The task During a unit on literature, students were asked to write a critical analysis on a work of their choice. 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	Click to Enlarge

What the work shows b Writing. The student produces a response to literature that: • engages the reader through establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest; • advances a judgment that is interpretive, analytic, evaluative, or reflective; • supports a judgment through references to the text, references to other works, authors, or non-print media, or references to personal knowledge; • demonstrates an understanding of the literary work; • anticipates and answers a reader’s questions; • provides a sense of closure to the writing.

This work sample illustrates a standard-setting performance for the following parts of the standards: b Writing: Produce a response to literature. a Conventions: Demonstrate an understanding of the rules of the English language.

The essay engages the reader through a brief summary of the plot in the first paragraph. The final sentence of the first paragraph establishes a context by incorporating a quotation into the guiding statement or thesis.

The essay advances an interpretive judgment, i.e., “Santiago does not let the loss of his friend or the defeat that others see him suffering keep him off the sea…and prepares to catch the biggest fish of his life.” Assertions about the piece are supported through references to the text. The student demonstrated an understanding of the literary work by making evaluative judgments that connected Santiago’s dreams of lions to his victory over tremendous odds. The material is organized logically by using two key elements of the quotation from the thesis statement as devices to guide the structure, i.e., “destroyed” but “not defeated” are the elements which are repeated in each paragraph; the concluding paragraph returns to the quotation in the guiding statement. Click to Enlarge

a Conventions, Grammar, and Usage of the English Language: The student demonstrates an understanding of the rules of the English language in written and oral work, and selects the structures and features of language appropriate to the purpose, audience, and context of the work. The student demonstrates control of:
•	grammar;
•	paragraph structure;
•	punctuation;
•	sentence construction;
•	spelling;
•	usage.

The student managed the conventions, grammar, and usage of English so that they aid rather than interfere with reading.

The student managed a variety of sentence constructions and paragraph structures, e.g., see paragraph three for use of detail to develop the paragraph.