WRITING

Baseline: ES Level 3

ES: GLOBAL DESCRIPTION CLB: GLOBAL DESCRIPTION ES: WRITING TASKS CLB: WRITING TASKS

LEVEL 3

  • Either longer or shorter pieces of writing intended to inform, explain, request information, express opinions, or give directions.
  • Writing task has an established format, such as a contract, lease, financial report, or job description.
  • Writing format may call for structural elements, such as headings, a table of contents, footnotes, etc.
  • Non-routine writing tasks.
  • Content of the writing may be extensive but it is readily available from established sources.

BENCHMARK 8

  • Links paragraphs to form coherent texts to express ideas on familiar abstract topics, with some support for main ideas, and with an appropriate sense of audience.
  • Writes routine business letters (e.g., letters of inquiry, cover letters for applications) and personal and formal social messages.
  • Fills out complex formatted documents.
  • Extracts key information and relevant detail from a page-long text and writes an outline or summary.
  • Demonstrates good control over common sentence patterns, coordination and subordination, and spelling and mechanics. Has occasional difficulty with complex structures (e.g., those reflecting cause and reason, purpose, comment), naturalness of phrases and expressions, organization and style.

LEVEL 3

  • Writes detailed job specifications.
  • Writes a work order that justifies why and by what procedures the work will be done.
  • Writes reports for insurance claims (precision and accuracy required).
  • Prepares minutes of a meeting.
  • Writes interpretive summaries of respondents’ answers to survey questions.
  • Writes letters to explain/clarify and request approval.
  • Writes submissions to managers outlining the characteristics of certain products and presenting purchasing options.
  • Writes detailed incident/accident reports.
  • Prepares information sheets that combine text and graphs to present product information or summarize trends.
  • Local tour guides write research notes and commentary for each tour.
  • Writes shoplifting and incident reports. This writing must be precise and accurate since such reports may be used in court.
  • Writes articles for company newsletters or material for product presentations such as fashion shows.
  • Writes memos to supervisors suggesting changes to operating procedures.

BENCHMARK 8

  • Conveys a personal message in a formal letter or note or e-mail, expressing or responding to sympathy, clarifying a minor conflict, or giving reassurance.
  • Writes instructions about an established process or procedures given in a live demonstration, over the phone, or from pre-recorded audio or video material.
  • Writes an outline or a summary of a longer text.
  • Conveys business messages as written notes, memoranda, letters of request, or work log entries, to indicate a problem, to request a change, or to request information.
  • Writes a report / memo in paragraph form (e.g., progress report, action plan, incident inspection) about what has been discovered or why something is not working the way it should.
  • Writes an effective personal resume, a formal cover letter, letter of application for employment to a personnel / human resources manager; asks for an interview.
  • Writes an essay / composition in paragraph format describing how a business operates (e.g., sawmill, furniture manufacturing plant, farm, bank, store, restaurant, courier service, commercial laundry, hospital kitchen, daycare, etc.)
  • Writes an essay / composition on a previously researched academic or work-related topic to relate events, describe, explain, express opinions or argue a point.
  • Writes in paragraph format to relate/explain information in a pie, line or bar graph, or in a process flow chart; uses a flow chart to describe a procedure or a process, in the correct sequence.