Work Sample & Commentary: Enchiladas

Spanish Language Arts
Work Sample & Commentary: Enchiladas

The task
Students were asked to select a topic to which they had a commitment in their lives and then to choose a genre in which to express that commitment. Students were required to revise and edit their writing before “publishing” the complete texts. The work shown here is one recipe and an anecdote from a much longer project in which a series of recipes and anecdotes were compiled into a book titled, “La Mesa Está Puesta (The Table Is Set).” This student also produced the work in English.

Circumstances of performance This sample of student work was produced under the following conditions:
alone	in a group
in class	as homework
with teacher feedback	with peer feedback
timed	opportunity for revision

This work sample illustrates a standard-setting performance for the following parts of the standards:

c	Writing: Produce a narrative account.
d	Writing: Produce a narrative procedure.
b	Literature: Produce work in at least one literary genre that follows the conventions of the genre.

What the work shows d Writing: The student produces a narrative procedure that:		Click to Enlarge

•	engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest;
•	provides a guide to action that anticipates a reader’s needs; creates expectations through predictable structures, e.g., headings; and provides transitions between steps;
•	makes use of appropriate writing strategies such as creating a visual hierarchy and using white space and graphics as appropriate;
•	includes relevant information;
•	excludes extraneous information;
•	anticipates problems, mistakes, and misunderstandings that might arise for the reader;
•	provides a sense of closure to the writing.

The work engages the reader with the title of the larger project, “La Mesa Está Puesta (The Table Is Set),” and a colorful cover to identify the project as a Spanish/English recipe book. The work includes both the recipes and the accompanying anecdotes, with each providing an interesting context for the other.

The work provides a guide to action through the recognizable form of a recipe.
The instructions are clear and are organized chronologically with specific guidelines about when to move on to the next step.
The student used appropriate strategies for relating a recipe, which include identifying the logical steps involved in cooking, and then presenting them as a series of statements in clear, concise language.
The recipe section concludes with the final directions for rolling the enchiladas.

c Writing: The student produces a narrative account (fictional or autobiographical) that:
•	engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a point of view, and otherwise developing reader interest;
•	establishes a situation, plot, point of view, setting, and conflict (and for autobiography, the significance of events);
•	creates an organizing structure;
•	includes sensory details and concrete language to develop plot and character;
•	excludes extraneous details and inconsistencies;
•	develops complex characters;
•	uses a range of appropriate strategies, such as dialogue and tension or suspense;
•	provides a sense of closure to the writing.

The anecdote engages the reader by establishing the reader as an observer of the events in the kitchen.

The plot sequence includes all the appropriate elements—rising action: arrival of the various guests who serve as distracters; conflict: conversation instead of cooking; climax: burning the enchiladas; conclusion: the guests excusing themselves.

The conflict in the story (the burning of the enchiladas) develops as a result of the socializing, but the story still ends with a positive and, therefore, somewhat ironic result.

The anecdote is organized chronologically within a brief period of time.
The student included detailed descriptions of the tastes and smells in the kitchen appropriate to a story about cooking.
The student used brief characterizations to introduce each of the women who came into her mother’s kitchen.
The anecdote ends by indicating that the women’s leaving in disgust was actually the best thing that could have happened, because it meant the family could eat all of the enchiladas by themselves.

b Literature: The student produces work in at least one literary genre that follows the conventions of the genre.

The student replicated the format of the picture book genre by using drawings to illustrate the recipes and the stories that accompany them. Although shown here in black and white, the drawings are vibrant and colorful and depict the characters portrayed in the stories. The book also includes a blurb “about the author” at the back (not shown here) which has a self-portrait of the student.

The few mistakes in this work are more likely “slips” than actual errors, e.g., “hablanden” instead of “ablanden” in the sixth line of the recipe instructions and the missing exclamation point from the beginning of the second last sentence of the narrative.