A PAPER

ASSESSING WRITING
To Fullfil Coursework of Languange Assesment
Lecturer: Dr. H.M. Nur Arifin, M.Pd.

Compiled By:
Group 5

Siti Aisah Ravita Dewi 221230069

Syafina Salwa Sulaeman 221230082
Respi Apriliandini 221230093
Nurul Fadilah 221230096

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND TEACHERS TRAINING
STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
SULTAN MAULANA HASANUDDIN BANTEN
2024
 PREFACE
Assalamualaikum Wr. Wb

First of all, thanks to Allah SWT that because of His Grace and Mercy, we were given
the opportunity to complete this paper with the title “Assessing Writing” in order to fulfill the
group assignment for the Languange Assesment course within the time given.

In arranging this paper, we went through a lot of challenges and obstacles. We would
not have been able to get through all these challenges without the help of many individuals
who sincerely provide prayers, suggestions and criticism so that this paper could be completed.
Because of that, we would like to thank all the individuals, especially our honorable lecturer
Dr. H.M. Nur Arifin, M.Pd, who are involved in helping us in the process of writing this paper.
Hopefully Allah repay all the helps given by them with His blessings.

We realize that this paper is still far from perfect because of how limited our
knowledges are. Therefore, we expect all forms of suggestions and inputs and even constructive
criticisms from everyone who has read this paper. Last but not the least, hopefully this paper
can helps the future readers to gain more knowledge and can bring more developments in
education.

Wassalamualaikum Wr. Wb.

Serang, 25 April 2024

Writer
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE..................................................................................................................................i
TABLE OF CONTENTS.........................................................................................................ii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................iii
A. Background of the paper................................................................................................................1
B. Purpose of the Paper......................................................................................................................2
C. Problem Formulation ....................................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER II: THEORY AND DISCISSION ....................................................................... 3
A. Assesing Writing. ........................................................................................................... 3
B. Genres of Writing Language .......................................................................................... 3
C. Types of Performance .................................................................................................... 4
D. Microskills and macroskills of Writing.......................................................................................5

E. Designing Assessment Tasks: Imitative Writing.............................................................5

F. Designing Assessment Tasks: Intensive (Controlled) Writing...........................................7
G. Issues In Assessing Responsive And Extensive Writing...........................................................10
H. Designing Assessment Tasks Responsive And Extensive Writing...............................11
I. Test Of Written English (Twe®)................................................................................................12
J. Scoring Methods For Responsive And Extensive Writing............................................13

K . Beyond Scoring: Responding To Extensive Writing ............................................................14

CHAPTER III: CONCLUTION .......................................................................................... 15
Conclution .................................................................................................................... 15
BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................................................16
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Paper
In a daily life, as a social creature, human can’t be separated from
communication using verbal language. Because of the excessive amount of language in
this world, we need to learn English. It’s known that English is an international
language which has been received by countries all over the world. English as an
international language is used to communicate, to strengthen, and to fasten relationship
among all countries in all fields, for example in tourism, business, science, and
technology. Not many centuries ago, writing was a skill that was the exclusive domain
of scribes and scholar in educational or religion institution. Almost every aspect of
everyday life for “common” people was carried out orally. Today, the ability to write
has become an indispensable skill in our global literatecommunity.
Writing skill, at least at rudimentary levels, is a necessary condition for
achieving employent in many walks of life and simply taken for granted in literate
cultures. In the field of second language teaching, only a half-century ago experts were
saying that writting was primarily a convention for recording speech and for reinforcing
grammatical and lexical features of language. Now, we understand the uniqueness of
writing as a skill with its own features and conventions. We also fully understand the
difficulty of learning write “well” in any language, even in our own native language.
Every educated child in developed countries learns the rudiments of writing in his or
her native language. But very few learn to express themselves clearly with logical, well-
developed organization that accomplishes an intended purpose. And yet we expect
second language learners to write coherent essays with artfully chosen rhetorical and
discourse devices.
Based on the explanation above, writer will describe about writing assessment.
These assessments will improve writing ability both of students and teachers. With such
a monumental goal, the job of teaching writing has occupied the attention of papers,
articles, dissertations, books, and even separate professional journals exclusively
devoted to writing in a second language.
B. Purpose of The Paper
1. To find Assesing Writing
2. To find Advantages and Disavantages of
3. To find Purpose and Benefit of Assesing Writing
4. To find Example of Analytic for Writing

C. Problem Formulation
1. What is Assesing Writing ?
2. What Purpose and Benefit of Assesing Writing ?
5. What Example of Analytic for Writing ?
 CHAPTER II
THEORY AND DISCUSSION

A. ASSESSING WRITING
Assessing writing is the process of evaluating one's ability to write. It involves
assessing various aspects such as structure, cohesion, coherence, grammar, and
clarity of ideas. Usually, this assessment is done to determine the level of one's
writing ability, both in educational and professional contexts. The methods used can
range from direct teacher assessment to using automated evaluation tools that
measure several aspects statistically.

B. GENRES OF WRITING LANGUAGE

- Academic Writing
Academic writing is a writing style used in academic contexts, such as essays,
research reports, and scholarly articles. It is usually formal, objective, and uses
language appropriate to the field of study it is intended for.
Example:
(papers and general subject reports essays, compositions academically focused
journals short-answer test responses technical reports (e.g., lab reports)
theses, dissertations.)

- Job-Related Writing
Example:
ob-related writing messages (e.g., phone messages) letters/emails memos (e.g.,
interoffice) reports (e.g., job evaluations, project reports) schedules, labels,
signs advertisements, announcements manuals.

- Personal Writing
Personal writing refers to any form of written expression that originates from
the personal experiences, thoughts, feelings, or opinions of the author.
Example:
(letters, emails, greeting cards, invitations messages, notes calendar entries,
shopping lists, reminders financial documents (e.g., checks, tax forms, loan
 applications) forms, questionnaires, medical reports, immigration documents
diaries, personal journals fiction (e.g., short stories, poetry)
C. TYPES OF WRITING PERFORMANCE
Four categories ofwritten performance that capture the range ofwritten
production are considered here. Each category resembles the categories defmed for
the other three skills, but these categories, as always, reflect the uniqueness of the
skill area.
- Imitative. To produce written language, the learner must attain skills in the
funqamental, basic tasks of.writing letters, words, punctuation, and very brief
sentences. This category includes the ability to spell correctly and to perceive
phoneme-grapheme correspondences in the English spelling system. It is a level
at which learners are trying to master the mechanics ofwriting. At this stage,
form is the primary ifnot exclusive focus, while context and meaning are
ofsecondary concern.
- Intensive (controlled). Beyond the fundamentals of imitative writing are skills
in producing appropriate vocabulary within a context, collocations and idioms,
and correct grammatical features up to'the length of a: sentence. Meanipgimd.
context are of some importance in determining correctness and appropriateness,
but most assessment tasks are more 'concerned with a focus on form, and lare
rather strictly controlled by the test design.
- Responsive. Here, assessment tasks require learners to perform at a limited
discourse level, connecting sentences into a paragraph and creating a logically
connected sequence of two or three paragraphs. Tasks respond to pedagogical
directives, lists of criteria, outlines, and other guidelines. Genres of writing
include brief narratives and deSCriptions, short reports, lab reports, summaries,
brief responses to reading, and interpretations of charts or graphs. Under
specified conditions, the writer begins to 'exercise some freedom of choice
among alternative forms of expression of ideas. The writer has mastered the
fundamentals of sentence-level grammar and is more focused on the discourse
conventions that will achieve the objectives ofthe written text. Form-focused
attention is mostly at the discourse level, with a strong emphasis on context and
meaning.
- Extensive. Extensive writing implies successful management of all the
 processes and strategies of writing for all purposes, up to the length of an essay,
a term paper, a major research project report, or even a thesis. Writers focus on
achieving a purpose, organizing and developing ideas logically, using details to
support or illustrate ideas, demonstrating syntactiC and lexical variety, and in
many cases, engaging in the process of mUltiple drafts to achieve a fmal
product. Focus on grammatical form is limited to occasional editing or
proofreading of a draft.
D. MICROSKILLS - AND MACROSKILLS OF WRITING
Microskills
1. Produce graphemes and orthographic patterns of English.
2. Produce writing at an efficient rate of speed to suit the purpose.
3. Produce an acceptable core of words and use appropriate word order patterns.
4. Use acceptable grammatical systems (e.g., tense, agreement, pluralization),
patterns, and rules.
5. Express a particular meaning in different grammatical forms.
6. Use cohesive devices in written discourse.
Macroskills
1. Use the rhetorical forms and conventions of written discourse.
2. Appropriately accomplish the communicative functions of written texts
according to form and purpose.
3. Convey links and connections between events, and communicate such
relations as main idea, supporting idea, new information, given information,
generalization, and exemplification.
4. Distinguish between literal and implied meanings when writing.
5. Correctly convey culturally specific references in the context of the
written text.
6. Develop and use a battery of writing strategies, such as accurately assessing
the audience's interpretation, using prewriting devices, writing with fluency in
the first drafts, using paraphrases and synonyms, soliciting peer and instructor
feedback, and using feedback for revising and editing.

E. DESIGNING ASSESSMENT TASKS: IMITATIVE WRITING

With the recent worldwide emphasis on teaching English at young ages, it is

tempting to assume that every English learner knows how to handwrite the Roman
alphabet. Such is not the case. Many beginning-level English learners, from young
children to older adults, need basic training in and assessment of imitative writing: the
rudiments offorming letters, words, and simple sentences.We examine this level
of writing fIrst.

Tasks in [Hand] Writing Letters, Words, and Punctuation

1. Copying. There is nothing innovative or modern about directing a test-taker to copy letters
or words. The test-taker will see something like the following:
Handwriting letters, words, and punctuation marks

2. Listening cloze selection tasks. These tasks combine dictation with a written script
that has a relatively frequent deletion ratio (every fourth or ftfth word, perhaps).
The test sheet provides a list of missing words from which the test-taker must select.
The purpose at this stage is not to test spelling but to give practice in writing. To
increase the difficulty, the list ofwords can be deleted, but then spelling might
become an obstacle. Probes look like this:
Listening cloze~-sele€tieA-tas

Spelling Tasks and Detecting Phoneme- Grapheme Correspondences

 A number of task types are in popular use to assess the ability to spell words cor rectly and
to process phoneme-grapheme correspondences.
- Spelling tests. In a traditional, old-fashioned spelling test, the teacher dic tates a simple
list ofwords, one word at a time,followed by the word in a sentence, repeated again,
with a pause for test-takers to write the word. Scoring emphasizes correct spelling.You
can help to control for listening errors by choosing words that the students have
encountered before-words that they have spoken or heard in their class.
F. DESIGNING ASSESSMENT TASKS: INTENSIVE (CONTROLLED) WRITING

This next level ofwriting is what second language teacher training n1anuals have for
decades called controlled writing(Nodoushan, 2014). It may also be thought of as_ form-
focused writing, grammar writing, or simply guided writing. A good deal of writing at this level
is display writing as opposed to real writing: students produce language to display their
competence in grammar, vocabulary, or sentence formation, and not necessarily to convey
meaning for an authentic purpose. The traditional grammar/vocabulary test has plenty ofdisplay
writing in it, since the response mode demonstrates only the test-taker's ability to con1bine or
use words correctly. No new information is passed on from one person to the other.

- Dictation and Dicto-Comp

Dictation was described as an assessment of the integration of listening and
writing , but it was clear that the primary skill being assessed is listening. Because of
its response mode, however, it deserves a second mention in this chapter. Dictation is
simply the rendition in writing of what one hears aurally, so it could be classified as an
imitative type of writing, especially since a proportion of the test taker's performance
centers on correct spelling. Also, because the test-taker must listen to stretches of
discourse and in the process insert punctuation, dictation of a 226 CHAPTER 9
Assessing Writing paragraph or more can arguably be classified as a controlled or
intensive form of writing.
- Grammatical Transformation Tasks
Numerous versions of the task are possible:
• Change the tenses in a paragraph.
• Change full forms of verbs to reduced forms (contractions).
• Change statements to yes/no or wh-questions.
• Change questions into statements.
• Combine two sentences into one using a relative pronoun
• Change direct speech to indirect speech
• Change from active to passive voice.
- Picture-Cued Tasks
 A variety of picture-cued controlled tasks have been used in English
classrooms around the world.The main advantage in this teclmique is in detaching the
almost ubiquitous reading and '\X!riting connection and offering instead a nonverbal
means to stimulate written responses.
1. Short sentences. A drawing of some simple action is shown; the test·taker writes a
brief sentence.
Picture-cued sentence writing (Brown, 1999, p. 40)

Picture sequence description. A sequence of three to six pictures depicting a story

line can provide a suitable stimulus for written production. The pictures must be
simple and unambiguous because an open-ended task at the selective level would
give test-takers too many options. If writing the correct grammatical form of a verb
is the only criterion. then some test items might include the simple form of the verb
below the picture.The time sequence in the following task is intended to give writ
ers some cues.

Picture-cued story sequence (Brown, 1999, p. 43)

While these kinds of tasks are designed to be controlled, even at this very simple level, a few different
correct responses can be made for each-item in the sequence. If your criteria in tIus task are both
lexical and grammatical choice, then you need to design a rating scale to account for variations
between completely right and com pletely wrong in both categories.
Scoring scale for controlled writing

2 Grammatically and lexically correct

1 Either grammar or voc'abulary is incorrect, but not both
0 Both gramnlar and vocabulary are incorrect.

The following are some test-takers' responses to the first picture:

He gets up at 7.
He get up at 7.
He is getting up at 7.
He wakes seven o'clock.
The man is arise at seven.
He sleeps at seven o'clock.
Sleeps on morning.
How would you rate each response? With the scoring scale above, the first response is a
"2," the next five responses are a "1," and the last earns a zero.
 - Vocabulary Assessment Tasks

- Short-Answer and Sentence Completion Tasks

G. ISSUES IN ASSESSING RESPONSIVE AND EXTENSIVE WRITING

Responsive writing creates the opportunity :tor test-takers to offer an array of 'pos sible
creative responses within a pedagogic11 or assessment framework: test-takers are "responding"
to a prompt or assignment. Freed from the strict control of intensive writing, learners can
exercise a number of options in choosing vocabulary, grammar, and discourse, but with some
constraints and conditions. Criteria now· begin to include the discourse and rhetorical
conventions of paragraph structure and of con necting two or three such paragraphs in texts
oflimited length. The learner is respon sible for accomplishing a purpose in writing, for
developing a sequence ofconnected ideas, and for empathizing with an audience.
1. Authenticity. Authenticity is a trait that is given special attention: if test takers are being asked
to perfornl a task, its face and contentvalidity need to be assured in order to bring out the best
in the writer. A good deal ofwriting performance in aca demic contexts is constrained by the
pedagogical necessities of establishing the basic building blocks ofwriting;we have looked at
assessment techniques that address those foundations. But once those fundamentals are in place,
the would-be writer is ready to fly out ofthe protective nest ofthe writing classroom and assume
his or her ownvoice. Offering that freedom to learners requires the setting ofauthentic real-
world contexts in which to write. The teacher becomes less of an instructor and more of a coach
or facilitator. Assessment therefore is typically formative, not summative, and positive
washback is more important than practicality and reliability.
2. Scoring. Scoring is the thorniest issue at these fmal two stages of writing. With so many options
available to a learner, each evaluation by a test administrator needs to be fmely attuned not just
to how the writer strings words together (the form) but also to what the writer is saymg
(the/unction of the text).The quality of writing (its impact and effectiveness) becomes as
important, ifnot more important, than all the nuts and bolts that hold it together. How are you
to score such creative production, some of which is more artistic than scientific? A discussion
of different scoring options will continue below, followed by a reminder that responding and
editing are nonscoring options that yield washback to the writer.
3. Time. Yet another assessment issue surrounds the unique nature of writing: it is the only skill
in which the language producer is not necessarily constrained by time, which implies the
freedom to process multiple drafts before the text becomes a fmished product. Like a sculptor
creating an image, the writer can take an initial rough conception ofa text and continue-to refine
it until it is deemed presentable to the public eye. Vtrtually all real writing of prose texts
presupposes an extended time period for it to reach its final form, and therefore the revising
and editing processes are implied. Responsive writing, along with the next category of
extensive writing, often relies on this essential drafting process for its ultimate success.

H. DESIGNING ASSESSMENT TASKS RESPONSIVE AND EXTENSIVE

WRITING
- Paraphrasing
One of the more difficult concepts for second language learners to grasp is para
phrasing.The initial step in teaching paraphrasing is to ensure that learners under stand
the importance of. paraphrasing: to say something in one's own words, to avoid
plagiarizing, to offer some variety in expression. With those possible motiva tions and
p.,llrposes in mind, the test deSigner needs to elicit a paraphrase of a sen tence or
paragraph, usually .not more.
- Guided Question and Answer
Another lower-order task in this type of writing, which has the pedagogical benefit of
guiding a learner without dictating the form of the output, is a guided question and-
answer format in which the test administrator poses a series of questions that essentially
serve as an outline of the emergent written text. In the writing of a nar rative that the
teacher has already covered in a class discussion, the following kinds of questions
might be posed to stimulate a sequence of sentences.
- Pragraph Construction Tasks
Topic sentence writing. There is no cardinal rule that says every paragraph must have
a topic sentence, but the stating of a topic through the lead sentence (or a subsequent
 one) has remained as a tried-and·true technique for teaching the con cept of a
paragraph. Assessment thereof consists of
• specifying the writing of a topic sentence,
• scoring points for its presence or absence, and
• scoring and/or commenting on its effectiveness in stating the topiC.
- Topic development within a paragraph. Because paragraphs are intended to provide a
reader with "clusters" of meaningful, connected thoughts or ideas, an other stage of
assessment is development of an idea within a paragraph. Four crite ria are commonly
applied to assess the quality of a paragraph:
• the clarity of expression of ideas
• the-logic-ofthe sequence and connections
• the cohesiveness or unity of the paragraph
• the overall effectiveness or impact of the paragraph as a whole
- Develop1nent ofmain and supportihg ideas across paragraphs. As writers string two or
more paragraphs together in a 19nger text (and as we move up the con tinuum from
responsive to extensive writing), the writer attempts to articulate a the sis or main idea
with clearly stated supporting ideas. Thes~elements can be considered in evaluating a
mUlti-paragraph e~say:
• addreSSing the topiC, main idea, or prinCipal purpose
• organizing and developing supporting ideas
• using appropriate details to undergird supporting ideas
• showing facility and fluency in the use of language
• demonstrating syntactic variety
I. TEST OF WRITTEN ENGLISH (TWE®)
The TWE is in the category of a timed impromptu test in that test..takers are under a 30-
minute time limit and are not able to prepare ahead of time for the topic that will appear. Topics
are prepared by a panel of experts following specifications for topics that represent commonly
used discourse and thought patterns at the uni versity level Here are some sample topics
published on the TWE website.

Test preparation manuals such as Deborah Phillips's Longman Introductory Course for the TOEFL Test
(2001) advise lWE test-takers to follow six steps to max imize success on the test:

1. Carefully identify the topic.

2. Plan your supporting ideas.

 3. In the introductory paragraph, restate the topic and state the organizational plan of the
essay.

4. Write effective supporting paragraphs (show transitions, include a topic sen tence, specify
details).

5. Restate your position and summarize in the concluding paragraph.

6. Edit sentence structure and rhetorical expression.

J. SCORING METHODS FOR RESPONSIVE AND EXTENSIVE WRITING

At responsive and extensive levels of writing, three major approaches to scoring writing
performance are commonly used by test designers: holistic, primary trait, and analyticaL In the first
method, a single score is assigned to an essay, which rep resents a reader's general overall assessment.
Primary trait scoring is a variation of the holistic method in that the achievement of the primary purpose,
or trait, of an essay is the only factor rated. Analytical scoring breaks a test-taker's written text down
into a number of subcategories (organization, grammar, etc.) and gives a sep arate rating for
each.(Douglas, 2004)

- Holistic Scoring
Advantages of holistic scoring include
• fast evaluation,
• relatively high inter-rater reliability,
• the fact that scores represent "standards" that are easily interpreted by lay persons,
• the fact that scores tend to emphasize the writer's strengths (Cohen, 1994, p. 315),
and
• applicability to writing across many different disciplines.

Its disadvantages must also be weighed into a decision on whether to use holistic
scoring:
• One score masks differences across the subskills within each score.
• No diagnostic information is available (no washback potential).
• The scale may not apply equally well to all genres of writing.
• Raters need to be extensively trained to use the scale accurately.
- Primary Trait Scoring
a primary trait score would assess
• the accuracy of the account of the original (summary),
• the clarity of the steps of the procedure and the fmal result (lab report),
• the description of the main features of the graph (graph description), and
• the expression of the writer's opinion (response to an article),
- Analytic Scoring
For classroom instruction, holistic scoring provides little washback into the writer's
further stages of learning. Primary trait scoring focuses on the principal function of the
text and therefore offers some feedback potential, but no washback for any of the
aspects of the written production that enhance the ultimate accomplishment of the
purpose. Classroom evaluation of learning is best served through analytic scoring, in
which as many as six major elements of writing are scored, thus enabling learners to
home in on weaknesses and to capitalize on strengths.
K. BEYOND SCORING: RESPONDING TO EXTENSIVE WRITING
Assessment takes on a crucial role in such an approach. Learning how to become a good
writer places the student in an almost constant stage of assessment. To give the student the
maximum benefit of assessment, it is important to consider (a) ear lier stages (fronl freewriting
to the first draft or two) and (b) later stages (revising and finalizing) of producing a written text.
A further factor in assessing writing is the involvement of self, peers, and teacher at appropriate
steps in the process.
- Assess,ing Initial Stages of the Process of Composing
Following are some guidelines for assessing the initial stages (the frrst draft or two) of
a written composition. These guidelines are generic for self, peer,. and teacher ,
responding. Each assessor will need to modify the list according to the level of the
learner, the context, and the purpose in responding.

The teacher-assessor's role is; as a guide, a facilitator, and an ally; therefore, assessment
at this stage of writing heeds to be as positive as possible to encourage the writer. An
early focus on overall structur'e and meaning will enable writers to . clarify their
purpose and plan and will set a framework for the writers' later refme ment of the lexical
and grammatical issues.
- Assessing Later Stages of the Process ofComposing
 CHAPTER III
CLOSING

CONCLUSION
Writing, as a productive skill, is perhaps the most difficult language skill to teach, and the most
delicate to assess. Based on the discussion above, it can be concluded that the move towards a
reliable scoring system for students‘ writing performance has resulted in the emergence of task-
specific scoring system that address writing features specific to each writing task.. It must be
noted that, while the multiple-trait scoring approach is perhaps the most popular one today,
research on writing will definitely open new avenues in the future
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Nodoushan, M. A. S. (2014). Assessing Writing: A Review of the Main Trends. Studies in

English Language and Education, 1(2), 116–125.
https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v1i2.1831

Douglas, B. (2004). LANGUAGE8SSESSMENT" pinciples and Classroom PracticeS (T. Jane

(ed.)).