Testing Writing

Testing Writing

       I.            INTRODUCTION

It is necessary to evaluate the English language skills of students whose first language is not English. Related to some skills of English, here is the summary of English test in writing skill. There will be more discussion about how and what should we do in conducting the English writing test.

    II.            SUMMARY OF CONTENT

The objectives of writing tests are mechanics, punctuation, and spelling. The following analysis attempts to group the many and varied skills necessary for writing good prose into five general components or main areas.

a.       Language use: the ability to write correct and appropriate sentences

b.      Mechanical skills: the ability to use correctly those conventions peculiar to the written language – e.g. punctuation, spelling

c.       Treatment of content: the ability to think creatively and develop thoughts, excluding all irrelevant information

d.      Stylistic skills: the ability to manipulate sentences and paragraphs, and use language effectively

e.       Judgment skills: the ability to write in an appropriate manner for a particular purpose with a particular audience in mind, together with an ability to select, organize and order relevant information.

The various kinds of register include colloquialism, slang, jargon, and archaic words, legal language, Standard English, business English, the language used by educated writers of English, etc. the purpose of writing will also help to establish a particular register: for example, is the student writing to entertain, inform, or explain?

An attempt should be made to determine the types of writing tasks with which the students are confronted every day. Such tasks will probably be associated with the writing requirements imposed by the either subjects being studied at school if the medium of instruction is English. Short articles, instructions and accounts of experiments will probably form the main body of writing. If the medium of instruction is not English, the written work done in the classroom. In both cases, the students may be required to keep a diary, produce a magazine and to write both formal and informal letters. The concern of students following a profession or in business will be chiefly with report-writing and letter-writing, while at college or university level they will usually be required to write (technical) reports and papers.

In the construction of class tests, it is important for the test writer to find out how composition is tested in the first language. Although the emphasis in the teaching and testing of the skills in English as a foreign/second language will of necessity be quite different to the development of the skills in the first language a comparison of the abilities required and methods used is very helpful. It is clearly ludicrous, for instance, to expect in a foreign language those skills which the students do not possess in their own language.

    

In the composition test the students should be presented with a clearly defined problem which motivates them to write. The writing task should be such that it ensures they have something to say and a purpose for saying it. They should also have an audience in mind when they write. How often in real-life situations do people begin to write when they have nothing to write, no purpose in writing and no audience in mind? Thus, whenever possible, meaningful situations should be given in composition tests.

In addition to providing the necessary stimulus and information required for writing, a good topic for a composition determines the register and style to be used in the writing task by presenting the students with a specific situation and context in which to write. Since it is easier to compare different performances when the writing task is determined more exactly, it is possible to obtain a greater degree of reliability in the scoring of compositions based on specific situations. Furthermore, such composition tests have an excellent backwash effect on the teaching and learning preparatory to the examination.

The following are two examples of descriptions of levels of performance used by a well-known examining body in Britain: table (a) for intermediate-level learners and table (b) for more advanced-level learners.

Table (a)

18 – 20	Excellent	Natural English, minimal errors, complete realization of the task set.
16 – 17	Very good	Good vocabulary and structure, above the simple sentence level. Errors non-basic
12 – 15	Good	Simple but accurate realization of task. Sufficient naturalness, not many errors.
8 – 11	Pass	Reasonably correct if awkward or Natural treatment of  subject with some serious errors
5 – 7	Weak	Vocabulary and grammar inadequate for the task set.
0 – 4	Very poor	Incoherent. Errors showing lack of basic knowledge of  English

Table (b)

18 – 20	Excellent	Error-free, substantial and varied material, resourceful and controlled in language and expression.
16 – 17	Very good	Good realization of task, ambitious and natural in style.
12 – 15	Good	Sufficient assurance and freedom from basic error to maintain theme.
8 – 11	Pass	Clear relation of task, reasonably correct and natural.
5 – 7	Weak	Near to pass level in general scope, but with either numerous errors or too elementary or translated in style.
0 – 4	Very poor	Basic errors, narrowness of vocabulary.

 III.            CONCLUSION

A well-selected series of such items can include sentences eliciting an ability to use exemplification, contrast, addition, cause, result, purpose, conclusion and summary. Consequently, students can be tested on their ability to use whatever specific functions and notions the test writer wishes.  Those are the conclusion of the summary related to the topic.

REFERENCES

Hughes, Arthur. (1983). Testing for Language Teachers. UK: Cambridge University Press.