One-Draft Writing Resources
Note: For the 2006-2007 year, the timed-writing prompts have been changed to one-draft-writing prompts to reflect the California state tests, in which students are not strictly timed, but are instructed to complete an essay within one sitting. However, we believe it is still useful to practice writing in a timed setting. The following information sometimes refers to timed settings; however, the information is also relevant for one-draft or single sitting writing test situations.
One-Draft-Writing: What is It?
How to Treat the One-Draft-Writing Prompts
Suggestions for Doing Well on Writing Tests
Suggested Steps to Complete a One-Draft-Writing Prompt
One-Draft-Writing: What is It?
If you are in grade 4, 7, or 10, you are required to practice one-draft-writing in order to help prepare you for the California-state writing test. Because the test is administered in March, the one-draft-writing must be practiced and submitted during one of the first two submission periods, allowing for the writing to be assessed and returned before you are tested by the state. The assessment will both evaluate the quality of the overall writing and offer specific advice on how to improve when performing a writing test. The practice one-draft-writing will substitute for the submission of a longer, more polished essay.
Writing happens mostly in two basic ways: instantaneously, when needed, or over time, when one has the opportunity to rethink and revise a piece in progress. The latter form allows more opportunity for a writer to shine, to take the time to improve and to polish writing. The latter form, also, is generally what the Writing Program requires. But sometimes one does not have the luxury to take a few days, weeks, or even months to produce high-quality writing. When at a place of employment or during timed tests, when creating a list to go grocery shopping or writing a quick note or email to a friend, one rarely has the time to mull over ideas and strategize the best, most effective way to present them. But the writing still has to get done.
Because all people will face situations that require them to write well quickly, it is imperative that everyone practices doing so. This is especially true for students, who are often required to perform on writing tests. Writing tests are not only assigned in classes to assess whether a student has learned the material and can demonstrate it; writing tests are also used by the state of California to determine whether a student is prepared to advance a grade level. Therefore, students in grades 4, 7, and 10 are required to practice one-draft-writing.
How to Treat the One-Draft-Writing Prompts
Part of what makes a writing test unique is the element of surprise. You're not usually told ahead of time what the writing assignment will be; instead, you sit down and then receive a prompt you haven't seen before. While this element of surprise may intimidate some people, some writers also appreciate it. After all, it's sort of like receiving a gift: you never know what you may get, and so you never know what you are about to write. Nonetheless, as discussed below, there are some commonalities to all writing examinations—you’re not likely to be asked, for example, to write a sonnet about your favorite flavor of ice cream—and also some common strategies for doing well on writing tests.
Because writing tests in general involve the element of surprise, the Writing Program will honor it, too. The prompts for practicing one-draft-writing are available to teachers, who will choose an appropriate one for your one-draft-writing practice test. All prompts will not only closely resemble those that the state of California uses to test students; the means of dispensing them will be similar, too. So when you and your teacher decide to practice your one-draft-writing, prepare a quiet, comfortable writing space, one without distractions; set aside just the materials needed for the test—paper and a pen, preferably of black or blue. Your teacher, or a person the teacher arranges to dispense the prompt, will then supply the prompt. The intent is to simulate as much as possible the actual circumstances of performing a writing test. Part of the process of practicing one-draft-writing should be to recreate as faithfully as possible the actual conditions of the test—you want to be able to write well in a limited amount of time, in a limited space.
Although all students will share in common the experience of being surprised by the prompt, there are different expectations concerning what you will be required to write, depending on your grade-level. The requirements for each grade level are as follows:
Grade 4
Students in grade 4 can submit a minimum of one one-draft-writing, and a maximum of three one-draft-writings. Students in grade 4 will be prompted to write in one of the following modes: narrative, summary, or response to literature.
Grade 7
Students in grade 7 can submit a minimum of one one-draft-writing, and a maximum of four one-draft-writings. Students in grade 7 will be prompted to write in one of the following modes: narrative, summary, response to literature, or persuasion.
Grade 10
Students in grade 10 can submit a minimum of two one-draft-writings, and a maximum of five one-draft-writings. Students in grade 10 will be prompted to write in one of the following modes: biographical narrative, response to literature, exposition, or persuasion; additionally, students in grade 10 may also be asked to produce a business letter (in which case, the skills learned to write the Cover Letter for the Portfolio submission will be germane).
Suggestions for Doing Well on Writing Tests
Let's face it—writing tests can be difficult. There you are, given a prompt you've never seen before and told to write on the spot. The clock is ticking as the pressure builds. Yet, writing tests can also be a pleasure. For one, it's over when it's over—you don't have to keep working up the piece to perfection. For two, some people work best under pressure: since they've no choice but to produce on the spot, they are able to avoid distractions, concentrate, focus on the moment, and let the brain juices—and fingers—flow.
However it is approached, a writing test is a special writing situation, one affected by time. As a result of these limitations, it is very useful to strategize the writing situation before you have to perform. Just like regular writing situations, those not so restricted by time, try also to think of a writing test as a writing situation composed of three parts: prewriting, drafting, and editing. The amount of time you dedicate to each part will be determined by the amount of time you are allotted to write the essay. So whatever the time given, try to divide it up with the 10/70/20% approach: Spend about 10% of the time prewriting; use at least 70% of the time to write the essay; and save about 20% to reread and edit it. This of course is only a suggestion, however, so feel free to adjust these percentages to fit your individual needs.
When you receive a prompt for a writing test, you should first read it very carefully. If you are allowed to write on the prompt, underline key words and make notes in the margin; if you are not allowed to write on the prompt, then write those words and take notes on a scrap piece of paper (if you are allowed to use one, that is). Then read the prompt over again, perhaps several times. In general, many writing test prompts will start with instructions such as "discuss," "summarize," "evaluate," or "take a stand." These instructions are great indications of the mode of writing for which the reader will be looking. Here is a list of some of those words with brief descriptions of what those instructions entail. (adapted from Evergreen: A Guide to Writing, Sixth Edition, Houghton Mifflin, 2000.)
Summarize: Use your own words to identify the main idea and most important details of a reading selection.
Narrate: Chronologically tell a story about an event or experience.
Illustrate: Use detailed examples to support/prove a thesis.
Evaluate: Organize the essay around your interpretation and thoughts (evaluating the techniques an author uses in a piece of writing, for example).
Discuss: Examine different sides of an issue or topic (pros & cons of an issue, for example).
Take a stand: Argue an issue. Write in the persuasion mode.
Reflect: Thoughtfully examine what you think about or learned from an experience (or a passage of writing).
As soon as you believe you understand the assignment, then prewrite, using whichever method works best for you—freewriting, brainstorming, clustering, listing, etc. This is a very important step: because your time is limited, you must generate ideas quickly. As soon as you have generated ideas, then take a moment to think about how they might be best organized. Even if you usually don't outline, for a writing test you should probably try to do so, even if all you produce is a quick, brief list (like a grocery shopping list). Because of time limitations, you won't be able to make a very detailed outline; but because of the limitation, you will need this quick way to determine the best order to present ideas you gathered during prewriting. Though you are given limited time, remember that you are nonetheless expected to write a complete essay—one with an introduction, with paragraphs that explain and pursue ideas supporting a thesis, and with a conclusion.
After having completed the above in about 10% of your allotted time, then get to the most important step: the writing. As you draft, it's a good idea to write legibly and to double-space. Because you probably won't have time to copy over the whole essay in its entirety, you had better make sure it can be read easily the first time you write it. Double-spacing the essay not only helps make it easier to read but also gives you space to make corrections when you get to editing the essay. After having written out the essay in about 70% of the time allotted to you, then use the remaining moments to read it over to make corrections. Since you have drafted the essay quickly, you are more likely to have misspelled words and committed grammatical errors than had you taken your time writing it carefully. So you should definitely try to spare time to reread the essay for correctness and clarity. Should you find an error, it's generally quickest just to cross it out and offer a correction in the space directly above the line (if you've double-spaced, then there's plenty of space for this). While the use of white-out to cover over an error may make an essay look neater, using white-out often takes more time than you'll have available. While you definitely want to avoid messiness, most readers will prefer a cross-out and a correction to no editing whatsoever—after all, it reveals both effort to make the essay good and ability to edit, both of which are honored by most teachers and readers.
Even though performing a writing test is a special writing situation with unique demands, keep in mind that you will still be expected to produce a well-developed, thoughtful essay. Key, then, is to be sure your essay has a clear, specific thesis with good ideas or examples to support it. In the end, these are the bones of an essay—the thesis and its support—the structure on which the rest hangs. So at least be sure a writing has a solid bone structure, and then with whatever time you've got remaining add flesh and muscle, the particulars that make any essay unique and special, a representation of you the writer.
Suggested Steps to Complete a One-Draft-Writing Prompt
1. Carefully read the prompt, and be sure that you understand in which mode the prompt is asking you to write. Are you being to asked to write a response to literature? A summary? A narrative? A persuasive paper?
Take about five minutes to do this.
2. Quickly generate ideas for your essay: prewrite, using whichever method works best for you (brainstorming, clustering, listing, etc.).
Take about five minutes to do this.
3. Write a quick outline of your essay, organizing your ideas.
Take about five minutes to do this.
4. Draft the essay. It's a good idea to double-space, so that it will be easier for you to make any corrections when you re-read it. Again, keep the prompt in mind! (For example, writing a story when the prompt asks you to write a response to literature isn't a good idea, even if you write the best story ever!)
Take about thirty to forty minutes to do this.
5. Read your essay, and make any revisions.
Take about fifteen minutes to do this.
These steps are suggestions for a timed situation. Please feel free to adapt them to your own experience as you find your own best process in completing a writing test prompt.