Study Guide

Field 252: World Language: French 
Presentational Writing

Recommendation for individuals using a screenreader: please set your punctuation settings to "most."

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 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:

• 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)

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 living in Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe. You are planning to spend a vacation week away from the capital with the goal of learning about local cultures. You want to invite a French-speaking friend to join you. Drawing on the vacation options advertised in the provided exhibit and your knowledge of French writing conventions, write an e-mail in French to your friend in which you:

• explain how you made the decision to go on a vacation and invite your friend to join you;
• compare the two vacation options advertised in the exhibit, providing one advantage and one disadvantage of each option; and
• explain which option would best help you and your friend learn about the products, practices, and/or perspectives of local cultures.

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

Les Antilles… autrement : Voici deux idées de séjour proposées par nos amis très fiables et très sympas de Voyager Autrement. Visitez le site voyagerautrement.fr pour en savoir plus et trouvez l'escapade hors-sentier dont vous rêvez.

Guadeloupe : AU SECOURS des TORTUES MARINES Depuis près de 20 ans, les tortues marines des Antilles font l'objet d'actions et d'études en vue de protéger ces géants menacés d'extinction. Joignez-vous à un groupe de bénévoles pendant la saison des pontes, de mai à septembre, pour documenter et préserver le cycle de vie des tortues et nagez avec elles à l'île des Saintes.

Les activités quotidiennes des bénévoles incluent :

• patrouilles de nuit pour identifier et protéger les nids d'œufs
• compte des traces d'activité le matin
• préparation des rapports
• présence et aide au bureau
• participation aux animations diverses
• tâches liées aux logement et cuisine
• après-midis libres sur la plage

Martinique : CULTURES BALNÉAIRE et URBAINE Joignez-vous à une visite guidée de Fort-de-France et du domaine de la Pagerie, lieu de naissance de l'impératrice Joséphine, épouse de Napoléon. Et soyez au rendez-vous tous les soirs dans les cafés et dancings les plus populaires.

• Logement à la plage de Trois-Îlets incluant déplacements en bateaux-navettes
• Promenades autour de l'île en bateau avec arrêt pour déjeuner sur la plage
• Visite de St-Pierre et des sites préservés après l'éruption de la montagne Pelée en 1902

Le Voyageur fûté

Numéro spécial d'été

page 48

Sample Strong Response to Presentational Writing Assignment

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 go on a vacation ("J'ai besoin de me changer les idées") and features an invitation to her friend, Pauline, to join her ("je me demandais si ça te dirait de partir avec moi ?"). It compares the two options throughout and describes at least one advantage and disadvantage of each (e.g., protecting the turtles is a good cause, but there is a long list of administrative and cleaning things to do; visiting Martinique would be culturally instructive, but it's an organized trip that does not leave much space for exploring on one's own). It also arrives at a conclusion as to which option would be best and explains why ("Néanmoins, je penche vers la seconde option car il y a un aspect culturel plus fort."). The response uses writing conventions appropriate for the context of writing an e-mail to a friend (e.g., using the "tu" form and familiar language: "Moi ça va"; "on est plus tout à fait des ados :)"; and "J'attends ta réponse et t'envoie de gros bisous.") that would not be appropriate in a more formal written text. The response demonstrates a strong engagement with the exhibit through both direct and indirect references to its contents. Explanations and comparisons are effectively supported with relevant details from the exhibit 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 preferences 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 appropriate for the context (e.g., "J'ai besoin de me changer les idées," "faire du bénévolat") and precise usage ("La seule chose qui me gêne un peu," " Néanmoins, je penche vers la seconde option") as well as idiomatic language that shows knowledge of words and phrases unique to French ("J'ai besoin de me changer les idées"; " tu te rends compte ?"; " je sais à quel point la cause des animaux te tient à cœur."). Narrative time frames, sentence structures, cohesive devices, and mechanics are appropriate and effective. The response uses present and past tenses as well as imperative, interrogative, future, conditional ("Je pense qu'aller en Martinique nous apporterait un peu de dépaysement"), and subjunctive ("Il semble qu'il y ait également") constructions. Ability to execute simple and complex sentences with appropriate word order is demonstrated. Cohesive devices ("En revanche," "Néanmoins") are employed successfully.

Minor errors within the response do not interfere with comprehensibility. Examples of such errors include: spelling errors ("protèger" instead of "protéger," "vraiement" instead of "vraiment," "permetterait" instead of "permettrait"), missing number agreement between noun and adjectives ("les tâches administrative et ménagère" instead of "les tâches administratives et ménagères"), wrong gender agreement ("la domaine" instead of "le domaine" and "à la domaine" instead of "au domaine"), wrong choice of words ("pour manger et danser" instead of "où manger et danser," "les nouveaux lieux" instead of "de nouveaux endroits"), errors in some complex verb conjugations ("on loge" instead of "on logerait" and "qu'on part" instead of "que l'on parte"), and missing pronoun ("d'apprendre" instead of "d'en apprendre").

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:

Sabod, Nicram. Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas). Credit Line: Nicram Sabod. Shutterstock. Copyright Notice: © Nicram Sabod.

Pack-Shot. France, islands of Les Saintes in Guadeloupe. Credit Line: Pack-Shot. Shutterstock. Copyright Notice: © Pack-Shot.

Sanger, David. St. Pierre harbor, Mount Pelée, Marti. Collection: Photographer's Choice RF. Credit: David Sanger. Getty Images.

De Hogues, Bruno. Fort de France, Martinique. Collection: Photodisc. Credit: Bruno De Hogues. Getty Images.

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