WritePlacer Essay Template

Below is a template for a 5-paragraph essay. While we recommend this format, you may opt for a shorter 4-

paragraph version rather than blowing up your essay with unnecessary words just so you have five paragraphs.

Likewise, don’t add fluff to your paragraphs to increase your word count. Whichever format you choose, keep

the introduction and the conclusion short and sweet.

Paragraph 1 – Introduction (3-4 sentences)

Begin your essay with one of the following: a generalization about the topic, a quotation, a short anecdote to

set-up the correctness of your position, a historical framework, or a piece of news illustrating the importance of

the issue. Admit the complexity of the issue. You have two goals in the beginning part of the essay: to

introduce the topic, and to express your opinion on it. Be sure to place your thesis as the final sentence in your

introduction. The thesis is your answer to the Assignment question.

Paragraph 2 – First body paragraph (4-8 sentences)

Start with your most-powerful or relevant example. Be specific. Your example can be from history, science,

politics, business, entertainment, pop culture, current events, personal experience, etc. Anything can be an

example, but choose only ONE for each paragraph. Pick an example you are knowledgeable about and that you

believe strongly supports your thesis. You have three tasks in your body paragraphs:

 Introduce your example.

 Describe it.

 Explain how it fully supports your thesis.

You should spend the majority of your body paragraph accomplishing the third step: explaining how it fully

supports your thesis. Aim to convince the reader through very concrete details how your position on the issue

is correct. Don’t end your paragraph by referencing the next point.

Paragraph 3 – Second Body Paragraph – to support your thesis in the introduction (4-8 sentences)

Use a transition word/phrase to introduce the second example. Describe it, and explain again how it fully

supports your thesis. You may refer to your first example if you need to, but focus on your new example. Don’t

mention your third example until you get to the third body paragraph.

OPTIONAL: Paragraph 4 –Third Body Paragraph – to support your thesis in the introduction (4-8 sentences)

Use a transition word/phrase to link this example to the others. Describe the example. Explain how it supports

your thesis. Make sure you are clear how the example relates to the topic.

Paragraph 5 – Conclusion (2-3 sentences)

Introduce opposing ideas. Explain and refute these ideas in general terms then reinforce the correctness of

your idea. Note that transition words are highlighted in yellow.

To refute one opposing view: Some have argued that _______, believing that ________. However, this

viewpoint on the issue is negated by ________. Rather, __________. Therefore, in the long run,

_______________________.

To refute two opposing views: Although ________ is correct, some have argued that _______, believing that

________. However, this viewpoint on the issue is negated by ________. Rather, __________. Therefore, in the

long run, _______________________.

ACCUPLACER

WritePlacer Overview

and Response Examples

TEST OVERVIEW

The ACCUPLACER

WritePlacer test will determine your English/Writing course placement at Tulsa

Community College (TCC). The WritePlacer test measures your ability to write effectively, which is critical to

academic success. Your writing sample will be scored on the basis of how successfully it communicates to the

readers about your assigned essay topic. A simple 4-5 paragraph essay will be more than sufficient.

The test is not timed.

You will first read a short passage and an assignment question that are focused on an important issue.

You will then write a multi-paragraph essay of 300-600 words in which you develop your own point of view

on the issue. You should support your position with appropriate reasoning and examples. Again, the

position you take will not influence your score.

Your essay will be given a holistic score that represents how clearly and effectively you expressed your

position. WritePlacer scores range from 1-8. However, an essay that is too short to be evaluated, written on a

topic other than the one presented, or written in a language other than English will be given a score of zero.

The following six characteristics of writing will be considered in the single WritePlacer score:

 Purpose and Focus: The clarity to which you present information in a unified and coherent manner,

clearly addressing the assigned prompt.

 Organization and Structure: The clarity with which you order and connect your ideas.

 Development and Support: The extent to which you develop and support your ideas.

 Sentence Variety and Style: The effectiveness of your sentence structure and paragraphs

demonstrating control of vocabulary, voice, and structure.

 Mechanical Conventions: The extent to which you express ideas using Standard American English.

 Critical Thinking: The extent to which you communicate a point of view and demonstrate reasoned

relationships among ideas

A WritePlacer prompt (essay question) consists of a short passage adapted from some longer text. Following the

passage is an assignment that requires you to focus on the issue addressed in the passage.

On the pages that follow, you will find descriptions of WritePlacer score points and sample essays written for

the sample prompt below. Click here if you would like to see more samples.

SAMPLE ESSAY RESPONSES

The following is a sample WritePlacer writing prompt. You will receive both a Passage and an Assignment in

the form of a question. We’ve provided examples of scores of 1, 3, and 5. There’s a link at the end if you would

like to view all of the examples scores.

Sample Prompt

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Passage

An actor, when his cue came, was unable to move onto the stage. He said, “I can’t get in, the chair is in the

way.” The producer said, “Use the difficulty. If it’s drama, pick the chair up and smash it. If it’s comedy, fall

over it.” From this experience the actor concluded that in any negative situation in life, there is something

positive you can do with it.

Adapted from Lawrence Eisenberg, “Caine Scrutiny”

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Assignment

Can any obstacle or disadvantage be turned into something good?

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Score of 1

Grading criteria – Score of 1

A response in this category demonstrates no mastery of on-demand essay writing; the response is severely

flawed by many or most of the following weaknesses:

 Purpose and Focus and Critical Thinking: Lacks a viable point of view on the issue

 Purpose and Focus: Demonstrates no awareness of audience

 Purpose and Focus: Fails to present a main idea

 Organization: Is disorganized and/or disjointed

 Development and Support, and Critical Thinking: Demonstrates flawed reasoning

 Development and Support, and Critical Thinking: Demonstrates no complexity of thought

 Sentence Variety and Style: Displays fundamental errors in word choice, usage and sentence structure

 Mechanical Conventions: Contains pervasive spelling, grammar, punctuation and mechanical errors

Sample Essay Response – Score of 1

The question is can any obstacle or disadvantage be turned into something good? Yes it can, because even in the

story she couldn’t get in because of the chair and the guy tells him if it’s a drama, “Smash it and if it’s a comedy

fall over it. But when you think about it, if a girl was guilty and was pleading to say on how she was inocent and

they catch her in a lie its practically the same thing. But that’s not the point but you can change a negative into a

positive someway.

What we learn from this response

This essay lacks a viable, coherent point of view on the issue. The writer attempts to explain that “you can

change a negative into a positive,” but the ideas provided are minimal and disorganized, resulting in a disjointed

and, at times, incoherent essay (Yes it can....But when you think about it, if a girl was guilty and was pleading

to say on how she was inocent and they catch her in a lie its practically the same thing). The response

demonstrates flawed reasoning, no complexity of thought and displays fundamental errors in sentence structure

(But that’s not the point but you can change). In addition to all of these issues, this response is too short (only

96 words) and lacks multiple paragraphs. The test requires a minimum of 300 words.

Score of 3

Grading criteria – Score of 3

A response in this category demonstrates little mastery of on-demand essay writing; the response is flawed by

one or more of the following weaknesses:

 Purpose and Focus and Critical Thinking: Presents a vague or limited point of view on the issue

 Purpose and Focus: Demonstrates little awareness of audience

 Purpose and Focus: Attempts to develop the main idea, although that attempt is inadequate

 Organization: Is poorly organized and/or focused or demonstrates serious problems with coherence or

progression of ideas

 Development and Support, and Critical Thinking: Provides inappropriate or insufficient examples,

reasons, or other evidence to support its position

 Developmental and Support, and Critical Thinking: Demonstrates weak critical thinking with little

complexity of thought or with flawed reasoning

 Sentence Variety and Style: Displays limited word choice and little sentence variety

 Mechanical Conventions: Contains many errors in mechanical conventions of usage, sentence

structure, grammar, spelling and punctuation

Sample Essay Response – Score of 3

I do believe that any obstacle or disadvantage can be turned into something good. I believe this is because

people learn many things from their mistakes and that’s the only way. In the example that is provided, the actor

is obviously confused. The director makes a good point on how to work around it, and in a case where they

make use of the chair that’s in the way, which helps make it funny, exciting, or depressing. In a play or musical

of any type, it adds meaning. Not only does an obstacle or disadvantage get turned into something good, but it

can discover new things. Whenever any situation happens, such as in this case, I’d laugh if it’s funny, cry if it’s

dramatic, make a joke out of it, or act like it didn’t happen. Just keep in mind that the purpose of life is to learn

from mistakes, which can turn into something good.

What we learn from this response

This response is an improvement, but it still does not directly address the assignment question and provide

quality support. Demonstrating weak critical thinking, this essay states a point of view (I do believe that any

obstacle or disadvantage can be turned into something good) but offers little support beyond an insufficient

discussion of the acting example given in the passage. Despite some attempt to develop the main idea, poor

organization leads to serious problems in progression of ideas (Whenever any situation happens, such as in this

case, I’d laugh if it’s funny, cry if it’s dramatic, make a joke out of it, or act like it didn’t happen. Just keep in

mind that the purpose of life is to learn from mistakes, which can turn into something good). The response

contains many errors in usage and sentence structure. Also, like the score of 1 response, this score of 3 response

is too short and lacks multiple paragraphs. This response is only 156 words, still short of the minimum of 300.

Score of 5

Sample Essay response – Score of 5

In my lifetime, I have seen many ways an obstacle or disadvantage can be turned into a good think. Sometimes

when something bad happens, it can prepare you for the future obstacles to come. Here is an example: if a

person gets a serious burn they would panic and not know what to do. If the same thing happened again, the

person would be more prepared and have knowledge from the previous experience.

Another example is if someone is on crutches, about to open the door, would you open the door for them? If

you are the person on crutches you would be at a disadvantage to others. But this can be turned into a good

thing. You now have someone to open the door for you, and this is a good way to meet people and make

friends.

Sometimes when things aren’t going your way, you have to improvise a little. For example, before a basketball

game you see that the other team is much taller than your team. The coach might have only made up plays for a

short team. The other team is tall, but slow. You use your speed to win the game. In the blink of an eye, you’ve

change a disadvantage into a good thing.

The best comedians always turn an obstacle or disadvantage into a good thing. If the audiance is not laughing at

this performance, then he has to change what he’s doing. This obstacle about the audience not laughing he could

make a joke about, then making the obstacle into a good thing.

Grading criteria – Score of 5

An essay in this category demonstrates adequate mastery of on-demand essay writing although it will have

lapses in quality. A typical essay:

 Purpose and Focus and Critical Thinking: Develops a viable point of view on the issue

 Purpose and Focus: May stray from the audience and purpose but is able to refocus

 Organization: Is generally organized and focused but could lack coherence and logical progression of

ideas

 Development and Support, and Critical Thinking: Demonstrates competent critical thinking, using

adequate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position

 Sentence Variety and Style: Exhibits adequate but inconsistent control of language

 Sentence Variety and Style: Demonstrates some variety in sentence structure

 Mechanical Conventions: Contains some minor errors in sentence structure, grammar, spelling and

punctuation

What we learn from this response

This essay demonstrates competent critical thinking, providing adequate reasons and examples to support the

claim that “an obstacle or disadvantage can be turned into a good thing.” Although the response offers a variety

of adequate supporting examples, it demonstrates an occasional lack of progression of ideas as it jumps from

one idea to the next (. . . if a person gets a serious burn . . . . If someone is on crutches . . . . The best comedians

always turn an obstacle or disadvantage into a good thing). The essay demonstrates adequate but inconsistent

control of language and features some minor errors (If the audiance is not laughing . . . . This obstacle about the

audience not laughing he could make a joke about, then making the obstacle into a good thing). Also, notice the

multiple paragraphs; however, it is still short of 300 words. This response is only 262 words, still short of the

minimum of 300.

WritePlacer Tips and Strategies

 The WritePlacer exam DOES NOT require any outside knowledge. You are not expected to have any specific

technical know-how or understanding of specific books or authors. The essay will be based off a provided prompt

meant to spark your creativity. Everything you need to answer the question will be part of the prompt!

 Select one side only. Unlike real life where most of our opinions are a mix of gray, the WRITEPLACER essay

requires you to take a strong stand on one side -- and only one side -- of the issue. You won’t be able to adequately

argue a middle-of-the-road approach in this brief essay. If you do so, you risk appearing indecisive.

 You will not be scored on your opinion. Don’t worry if you choose to argue a less commonly held position on the

topic. The reader will NOT give you a lower score based on personal bias.

 Don’t change your position mid-essay. Even if you feel you’re running out of energy and/or regretting your

position on the topic, stay strong and finish the essay anyway. Don’t back away from your original stance or try to

take a “middle of the road” approach. You don’t have time to go back and re-write the whole thing.

 No example is “too” specific. Unsuccessful essays are usually too general. As long as you can reasonably argue

that your example supports your main idea (thesis), no example is too specific. Aim to make readers think, “wow,

what extreme detail!” as they read. If you are using an example from personal experience, using some names,

dates, places, and other concrete details can go a long way. Replace abstracts with absolutes.

 Incorporate the opposing side. A solid strategy to strengthen your argument is to acknowledge that there is

complexity to the issue. However, if you bring up and describe the opposing side, make sure to respectfully

criticize it and reiterate that your side is the only one that is valid. Acknowledging opposing views is a solid closing

strategy, although including them in an additional body paragraph is also acceptable.

 Keep the introduction and conclusion brief. You don’t need a long introduction or conclusion. The function of

an introductory paragraph is to introduce the reader to the topic in the prompt, and then to clearly and forcefully

state your position on it. No more than 3-4 sentences in the introduction. In the conclusion, 1-2 sentences are

sufficient to reiterate your position and leave the essay with a closing idea. Save your writing-time for your body

paragraphs because that’s where the bulk of your writing lives.

 Use the word counter in the bottom left corner of the screen.. Your grade will suffer if you have less than 300

words.

 1 introduction paragraph = 3-4 sentences

 2-3 body paragraphs = 4-8 sentences each, no less than 4/no more than 8

 1 concluding paragraph = 1-2 sentences

 Use Transition Words. The next page offers a good list of common transition words and phrases. Use these

transitions to signal to your readers that you are moving from one idea to the next. Use them between paragraphs as

well as sentences. However, don’t start every sentence with a transition because that would be weird. Instead, the

goal is to use transitions as guideposts for your readers. “For example” is a transition. When you use “for example”

you signal to your readers that you are about to present an example. It’s really that simple.

Transition Words and Phrases

To show agreement

 not only … but also

 as a matter of fact

 in addition

 coupled with

 in the light of

To list

 first, second, third

 To begin, to conclude

To show disagreement

 in contrast

 different from

 of course …, but

 on the other hand

 on the contrary

 at the same time

 in spite of

 but

To show cause and/or effect

 in the event that

 for the purpose of

 with this in mind

 in the hope that

 in order to

 if

 … then

To exemplify or clarify

 for example

 in other words

 as an illustration

 in this case

 to put it another way

 that is to say

 with attention to