. Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practice.
Longman Addison Wesley Prentice Hall ELT. Pages 218 – 249.
 Coombe, C. 2011. Assessing Foreign/Second Language Writing Ability
[http://marifa.hct.ac.ae/files/2011/04/Assessing-Foreign-Second-Language-WritingAbility.pdf
 Coombe, C. and Hubley, N. 2007. Fundamentals of Language Assessment. FLA
Manual.
 Hughes, A., 2005. Testing for Language Teachers. Chapter 9, pp.75-101.
 Shaw, S.D. and Weir, C.J. 2007. Examining Writing: Research and Practice in
Assessing Second Language Writing. UCLES/ Cambridge University Press. Pages 1733.
 Weigle, S.C. 2002. Assessing Writing. Chapter 2. Cambridge University Press. Pages
14-38.
Detailed notes for lecturers
1. Why teach writing? (Slides 3-4)
Slide 4 – The lecturer asks students to brainstorm different reasons for writing. What are
key differences between children learning a language in school and adults learning in
later life? Show slide 4 and compare ideas.
The lecturer may review writing subskills. Some of these are related to accuracy
(correct spelling, forming letters, joining letters together, punctuating, using correct
layouts, choosing the right vocabulary and grammar, joining sentences and
paragraphing, etc.). The writing subskills related to communicating learners’ ideas
include organizing ideas, using appropriate style and register, using appropriate
functions for expressing the meaning (narrating, reporting, summarizing, complaining,
requesting, thanking, concluding, etc.).
The lecturer may wish to briefly review teaching used under specific conditions, why
one strategy is preferred as opposed to another and how the strategies have been
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effective in the past. In addition, the lecturer may lead a group discussions about
strategies such as t-charts (which list pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages of
a topic), transition-action-detail, lead, ending and pacing strategies and contentpurpose-audience strategies.
2. Stages of learning & teaching writing (Slides 6-11).
Slide 6 - The lecturer explains how the focus of the learning process should be
on concepts. Because individuals learn or search for meaning in different ways
and due to different experiences, the facilitator must also have an understanding
of mental models and explain how teachers should identify a student's mental
model while assessing his writing that is based on his worldly perceptions. More
on reading as a mental process can be found in Shaw and Weir (2007) Chapter
4.
The beginning of the lecture is a review of what the students have already learnt
about the teaching of writing. The lecturer should introduce a discussion of topics
such as brainstorming, drafts, sharing, revising and editing information and how
the educator might be able to identify whether and how a student utilizes these
tools.
Slide 6 reminds students that writing (in contrast to reading) is a process of
translating the writer’s mental representation into a text. The lecturer may explain
the difference between Process-oriented writing (involves some important stages
of writing: getting or developing ideas, planning or organising ideas, drafting,
editing, proofreading, re-drafting) and Product-oriented writing aimed at producing
different types of writing products (essays, letters, notes, etc.).
Slide 7 shows that the teaching of writing begins by focusing more on the
mechanical aspects and progresses towards the ability to express increasingly
complex mental concepts with increasing precision. Different kinds of
assessment will be needed as learners progress through this learning process.
Slide 8: The lecturer asks students to brainstorm a list of micro-skills (grammar,
spelling, punctuation etc.) that they teach (or were taught) to beginning writers. In
Slide 8, the lecturer should choose one or two micro-skills as a focus and ask
students which tasks might be most effective as ways of finding out whether
students have these skills? Show slide 9 and consider one task which might be
effective and one task which might not be effective for assessing this micro-skill.
For example, copying may sometimes be effective for assessing orthography,
scrambled sentences and transformations for assessing grammatical patterns.
Slides 10-12: Now repeat the process for Macro-skills (issues of clarity and
effectiveness for communication) Which tasks might best reveal students use of
one of these macro-skills?
Conclusion: some tasks are better for assessing specific micro-skills, others
better for macro-skills: clearly copying and scrambled sentences will not assess
the ability to communicate an idea effectively.
3.Writing as process and product (Slides 13 – 15)
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Slide 14: The word ‘writing’ in English can refer to an action – ‘Writing letters’ and
to a thing – ‘The writings of Shakespeare’s works. Assessment can focus on both
the process – how people write – and the product – what they write. We can
consider how well they plan, review and revise their writing to improve how well it
communicates as well as the quality of the final product.
Slide 15: Before showing the slide, have students brainstorm some different text
types. How would they categorise these text types? What are typical purposes
for each? Compare their ideas with Slide 15. Narrative, persuasive and
expository essays, letters, newspaper and magazine articles, reviews,
informational writing and technical writing are writing methods that students
should discuss, with a teacher, in a classroom environment. The teacher must
practice assessing writing samples of each kind of writing method.
4. Why assess writing? (Slides 16-21)
Slide 17-19: So far the lecture has looked at the nature of writing as a skill and
the development of writing abilities. Why is it necessary to assess it?
The students should brainstorm reasons. By this stage in the course, they should
be able to generate more formative reasons connected with teaching and
learning – insights into student progress – and reasons connected with
proficiency – can a potential worker write the kinds of reports needed for a job?
The lecturer should emphasise the importance of the purpose for writing when
thinking about assessment – what are the key purposes for the students they
(will) work with?
Slide 20. This model – the Bachman and Palmer model of areas of language
knowledge – is used by language assessment specialists to help them think
about the different elements involved in using language to communicate. Not
only the ‘micro’ elements of grammatical competence (grammar and vocab), but
also the ‘macro’ areas of pragmatic competence and the effects a piece of writing
may have on the reader. Bachman and Palmer (2010) explain this model in
detail.
Slide 21: In order to understand whether or not learners are able to use language
to persuade, inform or entertain etc., we need to give them realistic opportunities
to do those things through writing – we need performance assessments.
However, performance is complex, unpredictable and difficult to assess. There
are no clear write/ wrong answers. The lecturer might as students to suggest
ways of scoring a performance like a letter or project report. What are the
options? What are the pros and cons of each?
5. Writing Test Specifications (Slides 22-28)
So far the lecture has shown that writing can be seen as a process and as a
product and that we need different ways of assessing it according to what we, as
assessors want to find out. We can look at micro or macro skills and we can look
at different genres of writing according to the students’ purposes for
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communication. A test of academic writing will be different to a test of workplace
writing and both will be different to a test of writing for a fourteen year-old learner.
Slide 23: In this section of the lecture, the focus is on ‘How (test)?’ - how we
should test writing: What needs to go in to a test specification for writing?
The lecturer should ask students to list elements they think should go into
specification for a writing assessment so that the test takers will carry out a task
that will involve the abilities that the test designer is interested in.
Slide 24: How do the students’ ideas compare with Coombe’s?
Slides 25-28: The lecturer introduces and explains the parts of the test task (refer
to Coombe Coombe (2007)
6. Scoring Scales in Assessing Writing Skills (Slides 29-35)
Slide 29: Having looked at how we can test writing, this final part of the lecture
focuses on ‘How (score)?’ or how we make judgements about a piece of
extended writing.
Slide 30: Here is a task from an international test. Does it satisfy Coombe’s
elements of a rubric?
 Specify a rhetorical pattern, length, time;
 Indicate the resources available for students (dictionaries, spell checker,
etc.) and the delivery method (paper and pencil, etc.)
 Indicate whether a draft or an outline is required;
 Include the overall weighting of the writing task in the exam
The lecturer might ask students to suggest how scores should be awarded to the
essays produced from this prompt. Suggestions might include ‘marks out of ten’
use of global rating scales and use of analytic rating scales, each covering
different parts of the Bachman and Palmer model of language knowledge.
The lecturer should explain (or elicit from students) that ‘marks out of ten’ allows
for too much subjectivity. My ten may not mean the same as your ten. Agreement
on the meaning of scores is easier if we have definitions of what different scores
mean (but really detailed, accurate definition are too impractical to remember and
use while scoring).
Introduce the division between holistic and analytic scales. What do students
think might be the pros and cons of each? Compare their ideas with slide 32-34.
Slide 35: It is difficult to arrive at consistent scores when testing writing (or
speaking). The more control the assessor has over what the test takes and
scorers do, the more consistent results will be. On the other hand, too much
control makes the performance unrealistic and the scoring may not reflect what
the scorers themselves honestly think of the performance.
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Can students suggest ways of ‘checking validity and reliability’? Suggestions on
reliability might include comparing scores given by different raters (interrater
reliability) – if they generally agree on scores (without seeing each others), that
suggests the test is reliable - or scores awarded to the same test takers on
different tasks in the test. Validity can be checked by looking at how well the test
takers perform outside the test (in class, at work) or comparing test tasks with
parallel real world tasks etc.
Lecture handout
1. Brainstorming.
What is writing? Give some reasons for writing
WRITING
2. Comment on the following quotations:
‘To write without clarity or charm is a miserable waste of time and ink” (Cicero)
‘You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you’ve
got something to say’ (F.Scott Fitzgerald)
3. Group discussion
What writing subskills do learners develop?
ACCURACY
COMMUNICATING IDEAS
4. Group discussion
What writing strategies do you use ?
-T-charts (which list pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages of a topic),
-transition-action-detail, lead, ending and pacing strategies
-content-purpose-audience strategies.
5. Group discussion.
What are the main approaches to teaching writing?
PROCESS-ORIENTED WRITING
PRODUCT –ORIENTED WRITING
6. Brainstorm on micro skills and macro skills
MICRO SKILLS
7. Brainstorm on different text types.
MACRO SKILLS
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What types of text do you know? How would you categorise these text types?
What are typical purposes for each?
8. Brainstorming on reasons for assessing writing.
EDUCATIONAL REASONS
PROFESSIONAL REASONS
9. Discussing ways of scoring a performance like a letter or project report.
What are the options? What are the pros and cons of each?
10. Discussing test specifications. Make a list of elements you think should go into
specification for a writing assessment.
11. Read and discuss an extract from C. Coombe’s book
[http://marifa.hct.ac.ae/files/2011/04/Assessing-Foreign-Second-LanguageWriting-Ability.pdf]
Writing Prompt. Hyland (2003) defines the prompt as “the stimulus the student
must respond to” (p. 221). Kroll and Reid (1994, p. 233) identify three main
prompt formats: base, framed and text-based. The first two are the most common
in F/SL writing assessment. Base prompts state the entire task in direct and very
simple terms: for example, “Many say that “money is the root of all evil.” Do you
agree or disagree with this statement?” Framed prompts present the writer with a
situation that acts as a frame for the interpretation of the task: On a recent flight
back home to the UAE, the Airline lost your baggage. Write a complaint letter to
Mr. Al-Ahli, the General Manager, telling him about your problem. Be sure to
include the following:… Textbased prompts present writers with a text to which
they must respond or utilize in their writing. You have been put in charge of
selecting an appropriate restaurant for your senior class party. Use the restaurant
reviews below to select an appropriate venue and then write an invitation letter to
your fellow classmates persuading them to join you there. A writing prompt,
irrespective of its format, defines the writing task for students. It consists of a
question or a statement that students will address in their writing and the
conditions under which
they will be asked to write. Developing a good writing prompt requires an
appropriate ‘signpost’ term, such as describe, discuss, explain, compare, outline,
evaluate and so on to match the rhetorical pattern required. Each prompt should
meet the following criteria:
generate the desired type of writing, genre or rhetorical pattern;• get students
involved in thinking and problem-solving; • be accessible, interesting and
challenging to students;
• address topics that are meaningful, relevant, and motivating; • not require
specialist background knowledge;• use appropriate signpost verbs;• be fair and
provide equal opportunities for all students to respond• be clear, authentic,
focused and unambiguous;
• specify an audience, a purpose, and a context.(Davidson & Lloyd, 2005
12. Group discussion: How to score writing? How scores should be awarded to the
essays produced from this prompt? What rating scales are used ?
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13. Written task analysis. Here is a task from an international test. Does it satisfy
Coombe’s elements of a rubric?
 Specify a rhetorical pattern, length, time;
 Indicate the resources available for students (dictionaries, spell checker,
etc.) and the delivery method (paper and pencil, etc.)
 Indicate whether a draft or an outline is required;
 Include the overall weighting of the writing task in the exam
14. Group work Read the extract from C. Coombe’s book and compare holistic and
analytic scales.
Scale Type
HOLISTIC
ANALYTIC
Advantages
Disadvantages
Holistic Marking Scales. Holistic marking is based on the marker’s total
impression of the essay as a whole. Holistic marking is variously termed as
impressionistic, global or integrative marking. Experts in holistic marking scales
recommend that this type of marking is quick and reliable if 3 to 4 people mark
each script. The general rule of thumb for holistic marking is to mark for two
hours and then take a rest grading no more than 20 scripts per hour. Holistic
marking is most successful using scales of a limited range (e.g., from 0-6).F/SL
educators have identified a number of advantages to this type of marking. First, it
is reliable if done under no time constraints and if teachers receive adequate
training. Also, this type of marking is generally perceived to be quicker than other
types of writing assessment and enables a large number of scripts to be scored
in a short period of time. Third, since overall writing ability is assessed, students
are not disadvantaged by one lower component such as poor grammar bringing
down a score. An additional advantage is that the scores tend to emphasize the
writer’s strengths (Cohen, 1994: 315).
Several disadvantages of holistic marking have also been identified. First of all,
this type of marking can be unreliable if marking is done under short time
constraints and with inexperienced, untrained teachers (Heaton, 1990).
Secondly, Cohen (1994) has cautioned that longer essays often tend to receive
higher marks. Testers point out that reducing a score to one figure tends to
reduce the reliability of the overall mark. It is also difficult to interpret a composite
score from a holistic mark. The most serious problem associated with holistic
marking is the inability of this type of marking to provide washback. More
specifically, when marks are gathered through a holistic marking scale, no
diagnostic information on how those marks were awarded appears. Thus, testers
often find it difficult to justify the rationale for the mark. Hamp-Lyons (1990) has
stated that holistic marking is severely limited in that it does not provide a profile
of the student’s writing ability. Finally, since this type of scale looks at writing as a
whole, there is the tendency on the part of the marker to overlook the various
sub-skills that make up writing. For further discussion of these issues, see both
Educational Testing Service (ETS) and the International English Language
Testing Systems (IELTS) research publications in the area of holistic marking.
[http://marifa.hct.ac.ae/files/2011/04/Assessing-Foreign-Second-LanguageWriting-Ability.pdf]
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15. Discussing the validity and reliability of assessment.
-
Are there any ways of ‘checking validity and reliability’?
When do you think a test is reliable?
How can we check test validity?
Answer key for lecture tasks
1. Reasons for writing:
http://www.marquette.edu/wac/WhatMakesWritingSoImportant.shtml
3.Writing subskills
ACCURACY
correct spelling, forming letters,
joining
letters
together,
punctuating,
using
correct
layouts, choosing the right
vocabulary and grammar, joining
sentences and paragraphing,
etc.).
COMMUNICATING IDEAS
organizing
ideas,
using
appropriate style and register,
using appropriate functions for
expressing
the
meaning
(narrating,
reporting,
summarizing,
complaining,
requesting, thanking, concluding,
etc.).
4. Strategies
Transition-Action-Details strategy is for all forms of narrative writing, biographies,
history, processes, procedures, math algorithms, science experiments, directions,
summaries, and just about anything that can be described in a step-by-step way.
Content-Purpose-Audience strategy is best suited to persuasive and informational
writing.
http://www.edmondschools.net/Portals/0/docs/ttms_strategy_guide.pdf
5.
PROCESS-ORIENTED WRITING
involves some important stages of
writing: getting or developing ideas,
planning or organising ideas,
drafting, editing, proofreading, redrafting) and
PRODUCT –ORIENTED WRITING
aimed at producing different types of
writing products (essays, letters, notes,
etc.).
6.
MICRO SKILLS
1. produce
graphemes
and
orthographic patterns
2. produce writing at an efficient
speed to suit the purpose
3. produce an acceptable core of
MACRO SKILLS
Use the rhetorical form and
conventions of written discourse.
2. Appropriately accomplish the
communicative functions of written
texts according to form and purpose.
3. Convey links and connections
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words and use appropriate wordorder patterns
4. use an appropriate grammar
system
(tense,
agreement,
pluralisation, etc.)
5. express a particular meaning in
different grammar forms.
6. -use cohesive devices in written
discourse.
between events.
4. Communicate the main idea and
supporting ideas.
5. Communicate given information
and the new information,
generalization and exemplification.
6. Distinguish between literal and
implied meanings when writing.
7. Correctly convey culturally specific
references in the context of the
written text.
8. Develop and use a battery of
writing strategies such as:
- assessing the audience’s
interpretation
- using pre-writing devices
- writing the first draft
- using paraphrases and synonyms
- seeking peer and instructor’s
feedback
- using feedback for revising and
editing
7.Genres and text types
(Brown H. Douglas, Language Assessment. Principles and Classroom Practices
p.221)
- Academic writing: general subject reports, essays, compositions, term/ course
papers, academically focused journals, short-answer test responses; technical
reports (lab reports); theses, dissertation, etc.
-Job-related writing: messages/phone messages; letters/e-mails/ transactional
letters; memos; minutes; reports (job evaluation, project reports); schedules,
labels, signs; announcements, advertisements; manuals, etc.
- Personal writing: letters, emails, greeting, cards, invitations; messages, notes,
reminders, shopping lists; financial documents (checks, tax forms, loan
applications); forms, questionnaires, medical reports, immigration documents;
diaries, personal journals; fiction, etc.
8. Formative reasons for assessing writing are connected with
- teaching and learning – insights into student progress
- proficiency – Can a potential worker write the kinds of reports needed for a
job?
13.Comparing holistic and analytic scales based on C. Coombe’s e-book
[http://marifa.hct.ac.ae/files/2011/04/Assessing-Foreign-Second-LanguageWriting-Ability.pdf]
Scale Type Advantages
Disadvantages
HOLISTIC
fast (practicality)
not easy to interpret results/
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ANALYTIC
clear, explicit, detailed diagnostic
info, reliable, good for guiding
learners
remember all to arrive at
score
time consuming
15. Suggestions on reliability might include comparing scores given by different raters
(interrater reliability) – if they generally agree on scores (without seeing each others),
that suggests the test is reliable - or scores awarded to the same test takers on different
tasks in the test.
Validity can be checked by looking at how well the test takers perform outside the test
(in class, at work) or comparing test tasks with parallel real world tasks etc.
Workshop Outline for students
1. Group reflection on personal experience and current practices in assessing
writing skills.
2. Comparative analysis of examination tasks (IELTS, TOEFL, the Russian Unified
National Exam).
3. Applying the scales to written tasks and exam samples.
4. Washback effect
Workshop notes for lecturer
Slide 2. The lecturer may wish to begin the workshop with warming-up talk on the
quotation:
‘The best way to test people’s writing ability is to get them to write’ (Hughes, 1989: 75)




Slides 3-4. To get the audience more interested in the topic of Assessment writing, it is
better to have a discussion in small groups:
- What is easier for you – writing or speaking in a foreign language? Why?
- Have you ever experienced your writing skills being assessed?
- What was your experience?
- What did you do?
- Describe the procedure. Here are the points you may consider:
Test format and tasks (letter, essay, graph description, etc.)
Rater (your teacher, two teachers, other)
Criteria (Did you know about the criteria before taking the test? What were the criteria?)
Score (What was your score? Was it what you expected? If not, do you know why it
was lower/higher?)
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Slides 4-11. The next logical stage may be reviewing writing competences on the base
of The Common European Framework of Reference, beginning with level A1 up to C2.
The task for students may be to check their own level of English in writing.
Slide 12. Group work . The lecturer suggests students to have a look at some exam
tasks from TOEFL, IELTS and the RF USE (EGE) and make a brief presentation of the
materials to fill in the table in the handout. The sample of the filled table is represented
on slide 13.
Slides 14 -15. Working in groups students make comparative analysis of the
examination tasks and fill in Table 1. Each group makes a presentation about the exam
tasks.
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Workshop handout
1. Comment on the following quotation:
‘The best way to test people’s writing ability is to get them to write’ (Hughes,
1989: 75)
2. Work in groups and answer the questions:
-What is easier for you – writing or speaking in a foreign language? Why?
- Have you ever experienced your writing skills being assessed?
- What was your experience?
- What did you do?
Describe the procedure. Here are the points you may consider:
-Test format and tasks (letter, essay, graph description, etc.)
-Rater (your teacher, two teachers, other)
-Criteria (Did you know about the criteria before taking the test? What were the
criteria?)
-Score (What was your score? Was it what you expected? If not, do you know
why it was lower/higher?)
3. Study the Materials from The Common European Framework of Reference
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4. Complete the following table based on the analyses of the given tasks
Table 1.
Task №
1.Time limit
2. Rubric
 clarity
 L1/FL (does it make any difference?)
3. Input part
 length
 level (A2-C2)
 pattern of language use (EGP/ EAP/ ESP)
4. Outcome
 type of text
 length
 cognitive challenges
 linguistic challenges
 discourse challenges
 correlation with the input
5. Plan / advice / recommendations
 Yes / no
 Structured / guided / tentative
6. Criteria for evaluation
 Holistic scale
 Analytic scale
 No scale
Comments
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7. Potential target group
Group 1: Analysis of examination tasks for IELTS
Source:
(http://www.ieltsexam.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=7&Itemid=69)
IELTS tests your ability to produce two quite different pieces of writing in a fairly
short period of time. The test is divided into two parts and you are allowed one hour
to complete both parts.
IELTS Writing Task 1
In the first part, you are given a task based on some graphic or pictorial information.
You are expected to write a descriptive report of at least 150 words on the
information provided.
IELTS Writing Task 2
The second task is more demanding. You are expected to produce a written
argument on a given topic and to organise your answer clearly, given some
examples to support your points. You will have to write at least 250 words and, as
Task 2 is longer than Task 1, you are advised to spend approximately 40 minutes on
this task and 20 minutes on the first task.
IELTS General Writing
If you are planning to take the GT module, the Writing test is different. You are
allowed one hour to complete two tasks, of 150 and 250 words, as in the Academic
module. However, Task 1 is always a letter, while Task 2 is an essay based on a
given topiс.
Group 2: Analysis of examination tasks for TOEFL, Russian USE).
Sample of TOEFL written task
Source: (http://www.tcyonline.com/toefl/str_writing.php
Here you will have just under an hour to complete the two writing tasks, inclusive of the
time taken to read the passage and listen to the conversation, as under:
Writing Section
Question
Integrated task
Independent task
Reading Time
3 minutes
-
Listening
Writing Time
Time
2-3 minutes 20 minutes
30 minutes
Group 3: Analysis of examination tasks for the Russian Unified State Exam
Source: http://ege-language.ru/writingC1.html;
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С1. You have 20 minutes to do this task. You have
received a letter from your English-speaking penfriend who writes:
…I’ve decided to send you a book in English for your birthday. What kind of book would
you like? What kind of books do you usually read in your own language? Is there a
particular book you know about that you would like me to get for you? Are there any
kinds of books you definitely don’t like? Give me some idea of what I could get for you.
Rosie
Write 100 – 140 words.
Remember the rules of letter writing
Task 2. Source: http://ege-language.ru/writingC2.html
Task C2. You have 40 minutes to do this task.
Comment on the following statement.
Some people prefer to travel abroad; others say that there is much to be seen in our
own country.
What is your opinion?
Write 200 – 250 words.
Use the following plan:
 make an introduction (state the problem)
 express your personal opinion and give reasons for it
 give arguments for the other point of view and explain why you don’t agree with it
 draw a conclusion
Promoting Sustainable Excellence in Testing and Assessment of English
Financed by the TEMPUS programme of the European Union
Answer Key for the Workshop Activities
A sample table
• Purpose
IELTS
Post-secondary/
university level
TOEFL
Scores used
primarily in
decisions about
admission to
colleges and
universities
EGE
Post-secondary and
scores used
primarily in
decisions about
admission to
colleges and
universities
• Mode of delivery
Paper-based
Computer-based
Paper-based
• Test content
Data description (20
mins)
1.Integrated task
(20 mins)
1.Informal letter (20
min)
Essay (40 mins)
2.Essay (30 mins)
2. Essay (40 min)
9-band analytic
scale
6-point holistic scale Max. 20
points/marks(?)
Letter – 6;
Essay - 14
• Scoring
Extension Activities:
The lecturer may use the online materials :
1. http://www.fipi.ru/view/sections/227/docs/628 ( Russian Exam ГИА)
2. http://www.fipi.ru/view/sections/226/docs/627.html (Russian Exam ЕГЭ)
3. Online WSA workshop:
http://www.foster.washington.edu/academic/undergrad/WSAworkshop/Pages/Pra
cticeScoringWSA_1.aspx
4. Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab offers advice on writing essay exams at:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_essay.html or
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslaudience.html.
Video clips for viewing and discussing
1) Study English - Series 3, Episode 1: IELTS Assessment Criteria
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehBJ4Pi4C_Y
2)Study English - Series 3, Episode 3: Cohesion & Coherence in Writing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL_oO3-g0xw&feature=relmfu
Promoting Sustainable Excellence in Testing and Assessment of English
Financed by the TEMPUS programme of the European Union
3) IELTS Task II writing - analyzing the question
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYrkgcTo-e0&feature=relmfu
Promoting Sustainable Excellence in Testing and Assessment of English
Financed by the TEMPUS programme of the European Union
Extension Reading and weblinks:
Bachman, L.F. and Palmer, A.S. 1996. Language Testing in Practice. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Cambridge English. First Certificate in English (FCE) CEFR Level 2. Handbook for
Teachers.
Coombe, C. 2007. Assessing English Language Learners. University of Michigan.
Douglas, D. 2000. Assessing Languages for Specific Purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Green, A. 2011. IELTS Washback in Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Spratt, M., Pulverness, A., Williams, M. The TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test) Course.
Cambridge University Press.
Internet Resources:
1) Summative and formative assessment of a student’s writing
http://www.bridgewater.edu/WritingCenter/Resources/sumform.htm
2) Read more: How to Demonstrate Techniques for Assessing Writing | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/how_7829886_demonstrate-techniques-assessingwriting.html#ixzz1qxc8HU1f
3) Unified National Exam : A Guide To Informal Letter Writing
http://eng.1september.ru/article.php?ID=200701005
4) ISAT Writing Glossary
http://www.isbe.net/assessment/pdfs/2009/ISAT_Writing_Glossary.pdf