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School Rules
The principal has asked students to suggest a school rule that should be changed. Jody thinks students should have two extra minutes between class changes. He makes the cluster diagram below before he begins his rough draft.
Which detail does not belong on Jody’s diagram?
A School lunches are not healthy.
B Eliminates running in the halls
C Prevents lost books, papers, etc.
D Students have more time for the restroom.
2 Which of these best describes the reason for writing this letter?
F to inform
G to tell a story
H to entertain
J to persuade
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2. VA SOL Essential Understanding Correlation
Answer Sheet – For Teacher Use
Question
Correct Answer
VA SOL Essential Understanding Correlation 1 A
8.7ab – Use prewriting strategies to generate and organize ideas. 2 J
8.7ca – Select specific vocabulary and information
Notes to Teacher:
The writing subtest of the Grade 8 English test will have a series of brief scenarios, each of which defines a writing task for a specified audience. Items following the statement of the writing task will address planning or prewriting activities relevant to the specified task and will be coded to the Planning, Composing, and Revising reporting category. A rough draft of a response to the specified writing task will follow the planning/prewriting test items. The rough draft will be divided into sections. The first section will have errors which require revision such as the inclusion of a sentence that does not belong or two sentences that need to be combined. Items following the first section of the rough draft will require the student to correct these errors by choosing the correct revision from the answer choices provided. These items will also be coded to the Planning, Composing, and Revising reporting category.
The second section of the rough draft will contain embedded errors in usage or mechanics. Items following this section will refer to underlined words or groups of words in the second section of the rough draft and will require students to choose the answer which represents correct usage or mechanics. These items will be coded to the Editing reporting category. In some cases the underlined words will contain no error and the correct answer will be "as it is." Following the expanded blueprint is a list of usage and mechanics skills which are addressed in the Editing reporting category.
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Read the first part of Jody’s rough draft. Use it to answer the questions below.
(1)Dear Dr. Randall,
(2)I’ve carefully considered your offer to change one of the school rules. (3)I think the rule that needs to be changed is the one that addresses the time students have between classes. (4)Four minutes is not enough. (5)If you would add two minutes to the time between classes, we would have enough time to get stuff done.
Which sentence should be written with more description?
A sentence 2
B sentence 3
C sentence 4
D sentence 5
Which of these sentences can best be added after sentence 5?
F We need more time at lunch too.
G Please consider my reasons and make this rule change.
H Students run down the hall to get to class.
J We all need more time for the restroom.
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4. VA SOL Essential Understanding Correlation
Answer Sheet – For Teacher Use
Question
Correct Answer
VA SOL Essential Understanding Correlation 3 D
8.7cc – Select specific vocabulary and information. 4 G
8.7dc – Revise writing for word choice, sentence variety, and transitions among paragraphs.
Notes to Teacher:
During the revising stage of the writing process students will revise for focus, organization, and elaboration.
To assist students in developing these skills direct instruction must take place on including important details, deleting unnecessary information and varying sentences.
The Standards of Learning writing assessments ask students to use their revising skills to identify ways to improve a passage that is provided. To be successful on this section of the test, students must be able to suggest the best way to combine provided sentences, choose a more descriptive way to write provided sentences and locate unneeded information.
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Read the second part of Jody's rough draft. Use it to answer the questions below.
(6)Last year 23 students were suspended because of excessive tardiness. (7)I was one of them. (8)I was often late because I was trying to get books out of my locker or use the restroom before class. (9)The restrooms have too much graffiti in them. (10)After my suspension, I was determined to get to class on time. (11)Unfortunately, I found myself leaving class to use the restroom and forgetting items needed for class because I was rushed to get there.
5 Which sentence should be removed because it does not focus on the topic?
A sentence 6
B sentence 7
C sentence 8
D sentence 9
6 In this part of the letter, what is Jody’s main purpose?
F to complain that the restrooms are dirty
G to describe the difficulty of getting to class in time
H to use impressive language
J to make the letter sound sophisticated
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6. VA SOL Essential Understanding Correlation
Answer Sheet – For Teacher Use
Question
Correct Answer
VA SOL Essential Understanding Correlation 5 D
8.7bc – Organize details to elaborate the central idea. 6 G
8.7cc – Select specific vocabulary and information
Notes to Teacher:
During the revising stage of the writing process students will revise for focus, organization, and elaboration.
To assist students in developing these skills direct instruction must take place on including important details, deleting unnecessary information and varying sentences. Students should be provided opportunities to examine problems in their drafts and their classmates’ drafts and then discuss them and revise them.
The Standards of Learning writing assessments ask students to use their revising skills to identify ways to improve a passage that is provided. To be successful on this section of the test, students must be able to suggest the best way to combine provided sentences, choose a more descriptive way to write provided sentences and locate unneeded information.
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Read the third part of Jody’s rough draft. Use it to answer the questions below.
(12)There are several benefits to extending the time between class changes. (13)First, an extra two minutes would eliminate students running and trampling each other. (14)Second students could make it to the restroom and to class instead of taking time from class for the restroom. (15)Finally, the extra time would give students time to organize their items for the next class.
In sentence 14, Second is best
written –
A Second,
B Second;
C Second:
D as it is
In sentence 15, their is best
written –
F our
G his
H my
J as it is
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8. VA SOL Essential Understanding Correlation
Answer Sheet – For Teacher Use
Question
Correct Answer
VA SOL Essential Understanding Correlation 7 A
8.8bi – Use and punctuate correctly varied sentence structures to include conjunctions and transition words. 8 J
8.7d – Revise writing for word choice, sentence variety, and transitions among paragraphs.
Notes to Teacher:
During the editing stage of the writing process students will edit for correct grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spelling and sentence construction.
Students should be provided with many opportunities to edit and correct punctuation in their writing and the writing of their classmates.
The Standards of Learning writing assessments ask students to edit a given passage for punctuation, correct case and number, verb tense, and comparative and superlative degrees. Students will be expected to understand the use of conjunctions and transitional words.
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Read the fourth part of Jody’s rough draft. Use it to answer the questions below.
(16)Dr. Randall, you asked for suggestions and I think adding time between classes is worthwhile. (17)Neither the other 22 students suspended last year nor I want to experience that fate again. (18)Changing this rule will benefit our entire student body.
(19)Sincerely,
(20)Jody Matthews
9 How is sentence 16, best written?
A Dr. Randall, you asked for suggestions, and I think adding time between classes is worthwhile.
B Dr. Randall, you asked for suggestions, and, I think adding time between classes is worthwhile.
C Dr. Randall, you, asked for suggestions and I think adding time between classes is worthwhile.
D as it is
10 In sentence 14, how is Neither the other 22 students suspended last year nor I correctly written?
F Neither the other 22 students suspended last year or I
G Neither the other 22 students suspended last year, nor I
H Neither, the other 22 students suspended last year nor, I
J as it is
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10. VA SOL Essential Understanding Correlation
Answer Sheet – For Teacher Use
Question
Correct Answer
VA SOL Essential Understanding Correlation 9 A
8.8ba – Use and punctuate correctly varied sentence structures to include conjunctions and transition words. 10 J
8.8bj – Use and punctuate correctly varied sentence structures to include conjunctions and transition words.
Notes to Teacher:
During the editing stage of the writing process students will edit for use of language, capitalization, punctuation and spelling. Students can earn 14 multiple choice points and 8 possible score from the direct-writing component by accurately editing.
On the Grade 8 Standards of Learning writing assessments students will edit for the use of:
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
subject-verb agreement with intervening, phrases and clauses
pronoun-antecedent agreement to include indefinite pronouns
maintain consistent tense inflections across paragraphs
choose adverbs to describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs
use correct spelling for frequently used words
choose pronouns to agree with antecedents
subject-verb agreement with intervening phrases and clauses
edit for verb tense consistency
use and punctuate correctly varied sentence structures to include conjunctions and transition words.
choose the correct case and number for pronouns in prepositional phrases with compound objects.
maintain consistent verb tense across paragraphs
use comparative and superlative degrees in adverbs and adjectives
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