GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL WRITING TEST SUMMARY OF THE



Persuasive Essays and the GHSWT (Georgia High School Writing Test)

Terminology

➢ Writing situation (instead of prompt)

➢ Controlling idea – the central focus of your essay

➢ Relevant, logical supporting ideas

➢ Express a clear point of view

➢ Support your position with detailed evidence

➢ Audience awareness

➢ Counter argument / Refute the opposition – You must have one of these!

➢ Rhetorical devices / techniques

➢ Repetition

➢ Parallelism

➢ Voice

➢ Standard, formal English

➢ Rhetorical questions

➢ Emotional, logical, ethical appeals

➢ Call to action instead of conclusion

Verbs

Focus, fully develop, elaborate, anticipate and address, group, organize, facilitate, link ideas, engage, employ, sustain voice, vary structure

Sample

|Writing Situation |

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|Many schools require students to read books during the summer. Walton High School requires students to read books for both English and social studies|

|classes; most students read between two and four books, depending on the courses they are taking. Tests or assignments are given on the readings. |

|Directions for Writing |

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|Decide how you feel about the required summer reading. Write a letter to Mrs. McNeill, Walton’s principal, expressing your views. Clearly state your|

|position; try to convince Mrs. McNeill to agree with you by providing well-developed supporting arguments. |

|For Summer Reading – Jot list of ideas |Against Summer Reading – Jot list of ideas |

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|Circle the strongest argument here to use as a counter argument if writing |Circle the strongest argument here to use as a counter argument if writing |

|for the other side |for the other side |

GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL WRITING TEST SUMMARY OF THE

SCORING DOMAINS, DEFINITIONS, AND COMPONENTS

IDEAS DOMAIN (40%) – THIS AREA COUNTS MORE THAN ANY OTHER AREA

The writer establishes the controlling idea through examples, illustrations, facts, or details.

-Response to assigned task

-Clearly established controlling idea

-Sufficiently relevant supporting ideas

-Clearly developed supporting ideas

ORGANIZATION DOMAIN (20%)

There is evidence of a sense of order that is clear and relevant.

-Clearly discernible order of presentation

-Logical transitions and flow of ideas

-Sense of completeness

STYLE DOMAIN (20%)

The writer controls language to establish his or her individuality.

-Effective diction

-Varied and effective sentence structure

-Tone consistent with topic and purpose

-Sense of audience

CONVENTIONS OF WRITTEN LANGUAGE DOMAIN (20%)

The writer uses the conventions appropriate for standard American written English.

-Appropriate usage

-Appropriate mechanics

Sample Schedule for Georgia High School Writing Test

Planning/Prewriting (15 minutes)

Read the entire topic carefully. Read it a second time. Make sure you understand whether your purpose is to persuade, present a solution to a problem, or analyze the different sides of an issue. Think about some

possible ideas you have about the topic. Plan your paper before you begin writing.

Drafting (30 minutes)

Organize ideas from your prewriting and begin writing your first draft.

Re-read the topic to be sure you are writing about the required topic.

Finish your first draft.

Revising and Editing (25 minutes)

Re-read the topic. Read and revise your first draft. Be sure to include enough support for your ideas.

Final Draft (15 minutes)

Copy your paper into the response booklet.

Proofreading (5 minutes)

GHSWT Sample Topics

Create a jot list of ideas for each of the topics below. Be sure to include arguments on both sides of the issue. You will decide afterwards which side holds the strongest evidence.

You must always choose an argument from the OPPOSITE side to include in your essay. This opposing argument is the counter-argument. By including a counter-argument in your essay, you demonstrate that you are an educated, fair, and reasonable writer. A counter-argument increases your ethos or credibility as a writer.

Topic #1

|Writing Situation |

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|In the past, our country has required young men to serve in the Armed Forces. While military service is no longer required, some people believe that |

|both young men and women between the ages of 18-35 should be required to complete at least two years of community service. Think carefully about your |

|position on required community service. |

|Directions for Writing |

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|Write a letter to be published in your local newspaper explaining your position on the issue of required community service. Include reasons and |

|evidence that will convince your readers to support your position. |

|For “required community service” |Against “required community service” |

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Topic #2

|Writing Situation |

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|The business world has adopted the idea of cooperation and team work to increase productivity and solve problems. The belief is that teams can |

|accomplish more than one person alone. Your English teacher has announced that your class might do major projects working in teams. If you had a |

|choice, would you choose to work as a team or to work alone? |

|Directions for Writing |

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|Write a letter to your English teacher convincing him or her that students should or should not work in teams. Include reasons and examples in |

|support of your position. |

|For “working in teams” |Against “working in teams” |

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Topic #3

|Writing Situation |

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|The issue of censoring or banning books has received much national attention. Recently, however, the controversy became a local issue when parents in|

|your community objected to a book that their teenager had obtained from the high school library. The parents’ campaign to have the book removed |

|permanently from the library has aroused mixed reactions from students, teachers, and other parents. Decide how you feel about the issue of banning |

|books. |

|Write a letter to the editor of the school newspaper in which you either defend a parent’s right to have a book banned or oppose such a law. Clearly |

|state your position. Try to convince the readers of the paper to agree with you by providing well-developed supporting arguments. |

|For “parental right to ban books” |Against “parental right to ban books” |

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Topic #4

|Writing Situation |

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|Advancements made in health care have resulted in people living longer. Many Americans now live well beyond the age of 65. This older generation |

|consists of people with various experiences, talents, and expertise. Many of these senior citizens have retired from the workforce and can now use |

|their talents in the service of their community. Think how your community could benefit from the contributions of these older Americans. |

|Directions for Writing |

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|Write a paper to be presented at a meeting of the Cobb County Commissioners in which you describe your ideas for using the talents and expertise of |

|senior citizens. Convince the city council that your community would benefit from using the services of senior citizens. Provide concrete evidence |

|and supporting details. |

|For “community benefits from using the services of senior citizens” |Against “community does not benefit from using the talents and services of |

| |senior citizens” |

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