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Writing Competencies Tested on the GACE
The GACE Program Admission Writing subtest consists of a 40-item multiple-choice test and two constructed-response writing assignments: (1) an Argumentative essay and (2) an Informative/Explanatory essay. The skills addressed in this subtest require demonstration of the ability to write effectively at the college level.
To get the most from the instruction in this section, you need to decide where to begin. Using the menu on the left-hand side of the screen, you can choose to begin with the instruciton on essay production and revision (Text Production) or with the instruction and practice tests for the multiple-choice section (Language Skills).
An outline showing the objectives and descriptive statements for the Writing section is shown below. Each part includes one or more objectives and is expanded upon by descriptive statements. Descriptive statements provide examples of the range, type, and level of content that may appear on the test for questions measuring the objective.
SUBAREA I: Text Types, Purposes, and Production
A. Text Production: Writing Arguments
- Produce an argumentative essay to support a claim using relevant and sufficient evidence
- Write clearly and coherently
- Address the assigned task appropriately for an audience of educated adults
- Organize and develop ideas logically, making coherent connections between them
- Provide and sustain a clear focus or thesis
- Use supporting reasons, examples, and details to develop clearly and logically the ideas presented
- Demonstrate facility in the use of language and the ability to use a variety of sentence structures
- Construct effective sentences that are generally free of errors in standard written English
B. Text Production: Writing Informative/Explanatory Texts
- Produce an informative/explanatory essay to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content
- Write clearly and coherently
- Address the assigned task appropriately for an audience of educated adults
- Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis
- Organize and develop ideas logically, making coherent connections between them
- Synthesize information from multiple sources on the subject
- Integrate and attribute information from multiple sources on the subject, avoiding plagiarism
- Provide and sustain a clear focus or thesis
- Demonstrate facility in the use of language and the ability to use a variety of sentence structures
- Construct effective sentences that are generally free of errors in standard written English
C. Text Production: Revision
- Develop and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing
- Recognize how a passage can be strengthened through editing and revision
- Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts and to make effective choices for meaning or style
- Choose words and phrases for effect
- Choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely
- Maintain consistency in style and tone
SUBAREA II: Language and Research Skills for Writing
A. Language Skills
- Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage
- Grammatical Relationships
- Recognize and correct
- Errors in the use of adjectives and adverbs
- Errors in noun-noun agreement
- Errors in pronoun-antecedent agreement
- Errors in pronoun case
- Errors in the use of intensive pronoun
- Errors in pronoun number and person
- Vague pronouns
- Errors in subject-verb agreement
- Inappropriate shifts in verb tense
- Structural Relationships
- Recognize and correct
- Errors in the placement of phrases and clauses within a sentence
- Misplaced and dangling modifiers
- Errors in the use of coordinating and subordinating conjunctions
- Fragments and run-ons
- Errors in the use of correlative conjunctions
- Errors in parallel structure
- Word Choice
- Recognize and correct
- Errors in the use of idiomatic expressions
- Errors in the use of frequently confused words
- Wrong word use - Redundancy
- No Error
- Recognize
- Sentences free of errors in the conventions of standard English grammar and usage
- Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization and punctuation
- Mechanics
- Recognize and correct
- Errors in capitalization
- Errors in punctuation
- Commas; e.g., the use of a comma to separate an introductory element from the rest of the sentence
- Semicolons; e.g., the use of a semicolon (and perhaps a conjunctive adverb) to link two or more closely related independent clauses
- Apostrophes; e.g., the use of an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives
- No Error
- Recognize
- Sentences free of errors in the conventions of standard English capitalization and punctuation
B. Research Skills
- Recognize and apply appropriate research skills and strategies
- Assess the credibility and relevance of sources
- Recognize the different elements of a citation
- Recognize effective research strategies
- Recognize information relevant to a particular research task
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