Study Guide

Field 260: World Language: Spanish 
Presentational Writing

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Directions for Presentational Writing Assignment

For this section of the test, you will compose a written response to an assignment presented on screen. You must respond to the assignment in the target language.

The assignment appears on the screen with a response box. Type your response in this box. Note that the assignment includes a prompt and an exhibit. Read the assignment carefully before you begin to write. Think about how you will organize your response. You may use the erasable notebooklet provided to make notes, write an outline, or otherwise prepare your response. However, your final response must be typed in the response box provided for the assignment.

Please note that special characters (such as letters with accents or other diacritical marks) cannot be entered using the keyboard but are available for insertion in the on-screen response box. To access these characters, click on the ash symbol button that appears in the upper left corner of the screen. Using the mouse, click on the character you wish to include in your response and then select "Insert." The character will be inserted where the cursor is positioned in the response box.

Your response to the assignment will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

Your response will be evaluated on the criteria above, not on any personal opinions expressed in the response. Be sure to write about the assigned topic and use multiple paragraphs. You may not use any reference materials during the test. This should be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work. Remember to review what you have written and make any changes you think will improve your response.

A response will be considered unscorable if it is unrelated to the assigned topic, not written in the required language, not of sufficient length to score, or merely a repetition of the assignment.

Select the Next button to continue.

Sample Presentational Writing Assignment

Objective 0007 
Apply knowledge of target-language structures and writing conventions to compose an effective, coherent, and clear response to a prompt.

[The examinee will see on screen the following directions:
To view the exhibit, click the button above. A pop-up window will appear. The pop-up window can then be resized and/or repositioned on your screen so that you can access the information while completing your response.]

Use the exhibit provided to complete the assignment below.

Imagine that you are currently studying in a Spanish university. You are planning to register for a guided tour to visit important historical sites with the goal of learning about the local cultures. You want to invite a Spanish-speaking friend to join you. Drawing on the tour options advertised in the provided exhibit and your knowledge of Spanish writing conventions, write an e-mail in Spanish to your friend in which you:

Your response must be written in your own words, except for quotations and paraphrases from the exhibit used as evidence to support your ideas.

Exhibit

hispanófilo.edu.es

sobre nosotros

mapa del sitio

registro

acceso alumnos

inicio > excursiones > cultura > españa

acueducto de les ferreres - siglo I d.C.

anfiteatro de tarraco - siglo II d.C.

rutas culturales / hispania romana / cataluña

tarragona romana

visita guiada*

  • descubre la tarraco que deslumbró al emperador adriano
  • cuna de la dominación romana en españa
  • declarado patrimonio de la humanidad por la unesco en 2000
  • almuerzo por cuentas propia

precio por persona: 9,50 EUR

hora: 11:00

duración: 2h

el precio incluye entradas al circo/anfiteatro y transporte en autobús.

rutas culturales / al-ándalus - españa árabe / andalucía

córdoba y granada

día uno: córdoba

  • visita guiada de la joya andalusí del arte isl´mico, español
  • recorrido a pie por el barrio de la judería
  • tiempo libre tarde/noche (tablao flamenco opcional*)

día dos: granada

  • visita guiada del palacio de la alhambra
  • recorrido en autobús del barrio árabe entre el albaicín y el sacromonte

precio por persona: 125 EUR

duracióon: 2 días (incluye una noche en córdoba, hostal dos estrellas)

*costo adicional

la mezquita de córdoba

la alhambra de granada

Sample Strong Response to Presentational Writing Assignment

Hola Martina,

Acabo a encontrar en la universidad un folleto de unas rutas culturales por dos zonas de España diferentes, pero ambas con muchos puntos de interés. Como hemos hablado mucho sobre de hacer un viaje juntas, ahora que estudio aquí, quizás quieres acompañarme, y así que exploraremos el pasado de España.

La primera ruta es por el norte, a la ciudad de Tarragona. La visita enfoca en los restos romanos de esta ciudad, que creo que se encuentran en mejor estado de conservación: el acueducto, el anfiteatro, y el circo romano. Esta ruta es sólo dos horas y muy económico, que nos dejaría tiempo para ver Tarragona y tal vez los alrededores. Y si queremos descansar, hay la playa cerca. Siempre quería probar la famosa butifarra catalana.

La segunda ruta nos llevaría a tierras de Andalucía, que tanta herencia del dominio árabe tiene, no solo en los restos arqueológicos, sino también en la gastronomía y en la manera de ser de la gente andaluza. Me encantaría atender un espectáculo flamenco (la visita a un tablao es opcional). Dos días en la región, el primero en Córdoba y el segundo en Granada. En Córdoba podremos ver La Mezquita, que en un solo edificio tiene vestigios de distintas culturas. Luego se visita el barrio judío, donde para relajarnos podemos ir a una tasca y probar tapas del famoso jamón jabugo con vino fino. Al día siguiente es Granada, con su Alhambra, que es una maravilla de la arquitectura árabe. Y como colofón los barrios de Albaicín y Sacromonte, con casas de frescos patios con fuentes más típicos de Andalucía, y las cuevas que vive la gente.

Difícil elección. Por una mano la ruta de Andalucía puede resultar un poco agobiante, ya que son dos días sin parar, y también es más caro. Pero la verdad que si no esta vez, tendremos que verlas en otra, ya que es inexcusable estar en España y no ir al sur. Por otra, Tarraco es un itinerario más económico y menos intenso, pero no vamos a tener tan exposición a la cultura local porque es como un tour corto.

Pues ¿te animas? El mes que viene hay puente y eso nos da el tiempo para hacer un viaje de verdad, que es que yo prefiero. Te adjunto una copia electrónica del folleto para que ves por tú misma. Hasta pronto,

Alexa

Rationale for Sample Strong Response to Presentational Writing Assignment

The response thoroughly fulfills the tasks outlined in the assignment. It explains why the writer made the decision to register for a guided tour (she found a brochure at the university featuring two options for guided tours of historic Spanish regions) and features an invitation to her friend, Martina, to join her, since the writer is now living in Spain and the two had been talking about taking a vacation together. The response compares the two options throughout and describes at least one advantage and disadvantage of each (e.g., Tarragona costs less and leaves more time for relaxing but does not allow for much cultural immersion; Andalusia is more expensive and consists of two intense days of structured activities but offers a solid introduction to two cities with unique history and the chance to experience regional traditions firsthand). The response also arrives at a conclusion as to which option would be best and explains why. The response uses writing conventions appropriate for the context of writing an e-mail to a friend (e.g., using sentence fragments such as "Difícil elección.") that would not be appropriate in a more formal written text. The response demonstrates a strong engagement with the exhibit through the use of its contents to compare and contrast the two options. Explanations and comparisons are effectively supported with relevant details from the exhibit (paraphrased descriptions of each tour's offerings) as well as the candidate's own ideas (opinions and analysis of the provided information, suggestions based on this information, and additional thoughts based on the circumstances of the writer and her friend).

The response's message is logically sequenced and coherent. It begins with a greeting and an explanation of the purpose for writing the e-mail, then compares the two options through a series of well-structured paragraphs before presenting a conclusion that is reasonable based on the preceding ideas.

With the exception of quotations and paraphrases from the exhibit, the e-mail is written in the candidate's own words and effectively uses words and idiomatic language appropriate for an e-mail to a friend. Although the message is informal, there is evidence of a range of vocabulary, for example, in the use of different words related to geographic location ("zona," "tierra," "barrio," "region") and precise usage ("herencia," "vestigios"), as well as idiomatic language that shows knowledge of words and phrases used figuratively or that are unique to Spanish ("como colofón," "agobiante," "puente," "se visita," "pues"). Narrative time frames, sentence structures, cohesive devices, and mechanics are appropriate and effective. The response uses present ("te adjunto una copia . . ."), future ("no vamos a tener. . ."), and past time frames ("hemos hablado"), as well as interrogative ("¿te animas?") and conditional constructions ("que nos dejaría tiempo para ver. . ."). Ability to execute simple and complex sentences with appropriate word order is demonstrated. Cohesive devices such as pronouns ("dos zonas → ambas"), relative pronouns ("La Mezquita,  start underline que end underline  . . . tiene"), transitional words and phrases ("ahora que," "ya que"), sequencing words ("luego"), and relational or comparative words/phrases ("no solo . . . sino también," "por una mano . . . por otro") are employed successfully.

Minor errors within the response do not interfere with comprehensibility. Examples of such errors include: use of indicative instead of subjunctive form in "quizás quieres . . .," "así que exploraremos . . .," omission of pronoun "lo" in "que yo prefiero," incorrect noun-adjective agreement ("esta  start underline ruta end underline  es . . .  start underline económico end underline "), use of relative pronoun "que" instead of "donde" in "las cuevas que vive la gente," misuse or omission of prepositions ("hemos hablado . . .  start underline sobre end underline  de hacer un viaje"), omission of reflexive pronouns ("La visita  start underline se end underline  enfoca," "acabo  start underline a end underline  encontrar"), and usage errors such as "atender un . . . flamenco" instead of "asistir a."

Performance Characteristics for Presentational Writing Assignment

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the Presentational Writing assignment.

Purpose the extent to which the response fulfills the tasks outlined in the assignment, demonstrates engagement with the exhibit, and uses writing conventions appropriate for the specified context and audience
Support the extent to which the response is elaborated with explanations and comparisons that are supported with relevant details from the exhibit and the candidate's own ideas
Organization the extent to which the response communicates a logically sequenced and coherent written message
Vocabulary the extent to which the response uses words and idiomatic language appropriate for the specified context and audience
Grammar the extent to which the response uses appropriate narrative time frames, sentence structures, cohesive devices, and mechanics (spelling, punctuation, and if applicable, capitalization and diacritical marks)

Score Scale for Presentational Writing Assignment

A score will be assigned to the response to the Presentational Writing assignment according to the following score scale.

Score Point Score Point Description
4 The "4" response demonstrates effective presentational writing skills.
  • The response thoroughly fulfills the tasks outlined in the assignment, demonstrates strong engagement with the exhibit, and uses writing conventions appropriate for the specified context and audience.
  • The response is effectively elaborated with explanations and comparisons that are fully supported with relevant details from the exhibit and the candidate's own ideas.
  • The response effectively communicates a logically sequenced and coherent written message. Minor errors in connecting ideas do not interfere with comprehensibility.
  • The response effectively uses a range of words and idiomatic language appropriate for the specified context and audience. Minor errors do not interfere with comprehensibility.
  • The response effectively uses a range of appropriate narrative time frames, sentence structures, cohesive devices, and mechanics. Minor errors do not interfere with comprehensibility.
3 The "3" response demonstrates generally effective presentational writing skills.
  • The response largely fulfills the tasks outlined in the assignment, demonstrates general engagement with the exhibit, and uses writing conventions generally appropriate for the specified context and audience.
  • The response is generally elaborated with explanations and comparisons that are largely supported with relevant details from the exhibit and the candidate's own ideas.
  • The response communicates a largely effective, sequenced, coherent written message. Some errors in connecting ideas interfere with comprehensibility.
  • The response uses words and idiomatic language largely appropriate for the specified context and audience. Some errors interfere with comprehensibility.
  • The response uses largely appropriate narrative time frames, sentence structures, cohesive devices, and mechanics. Some errors interfere with comprehensibility.
2 The "2" response demonstrates partially effective presentational writing skills.
  • The response partially fulfills the tasks outlined in the assignment, demonstrates limited engagement with the exhibit, and uses writing conventions that are partially appropriate for the specified context and audience.
  • The response is partially elaborated. Explanations and/or comparisons are partially supported, with few relevant details from the exhibit and/or the candidate's own ideas.
  • The response communicates a written message that is partially effective and/or partially coherent. Frequent errors in connecting ideas interfere with comprehensibility.
  • The response uses basic words and idiomatic language that are partially appropriate for the specified context and audience. Frequent errors interfere with comprehensibility.
  • The response uses basic and/or partially appropriate narrative time frames, sentence structures, cohesive devices, and mechanics. Frequent errors interfere with comprehensibility.
1 The "1" response demonstrates ineffective presentational writing skills.
  • The response does not fulfill the tasks outlined in the assignment, demonstrates little or no engagement with the exhibit, and uses writing conventions that are inappropriate for the specified context and audience.
  • The response is ineffectively elaborated, with few or no explanations or comparisons and few or no details from the exhibit or the candidate's own ideas. Any support present may be irrelevant.
  • The response communicates an ineffective, incoherent written message. Constant errors in connecting ideas significantly interfere with comprehensibility.
  • The response uses few or no words and little or no idiomatic language appropriate for the specified context and audience. Constant errors significantly interfere with comprehensibility.
  • The response uses few or no appropriate narrative time frames, sentence structures, cohesive devices, or mechanics. Constant errors significantly interfere with comprehensibility.
U The response is unscorable because it is unrelated to the assigned topic, illegible, not written in the required language, not of sufficient length to score, or merely a repetition of the assignment.
B There is no response to the assignment.

Acknowledgements:

nito. Pont del Diable Roman aqueduct, Tarragona, Spain. Credit Line: nito. Shutterstock. Copyright Notice: nito.

vladj55. Ancient Roman Theatre, Andalusia, Spain. Credit Line: vladj55. 123rf.com. Copyright Notice: vladj55.

Firenze, Barone. The Great Mosque or Mezquita, famous interior, Cordoba, Andalusia, Spain. Credit Line: Barone Firenze. Shutterstock. Copyright Notice: Barone Firenze.

Sillycoke. Detail of Patio of the Lions. Alhambra of Granada. Credit Line: Sillycoke. Shutterstock. Copyright Notice: Sillycoke.