EXPLORE/PLAN/ACT English
To enhance their skills in each English-related strand, students who score in the 1–12 score range may benefit from activities that encourage them to do the following:
| Score Range 1–12 |
| Topic Development in Terms of Purpose and Focus |
- read and discuss the work of favorite writers
- regularly write informal responses to literature (fiction and nonfiction) in their journals
- identify sentences that convey the main ideas in a variety of texts and then practice composing such sentences
|
| Organization, Unity, and Coherence |
- write short texts, in a variety of genres, illustrating simple organization
- use paragraphing as an organizational device
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| Word Choice in Terms of Style, Tone, Clarity, and Economy |
- revise writing to clarify sentences containing too many phrases and clauses
- check writing to make sure pronoun references are clear
- revise writing to edit out empty words (e.g., really, very, big, kind of)
|
| Sentence Structure and Formation |
- vary sentence length by combining simple sentences
- check writing to make sure verb tenses are consistent
|
| Conventions of Usage |
- make sure to use adjectives like well, less, and worst correctly
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| Conventions of Punctuation |
- learn to recognize when commas are overused
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