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Writing Standards and Benchmarks
Writing Standard 1:
Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
Level III (Grade 6-8)
- Prewriting: Uses a variety of prewriting strategies (e.g., makes outlines, uses published pieces as writing models, constructs critical standards, brainstorms, builds background knowledge)
- Drafting and Revising: Uses a variety of strategies to draft and revise written work (e.g., analyzes and clarifies meaning, makes structural and syntactical changes, uses an organizational scheme, uses sensory words and figurative language, rethinks and rewrites for different audiences and purposes, checks for a consistent point of view and for transitions between paragraphs, uses direct feedback to revise compositions)
- Editing and Publishing: Uses a variety of strategies to edit and publish written work (e.g., eliminates slang; edits for grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling at a developmentally appropriate level; proofreads using reference materials, word processor, and other resources; edits for clarity, word choice, and language usage; uses a word processor or other technology to publish written work)
- Evaluates own and others' writing (e.g., applies criteria generated by self and others, uses self-assessment to set and achieve goals as a writer, participates in peer response groups)
- Uses content, style, and structure (e.g., formal or informal language, genre, organization) appropriate for specific audiences (e.g., public, private) and purposes (e.g., to entertain, to influence, to inform)
- Writes expository compositions (e.g., states a thesis or purpose; presents information that reflects knowledge about the topic of the report; organizes and presents information in a logical manner, including an introduction and conclusion; uses own words to develop ideas; uses common expository structures and features, such as compare-contrast or problem-solution)
- Writes persuasive compositions (e.g., engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest; develops a controlling idea that conveys a judgment; creates and organizes a structure appropriate to the needs and interests of a specific audience; arranges details, reasons, examples, and/or anecdotes persuasively; excludes information and arguments that are irrelevant; anticipates and addresses reader concerns and counter arguments; supports arguments with detailed evidence, citing sources of information as appropriate)
- Writes compositions that address problems/solutions (e.g., identifies and defines a problem in a way appropriate to the intended audience, describes at least one solution, presents logical and well-supported reasons)
- Writes in response to literature (e.g., responds to significant issues in a log or journal, answers discussion questions, anticipates and answers a reader's questions, writes a summary of a book, describes an initial impression of a text, connects knowledge from a text with personal knowledge, states an interpretive, evaluative, or reflective position; draws inferences about the effects of the work on an audience)
Level IV (Grade 9-12)
- Prewriting: Uses a variety of prewriting strategies (e.g., develops a focus, plans a sequence of ideas, uses structured overviews, uses speed writing, creates diagrams)
- Drafting and Revising: Uses a variety of strategies to draft and revise written work (e.g., highlights individual voice; rethinks content, organization, and style; checks accuracy and depth of information; redrafts for readability and needs of readers; reviews writing to ensure that content and linguistic structures are consistent with purpose)
- Editing and Publishing: Uses a variety of strategies to edit and publish written work (e.g., uses a checklist to guide proofreading; edits for grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling at a developmentally appropriate level; refines selected pieces to publish for general and specific audiences; uses available technology, such as publishing software or graphics programs, to publish written work)
- Evaluates own and others' writing (e.g., accumulates a body of written work to determine strengths and weaknesses as a writer, makes suggestions to improve writing, responds productively to reviews of own work)
- Uses strategies to address writing to different audiences (e.g., includes explanations and definitions according to the audience's background, age, or knowledge of the topic, adjusts formality of style, considers interests of potential readers)
- Uses strategies to adapt writing for different purposes (e.g., to explain, inform, analyze, entertain, reflect, persuade)
- Writes expository compositions (e.g., synthesizes and organizes information from first- and second-hand sources, including books, magazines, computer data banks, and the community; uses a variety of techniques to develop the main idea [names, describes, or differentiates parts; compares or contrasts; examines the history of a subject; cites an anecdote to provide an example; illustrates through a scenario; provides interesting facts about the subject]; distinguishes relative importance of facts, data, and ideas; uses appropriate technical terms and notations)
- Writes persuasive compositions that address problems/solutions or causes/effects (e.g., articulates a position through a thesis statement; anticipates and addresses counter arguments; backs up assertions using specific rhetorical devices [appeals to logic, appeals to emotion, uses personal anecdotes]; develops arguments using a variety of methods such as examples and details, commonly accepted beliefs, expert opinion, cause-and-effect reasoning, comparison-contrast reasoning)
- Writes in response to literature (e.g., suggests an interpretation; recognizes possible ambiguities, nuances, and complexities in a text; interprets passages of a novel in terms of their significance to the novel as a whole; focuses on the theme of a literary work; explains concepts found in literary works; examines literature from several critical perspectives; understands author's stylistic devices and effects created; analyzes use of imagery and language)
Writing Standard 2:
Uses the stylistic and rhetorical aspects of writing
Level III (Grade 6-8)
- Uses descriptive language that clarifies and enhances ideas (e.g., establishes tone and mood, uses figurative language, uses sensory images and comparisons, uses a thesaurus to choose effective wording)
- Uses paragraph form in writing (e.g., arranges sentences in sequential order, uses supporting and follow-up sentences, establishes coherence within and among paragraphs)
- Uses a variety of sentence structures to expand and embed ideas (e.g., complex sentences; parallel structure, such as similar grammatical forms or juxtaposed items)
Level IV (Grade 9-12)
- Uses precise and descriptive language that clarifies and enhances ideas and supports different purposes (e.g., to stimulate the imagination of the reader, to translate concepts into simpler or more easily understood terms, to achieve a specific tone, to explain concepts in literature)
- Uses paragraph form in writing (e.g., arranges paragraphs into a logical progression, uses clincher or closing sentences)
- Uses a variety of sentence structures and lengths (e.g., complex sentences; parallel or repetitive sentence structure)
- Uses a variety of techniques to provide supporting detail (e.g., analogies; anecdotes; restatements; paraphrases; examples; comparisons; visual aids, such as tables, graphs, and pictures)
- Organizes ideas to achieve cohesion in writing
Writing Standard 3:
Uses grammatical and mechanical conventions in written compositions
Level III (Grade 6-8)
- Uses simple and compound sentences in written compositions
- Uses pronouns in written compositions (e.g., relative, demonstrative, personal [i.e., possessive, subject, object])
- Uses nouns in written compositions (e.g., forms possessives of nouns; forms irregular plural nouns)
- Uses verbs in written compositions (e.g., uses linking and auxiliary verbs, verb phrases, and correct forms of regular and irregular verbs)
- Uses adjectives in written compositions (e.g., pronominal, positive, comparative, superlative)
- Uses adverbs in written compositions (e.g., chooses between forms of adjectives and adverbs)
- Uses prepositions and coordinating conjunctions in written compositions (e.g., uses prepositional phrases, combines and embeds ideas using conjunctions)
- Uses conventions of spelling in written compositions (e.g., spells high frequency, commonly misspelled words from appropriate grade-level list, uses a dictionary and other resources to spell words, uses common prefixes and suffixes as aids to spelling, applies rules for irregular structural changes)
- Uses conventions of capitalization in written compositions (e.g., titles [books, stories, poems, magazines, newspapers, songs, works of art], proper nouns [team names, companies, schools and institutions, departments of government, religions, school subjects], proper adjectives, nationalities, brand names of products)
- Uses conventions of punctuation in written compositions (e.g., uses exclamation marks after exclamatory sentences and interjections; uses periods in decimals, dollars, and cents; uses commas with nouns of address and after mild interjections; uses quotation marks with poems, songs, and chapters; uses colons in business letter salutations; uses hyphens to divide words between syllables at the end of a line)
- Uses appropriate format in written compositions (e.g., includes footnotes, uses italics [for titles of books, magazines, plays, movies])
Level IV (Grade 9-12)
- Uses complex and compound-complex sentences in written compositions
- Uses pronouns in written compositions (e.g., reflexive, indefinite, interrogative, compound personal)
- Uses nouns in written compositions (e.g., collective nouns, compound nouns, noun clauses, noun phrases)
- Uses verbs in written compositions (e.g., present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect verb tenses; progressive verb forms, compound verbs)
- Uses adjectives in written compositions (e.g., adjective clauses, adjective phrases; relocates adjectives following nouns they modify)
- Uses adverbs in written compositions (e.g., adverb clauses, adverb phrases)
- Uses conjunctions in written compositions (e.g., correlative and subordinating conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs)
- Uses conventions of spelling in written compositions (e.g., spells high frequency, commonly misspelled words from appropriate grade-level list; uses a dictionary and other resources to spell words)
- Uses conventions of capitalization in written compositions ( e.g., within divided quotations; for historical periods and events, geological eras, religious terms, scientific terms)
- Uses conventions of punctuation in written compositions (e.g., uses commas with nonrestrictive clauses and contrasting expressions, uses quotation marks with ending punctuation, uses colons before extended quotations, uses hyphens for compound adjectives, uses semicolons between independent clauses, uses dashes to break continuity of thought)
- Uses standard format in written compositions (e.g., includes footnotes, uses italics [for works of art, for foreign words and phrases], uses bold or underlined headings)
Writing Standard 4:
Gathers and uses information for research purposes
Level III (Grade 6-8)
- Gathers data for research topics from interviews (e.g., prepares and asks relevant questions, makes notes of responses, compiles responses)
- Determines the appropriateness of an information source for a research topic
- Organizes information and ideas from multiple sources in systematic ways (e.g., time lines, outlines, notes, graphic representations)
- Writes research papers (e.g., separates information into major components based on a set of criteria, examines critical relationships between and among elements of a research topic, addresses different perspectives on a topic, achieves balance between research information and original ideas, integrates a variety of information into a whole, draws conclusions)
- Uses appropriate methods to cite and document reference sources (e.g., footnotes, bibliography)
Level IV (Grade 9-12)
- Uses appropriate research methodology (e.g., formulates questions and refines topics, develops a plan for research; organizes what is known about a topic; uses appropriate research methods, such as questionnaires, experiments, field studies; collects information to narrow and develop a topic and support a thesis)
- Uses a variety of print and electronic sources to gather information for research topics (e.g., news sources such as magazines, radio, television, newspapers; government publications; microfiche; telephone information services; databases; field studies; speeches; technical documents; periodicals; Internet)
- Uses a variety of primary sources to gather information for research topics
- Uses a variety of criteria to evaluate the validity and reliability of primary and secondary source information (e.g., the motives, credibility, and perspectives of the author; date of publication; use of logic, propaganda, bias, and language; comprehensiveness of evidence)
- Synthesizes information from multiple research studies to draw conclusions that go beyond those found in any of the individual studies
- Writes research papers (e.g., includes a thesis statement; synthesizes information into a logical sequence; paraphrases ideas and connects them to other sources and related topics; identifies complexities and discrepancies in information; addresses different perspectives; organizes and converts information into different forms such as charts, graphs, and drawings; integrates quotations and citations into flow of paper; adapts researched material for presentation to different audiences and for different purposes)
- Use standard format and methodology for documenting reference sources (e.g., credits quotes and paraphrased ideas; understands the meaning and consequences of plagiarism; distinguishes own ideas from others; uses a style sheet method for citing sources, such as the Modern Language Association, American Psychological Association, or Chicago Manual of Style; includes a bibliography of reference material)
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Selected Standards and Benchmarks
used by permission:
Copyright
2003 McRel
Mid-continent Research for
Education and Learning
2550 S. Parker Road, Suite 500
Aurora, CO 80014
Telephone: (303) 337-0990
www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks
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