|
0012 Prepare an Organized, Developed Composition
The Writing section of the WEST-B requires you to write two essays in addition to answering 50 multiple-choice questions.
Since you have a total of four and one-half hours to complete all sections of the WEST-B Basic Skills Assessment, you should allocate approximately 1-2 hours to complete the task of writing your essays. This is a guideline, however, and each writer should allocate his time accordingly depending on his strengths or weaknesses.
Each essay is evaluated immediately after each WEST-B administration by at least two readers using a four-point score scale (see next page).
Graders will evaluate essays based on the following criteria:
| Focus and Appropriateness: |
the fluency and quality of the discussion, and the sustained attention on a given topic using language and style appropriate to a specified audience, purpose, and occasion |
Unity and Organization: |
the effectiveness of the organization, the logical sequence of ideas, and the clarity of the writing used to state and maintain a main idea and point of view
|
Development and Rationale: |
the relevance, depth, and effectiveness of statements or arguments and examples used to support those statements or defend a
position
|
Usage and Sentence Structure: |
the precision in word choice and use of
effective sentence structure |
Mechanical Conventions: |
the use of spelling, capitalization, and punctuation according to standard writing conventions |
|
