THE RESPONSE
Your response on the Independent Writing Task should be about 300 words long The Independent Writing Task asks you to express your opinion about the issue in the prompt Which side of the issue you choose to support is up to you; there is no “right” answer You need to clearly state your opinion (usually in the introduc- tion to your response) In the body of the response, you need to explain and support your opinion In the conclusion, you need to restate or explain the significance of your opinion
An outline of a typical Independent Writing Task might look like this: Introduction
Paragraph 1
Introduction to the general topic
Statement of your opinion or preference (thesis statement) Body
Paragraph 2
Key point #1 of the passage
Examples, reasons, and details that support your opinion or preference Paragraph 3
Key point #2 supporting your opinion or preference
Examples, reasons, and details that support your opinion or preference Paragraph 4
Key point #3 supporting your opinion or preference
Examples, reasons, and details that support your opinion or preference Conclusion
Paragraph
Summary or statement showing the significance of your opinion
Other possible ways to organize Independent Responses are given in Lessons
Trang 2THE WRITING PROCESS
You have thirty minutes in which to write the response for the Independent Writing Task You should divide your time more or less like this:
Pre-Writing
(two to five minutes) Read the prompt Think about the prompt Brainstorm and take notes Make an informal outline
Writing the Independent Task
(twenty to twenty-five minutes)
Checking Your Writing (two to five minutes)
Look for and correct problems with content, grammar, and mechanics
SCORING THE INDEPENDENT WRITING TASKS
Like the Integrated Writing Task, the Independent Writing Task is scored by two raters who scote it holistically
Scores on the Independent Writing Task range from 0 to 5 Each rater assigns a “whole number” score to the response (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) Your score will be the mean of the two ratings If one rater gives you a 3, for example, and another rater gives you a 4, you will receive a score of 3.5 If the two raters give you scores that are quite different, a third rater will read the response
The following rubric (set of guidelines or standards) is similar to the one used by ETS to score the Independent Writing Task
Score Explanation of Score
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Indicates the ability to write an organized, developed, and logical response The main ideas are adequately supported by examples and details Sentence structure may be less varied than that of a level 5 response, and vocabulary less sophisticated Grammatical and mechanical errors appear
Indicates some ability to write an acceptable response, but involves weaknesses in organization and development Sentence structure and vocabulary may lack sophistication, and there may be frequent grammatical and mechanical errors
Indicates the inability to write an acceptable response Organization and
development are weak May lack unity and cohesion Few specific details are given in support of the writer's ideas If details are given, they may seem inappropriate Significant and frequent errors in grammar occur throughout the response, making it difficult to understand the writer’s ideas Writer may not have fully understood the response prompt
Strongly indicates the inability to write an acceptable response No apparent development or organization Sentences may be brief and fragmentary and unrelated to each other Very significant grammatical and mechanical errors occur throughout the response and make it very difficult to understand any of the author's ideas Writer may have completely misunderstood the response prompt Did not write an response, did not write on the topic, or wrote in a language other than English SAMPLE RESPONSES
Following are five responses, each illustrating one of the five scores They are writ- ten in response to the following prompt:
Some people believe that money spent on space research benefits all of humanity Other people take the opposite view and say that money spent on this type of research is wasted Tell which point of view you agree with and explain why, using specific details and reasons
Response I
It has become quite a common proverb that “there is no free lunch.” Another way to say this is that spending money always has it’s “opportunity cost.” In other words, money spent on some venture could have been used for financing some other alternative venture
Some people believe that money spent on space research has a benefit for all people Other people believe that there are better opportunities for spending this fund The first group of people say that space research has helped all peo- ples’ lives very much They point out that research on space has informed us about many environmental damages which we have caused to our planet
Trang 4Similarly, they say that today’s modern satelite system is due to the research done in the past on space There are also many new materials and inventions that can be traced directly to space research These people want to spend more money on research, visit all the planets, and build space colonies
In the other hand, there are people who think that money spent on space is a complete wastage because it does not have enough direct benefit to all of the humanity For example, billions of US$ were spent on the Project Apollo and they only brought back a bag of rocks In the meanwhile, there is a sizeable
portion of the humanity that does not have any access to food, education,
sanitation, health care, and especially peace
Personally, | find that | cannot allign myself completely with either group | have some reservation about both positions No one can deny that weather satelites and communication satelites are a good investment But | think that “unrealistic” research like exploring Mars or Venus does not have any good bearing on most of humans’ development at the present time Some scientists may be interested in the composition of those planets, but the opportunity cost is too much In my opinion, it is like the poor man who wants to buy diamond jewlry when his family does not have enough food to eat or clothes to wear
Score: 5
Comments: This writer clearly understands the assignment and gives
supporting information for both arguments The essay is well organized, and the writer shows that he or she can say things in more than one way, uses idioms and verb tenses appropriately, and chooses clear and concrete examples to support his or her position
Response 2
Some people do really believe that space reseaches benefit all of humanity And it’s quite understandable because all the history of humanity development is connected with the space discovers From the beginning people have been looking the sky and observing the star’s movements and their influence For example, everyone knows about astrology and how ancient people try to pre- dict the future using knowledge of the stars
The present space discovery started in 1957, when the sputnik was
launched The first person flew in the space in 1961, and after several years first Americans landed on moon
Nowdays space researches can solve a lot of problems, For example, reseaches with new materials and technologies Such materials can be used in medicine, chemistry, and etc With the help of space satellites we can observe the atmosphere around the Earth and that’s why we can try to predict storms and so on, Through such observation we can save people’s lifes and decrease destructions, also we can solve problems with the different kinds of pollutions of ocean and atmosphere
Trang 5But I’m sure that if we concentrate only on the question of how to survive, the humanity will lose the reason for development If we refuse from space researches, or any kind of the scientific researches, we will stop moving forward And the absence of moving forward means the death of the humanity’s spirit That’s why | agree with the statement
Score: 4
Comments: This essay shows that the writer has a good command of English vocabulary and grammar usage While the essay is generally coherent and provides details, the writer sometimes digresses and provides unnecessary information This essay would be more on track if the writer took a position in the opening paragraph and supported his or her position more clearly in the remaining paragraphs
Response 3
Well, about the topic, | think that there are others subjects much more impor-
tant to be researching One of them, and to me the most important one, is the
health The cancer cure is not totally developed yet The number of AIDs’ vic- tims multiplying at an incredibly way
So, although | find in “space” a very fascinating and misterious subject, | agree with the opposite view that the money spend on it is wasted when are so many people dying around the world as a result of unknown diseases or not
having answers or cures for the ones we already known, or because is not
enough money for purification of the water, vaccines for the diseases, or training the doctors
More money for the education is also very important More schools and good teachers are needed
| believe cientifics should focus “health” in the first place and then to extend the researches in other fields
Score:_ 3
Comments: This writer understands the assignment yet answers it by telling the reader what other things are more important before stating his or her position on the topic The writer shows that he or she has some knowledge of English vocabulary, but there are errors in sentence structure, grammatical usage, and overall clarity = Es) = Z ap) Response 4
At the first the research in any thing is very useful for people because without research we will not development our life, so that | believe the money spent in space research benefit the humantity
Trang 6But the people which agrees with have a lot of point for example: one of this is the life must be development Other point, the rule materials become less and we must find a new one and must find new resource of power, so that they agree with a research in space
Score:_ 2 _
Comments: This writer’s essay is very short and does not adequately take a position and give supporting information The ideas are not fully developed The writer’s knowledge of sentence structures is limited, and word forms are not always used properly, making this essay difficult to follow
Response 5
the peoples take the opposive view because we don’t buy something one time and we don’t see another things that is a save way the money is important things for this reason to spent money the peoples need to be very cerfully ihave two opinion for spent money the money important to spent all humanty, because this point very important i’m not agree money wested in the futurre very important
Score: 1
Comments: This essay is very disorganized The writer uses very limited vocabulary and provides no details, making this essay difficult to understand There are significant errors in every sentence The punctuation is incorrect, and
verbs are not used correctly
EXERCISE: SCORING THE RESPONSE
Directions: Here are three responses based on the passage below Read each response and, using the scoring rubric on pages 650-651, decide what score (1 to 5) that you would give each response
This exercise will help you develop the ability to score your own responses
Some people believe that money spent on space research benefits all of humanity Other people take the opposite view and say that money spent on this type of research is wasted Tell which point of view you agree with and explain why, using specific details and reasons
Response 1
When we think that mony spent space reserches, are two opinins Some peoples beliefe that we can reserche benfits all of humanity, But on the othrt hand, peo- ple take opposite view say that this type research is wasted the mony and we have limitation this kinds reserches In my opinin | agree last one
Trang 7could gone to moon But, sometime, even although spent a lots money, we
cant find results and spent a lots time, furthermore, some acident which we
cant expect happen, such as Challenger acident The reson why, space is not man-made but nature lt means we cant expect and investigate exactlty Because, they are nature, therefore they change all the time We, humen, have follow this changes
In my opinin, we cant reserche whole things Because, they are nature and change all the time
Score:
Response 2
Space research is an integral part of the modern civilization Certainly this kind
of scientific research needs a huge amount of investment And of course, there is
a lot of competition for very rare intelectual and fiscal resources In other words, there are a lot of alternative investment opportunities for these resources that could benefit humanity
Space research is a long-run investment process The benefits out of this kind of research, once implemented, have a tremendous positive influence on all of the world | want to take a position in favour of this type of research
Space research, particularly as related to developments of satelite technol- ogy, may bring many positive development in the area of eradicating the root causes of many problems prevailing in this world The most important to con- sider is poverty Following are the scope of satelite technology-related research: a) remote sensing
b) weather forecasting
c) early warning of any calamaties
d) long-range forecasting of weather for the agriculture e) impact assessment of el nino and la nina conditions
Development of Global Positioning System (GPS) using satellite-driven infor- mation may contribute in modern infra-structure planning Another aspect of satelite technolgy is the Geographical Information System (GIS), now playing pioneering role in information technology having resource-saving opportunities for development, and the saved resources can always be used for betterment of humanity
All and all, | can’t help to believe that in the long-run, space research is one of the optimal investments that humanity can do
Score:
Response 3
Trang 8products could be determine with money A widespread proverbe of the french people tells us that the money serves very well the people but the money also is the worst master for the people who become enclosed by money
Aristote is the father of science He begun the psychic and philosophic and
scientific research Then there is the invention of mendicaments, the invention of planes, the invention of computer, all these invention are the resultat of
research in science
Surely, the research is important but the resultat of research can be negative while it can also be positive What about the research of the space? all of us saw the spectacular pictures of the earth from space and of international space sta- tion and shuttle So are these pictures worth billion of dollars used annually around the world?
Some people say that expenditures on space research have no effect and is comletely useless It does not enter the progress of the human people it has no relation to our life and actually does not do us any good
All of us benefit from the research of the space It advances the theoretical
body of many sciences, like physics, astronomie, chemistrie etc It also has more
tangible accomplisments in the way it improve the technology we can use in our every day life For example, we can all enjoy a diversity of TV chanels and the satellite predictions of the weather There is also a positive influence on peo- ples health and natural disasters
But the resultats of the space research not divided fairly among the human persons Scientists recive the best effects of it Also the rich nations benefit more than the poor ones such as our african nations
In concluding, the money spent for space is very important and has a lot of benefits for all us | think we should embrace it But the resultats of that research should be divided fairly among all the persons of the world
Score:
¢ When the directions for the Independent Task appear, click on the Dismiss Directions button and begin working right away
¢ Read the prompt carefully You must write on the topic exactly as it is given Give yourself time to think about the prompt and to plan your response by taking notes and writing a simple outline
* The prompt will ask to give your opinion, to support one side of an issue, or to give your personal preference Make it clear what your opinion is or what you prefer and why Remember, there is no “right answer.” You should choose the side that is easier to support
e Use concrete examples and specific reasons Whenever you make a general statement, support it with specific examples If you state an opinion, give reasons
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INDEPENDENT WRITING PREVIEW TEST
The second writing task in the Writing Section is an “independent” task It involves writing a response to a question using your own experience and background knowledge
Now read the directions for the second writing task
Directions: Read the question below You will have thirty minutes to write your essay This includes the time to plan, write, and revise your essay A typical response should be a minimum of 300 words Your essay will be rated on the cor- rectness and quality of your writing, including the way you organize your essay and develop and support your ideas If possible, write your responses on a computer
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PRE-WRITING THE INDEPENDENT RESPONSE
658
You should spend about five minutes “pre-writing” your essay for the Independent Response What should you do during this time? You have three main tasks: 1 Read the essay prompt (topic) carefully
2 Brainstorm (think about) the prompt 3 Plan your response
During the second and third tasks, you should take notes to use as an outline when you write the response
Try to spend no more than five minutes on pre-writing, but don't skip this stage altogether—it’s a very important use of your time!
(A) Reading the Prompts
In some ways, carefully reading each prompt is the most important step of the entire process If you don’t understand the prompt, you can’t properly respond to it If you write an essay that does not fully respond to the prompt, you will receive a lower score, no matter how well you have written the response
The prompts for the Independent Response tend to be written in very simple English If any of the vocabulary is difficult, it is usually explained Not only do you need to read the prompt carefully, you also need to understand what it is asking you to do You need to analyze the prompt—to be able to paraphrase it (put it into your own words) and to explain to yourself what it asks you to do (You don’t need to do this analysis in writing, only mentally.)
Read the following analyses of the sample prompts given in the Preview Test and About the Independent Writing Task
Some people believe that zoos serve useful functions Other people believe that it is cruel and wrong to confine animals in zoos Tell which point of view you agree with and explain why, using specific details and reasons
Analysis
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Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
It is much easier to learn in a small class than in a large one Use specific examples and reasons to support your answer
Analysis
This prompt asks about my opinion of class size and whether I think it has an effect on learning I can choose one of two positions One position is that small class size does make it easier to learn, and I’ll need to give examples of ways in which it does
If I choose the other side, I have to say that size is not an important factor I could say that a good teacher can make sure students learn in even a large class, and give examples of ways in which he or she could do that
Developments in transportation such as the invention of the automobile have had an enormous impact on modern society Choose another development in transportation that you think is of great importance Use specific examples and reasons for your choice
Analysis
For this prompt, I have to choose some development in transportation that I think is equally important or almost as important as the development of the automobile I can't choose the automobile because the prompt says to choose another develop- ment I could, for example, choose the development of the railroad and talk about how this had an impact on the world in general or on one country in particular (B) Brainstorming
The process of brainstorming involves generating ideas on a topic Just sit back for a moment and think about the topic and write down any ideas that come to you These may be things you have read in newspapers and magazines, things you’ve heard in classes or on television, or personal experiences These ideas may turn out to be useful or not—just write them all down
Trang 12Your brainstorming notes for the first prompt might look like this: Some endangered animals are found only in zoos: would be extinct without ZOOS Costs.a lot of money to maintain zoos properly Some people think that zoos are unnatural Take away animals dignitu.and put them on show Like prisons for animals But modern zoos give animals more space duplicate natural environments C) (Zoos protect animals from predators from development from hunters Zoos educate children, in fact, everyone Most people would never see animals from far away places if they didn’t see them.in zoos Zoos are a nice place to spend the day with family _ good entertainment
(C) Planning the Essay
This stage of pre-writing actually overlaps with Step B; while you are brainstorm- ing, you are beginning to plan your essay
The first step in planning is to choose your basic thesis A thesis is the central or controlling idea of an essay For the first two types of prompts—defending an opinion and agreeing/disagreeing with a statement—choosing a thesis simply means choosing which side of the argument you are going to support For example, for the first prompt your thesis might be “In my opinion, zoos serve several useful purposes.” For the second, your thesis might be “With the right teacher, large class size has little effect on learning.” For the third prompt, you have to choose what development you are going to discuss; for example, your thesis might be “I believe that the development of jet airliners was extremely important.”
Trang 13there any concrete details or compelling reasons that support the thesis you have chosen? If not, think of some now
Next, you need to write a simple outline You don’t have to write a formal outline with Roman numerals and letters, just a basic plan for your four or five paragraphs You may be tempted to skip this step to save time, but writing an out- line is very important Following a simple outline is the best way to keep an essay organized, and good organization is one of the most important things readers look for in scoring your essay
For the “opinion” prompts (types 1 and 2), there are two basic ways to organize the body of your essay One is to write two or three paragraphs, each providing a reason why your opinion is the “correct” one Introduction Paragraph 1 Here is my opinion Body Paragraph 2 My opinion is right for this reason Paragraph 3 A second reason why my opinion is right is that Paragraph 4 A third reason why my opinion is right is that Conclusion Paragraph 4 or 5
As you can see, my opinion is right
Another approach is to restate both sides of the argument—A and B—in your introduction The introduction does not say which side of the argument is
Trang 14Samples Outlines for the three prompts given in this lesson might look like this: Prompt A Outline Conclusion h5