Timed Writing

RESOURCES
TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECONSTRUCTING ON-DEMAND PROMPTS 2

FLUENCY AND SPEED 10-MINUTE WARNING 4

PROMPT WRITING 6

TIME MANAGEMENT 8

ANALYZING WRITING PROMPTS 10

SAMPLE PROMPT DECONSTRUCTIONS 13

SAMPLE WRITING PROMPTS 16

STUDENT POST-TEST 17
 W I C O R

Deconstructing On-Demand Prompts

Instructional Steps
Goal 1. Collect sample writing prompts appropriate for students:
Students will be able state assessments, ACT, SAT, Advanced Placement, IB,
to deconstruct writing academic classes, etc.
prompts quickly for timed 2. Explain that many students struggle with on-demand
writing situations. writing tasks because they misunderstand or misread the
writing prompt.
Rationale 3. Write or project the following task list for students: 1) read
the prompt once with no markings; 2) circle action words/
Students will encounter
verbs; 3) number the tasks; and 4) create a cluster, a jot-list
a variety of timed writing
outline, or notes of key points and evidence to include in
tasks ranging from in-
the essay.
class essay exams to
college admission and 4. Explain that, much like speed dating, they will have a
placement exams. For limited amount of time to get to know the writing
most students, these prompts by completing the tasks listed on the board. A
situations create anxiety good place to start is to allow 5 minutes for each prompt,
and a lack of confidence. though some classes might need more time for the first
Many students feel that attempt at this activity.
an on-demand writing 5. Give each student a packet of two prompts.
task is accomplished by
rapidly writing one draft, 6. Tell students to begin with their first prompt. Start a timer
ignoring the writing for the 5 minutes.
process. However, by 7. Call time and have students move to the second prompt.
spending a few minutes of
the time deconstructing 8. Place students in pairs. Have students compare their
the prompt and creating a deconstructions for each prompt.
brief outline, students will
be more prepared to write a
cohesive essay.

270 The Write Path English Language Arts: Informing Ourselves and Others Through Writing and Speaking
9. Ask students to complete a quickwrite reflection once they have finished
comparing. The quickwrite should address the following questions:
Which step was most difficult for you in this process? How did your
deconstructions compare to your partners? What is one goal that you will
work on the next time we practice deconstructing prompts?
NOTE: This is a process that students will need to practice many times over the
course of the school year. More prompts can be added so that students are
rapidly deconstructing four prompts during an activity.

Differentiation
Increased Scaffolding
Model the entire process with the class.
Have students work in pairs with no time limit for the first several writing
prompts.
Provide more time initially to deconstruct the prompts and then gradually
decrease the time as students become more proficient.

Increased Rigor
Have students write a thesis statement as part of their task list.
Ask students to collect prompts they find challenging and use these
prompts for the activity.

Other AVID Resources

High School Writing Teacher Guide

Section 1: Writing 271

 W I C O R

Fluency and Speed 10-Minute Writing

Instructional Steps
Goal 1. Assign weekly writing tasks that must be completed from pre-write
Students will practice to publication within 10 minutes (Gere et al., 140). Remind students
10-minute writing tasks that they must write without stopping!
on a weekly basis. 2. Do not post the elapsed time as they write. Since this is a practice,
such visual time-tracking is a distraction at this point. When they
Rationale go into a formal on-demand writing session, they will have a better
sense of 10-minute intervals even though they will have the visual
As students move from reminders in a formal writing situation such as for an AP test.
grade level to grade level, 3. Include 10-minute writing topics. (See Teacher Resource.)
the need for fluency in their
writing becomes increasingly 4. Help students develop fluency with form and content. (See Teacher
more urgent. They are given Resource.)
more on-demand writing 5. Post Best of Ten fluency writing pieces weekly.
tasks where they must learn
to evaluate the nature of
the response required and Differentiation
the time they are allotted
to complete the response. Increased Scaffolding
Strategies that help writers Timed writing tasks are often completed without electronic devices.
learn to adjust their writing The more practice all students have in writing by hand, the better
to fit the demand and the practice is for writing on-demand.
time will be useful tools for
students to incorporate into Increased Rigor
their process. Similarly, having
students memorize a small Encourage students to count their words and keep track of the
store of quotes to use in numbers. Raising the total number written weekly and tracking
writing can also help increase progress are incentives for improvement.
fluency as well as have their Have students memorize short quotes to suit instances when they
writing appear more polished need to bolster support or provide polish in an argumentative, a
and planned. persuasive, or a descriptive essay. Such quotes are likely to be found
categorized in the old-style Rogets Thesaurus or a book such as
Teacher Reference Charltons The Writers Quotation Book: A Literary Companion. However,
electronic sources are more immediate. (See Teacher Resource for a
Fluency and Speed list of electronic sources.)
10-Minute Writing
Using Technology
Occasionally, allow students to bring their own devices on which
to write for 10 minutes with the provision that they are capable of
printing out their writing if asked to do so.

272 The Write Path English Language Arts: Informing Ourselves and Others Through Writing and Speaking
 teacher Reference
My method is to take the utmost trouble to find the right
thing to say, and then to say it with the utmost levity.
George Bernard Shaw

Fluency and Speed

10-Minute Writing
Topics for increasing student fluency Fluency includes the ability to
and speed when responding to generate and develop ideas (form
writing tasks and content) within on-demand
Speculate what would happen if our noses writing (Gere et al., 140).
were upside-down instead of the standard Give students a one-word topic on which they
design we all have. must write within the 10-minute time limit. (For
Explain a how-to process, such as how to drive example, best. Of course, they will ask Best
a stick-shift or how to swim with sharks. what? They have to decide.)
Write the dialogue you would have with your Have them write to an open-ended or framed
parent if he or she did not know how to use a prompt: Suppose or Most kids my age
Smart Phone. Ask them to write the action assignment: Your
Write an explanation of how to avoid being mission, should you accept it, is
injured by a tornado (or tsunami or flood) if Describe your version of a recipe for disaster.
you are away from home.
Write the story: Yippee! I
Write a letter to persuade a stranger to donate
to a worthy cause (or a nonsensical one). Write The Famous Decision.

Describe your ideal candidate for national What about people in the news?
office.
Electronic Sources for Quotes
Write your biography from age 5 to your
current age. Brainy quotes:
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/
Describe what you would do if you found a best.html
foreign object in the food you purchased while
you were just about to eat it in a fast-food Goodreads:
business. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes

Write an alternative ending, not the one Writers Digest site:

published, for a famous novel or movie. http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/
there-are-no-rules/72-of-the-best-quotes-about-
Use careful detail to describe what you would writing
do if you met a carnivorous animal on a hike.
(NOTE: You have to survive!) Quotations by Author:
http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/

Section 1: Writing 273

 W I C O R

Prompt Writing

Instructional Steps
Goal 1. Provide students with the handouts for RAMP and Organizational
Students will create Words in Writing Prompts from this publication. Review the use
writing prompts in order of RAMP elements in writing prompts and academic vocabulary
to develop proficiency in commonly found in prompts.
understanding prompts. 2. Provide the Student Handout: Prompt Writing with sample prompts
for students to deconstruct as a class.
Rationale 3. Review the elements of well-written prompts using the handout.
Instruct students to identify elements of RAMP and key vocabulary
Students who learn to terms used in each prompt.
create new writing prompts
will be more proficient in 4. Ask students to create their own prompts incorporating the
deconstructing the prompts necessary elements, RAMP considerations, and key vocabulary.
they encounter in on-demand 5. Have students share the prompts they created with each other.
writing tasks. Students will They can trade written prompts and have their partner identify the
also be able to identify and necessary elements in writing.
use elements of RAMP and
academic vocabulary words
commonly found in writing
prompts.
Differentiation
Increased Scaffolding
Student Handout Write sample prompts together as a class using the required
elements and identifying key vocabulary.
Prompt Writing
Have students work in small groups or pairs creating prompts to
share with the class.

Increased Rigor
Challenge students to locate and bring to class writing prompt
examples from other content areas for analysis.
Give students some previous years AP prompts and have them
identify the elements. (See Using Technology below for sources.)

Using Technology
Prompt Sources: http://www.msclark.net/Classes/APamerlit/
APEssayTopics1980-2008.pdf OR
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/english_lang/
samp.html?englang

274 The Write Path English Language Arts: Informing Ourselves and Others Through Writing and Speaking
 student handout

Prompt Writing
Prompts may be created using the following Examples
guidelines. After reading the guidelines, practice
creating several of your own prompts. Many schools in America are struggling with the
question of whether students should wear uniforms
Elements of a Well-Written Prompt or not. Do you think students should wear uniforms?
Write an editorial supporting your view for the local
Sentence 1: A declarative sentence (a newspaper.
simple sentence where possible) that makes a
Leaders are necessary to any group, such as families,
generalization about a particular topic or subject
clubs, teams, or countries. Explain what it takes to be
matter.
an effective leader. Be sure to support your opinion
Sentence 2: An imperative sentence (also a with specific qualities, examples, or personal
simple sentence) that asks students to make a experiences.
personal response to the subject matter defined. Reality television has become a popular pastime in
Or an interrogative sentence that gives students American culture. Write a proposal for a new idea
a question to answer. for a reality television show that you would send to
a particular network. Remember you must account
Sentence 3: Any specific directions about the
for the safety of participants, and they must not be
mode of writing expected, the length, or any
humiliated on television.
qualifiers (for example, Be sure to use two
supporting ideas.). Setting is often an important element in the
development and theme of novels and stories.
Think of a literary text you have read in which
the setting played a major role and explain your
analysis. Be sure to name the text and author, and
explain how the setting was used effectively as an
element of the authors craft.

Now try to create a prompt of your own:

Section 1: Writing 275

 W I C O R

Time Management
Instructional Steps
Goal 1. Assign students to small groups and ask them to brainstorm a list of
Students will acquire a challenges or obstacles they face in on-demand writing situations.
strategy for planning tasks 2. Record their ideas on chart paper.
in timed writing situations.
3. Distribute the Student Handout: Student Plan for On-Demand Writing.
4. Review the steps listed on the handout.
Rationale
5. Provide a prompt appropriate for student performance level.
Students are often
stressed because of the 6. Explain that students will work through the plan for this essay as a group.
time constraints. Much 7. Guide students through the steps of planning, pre-writing, writing, and
of this stress can be revising/editing.
alleviated when students
follow a plan for writing 8. Stop after each step and review with students: what was most
the essay. challenging during this step?
9. Review the brainstorm list created in Step 1 once all steps have been
Student Handout completed. Ask students to identify the challenges/obstacles that will be
addressed by following the on-demand writing plan.
Student Plan for
On-Demand Writing 10. Have students practice the plan at various intervals throughout the
school year.

Differentiation
Increased Scaffolding
Allow for more time initially so that students can build confidence when
completing on-demand writing tasks.
Model the process as a large group.
Share student samples from other classes to model the revising/editing
process.
Have students work in small groups or pairs before completing the
process individually.

Increased Rigor
Provide challenging prompts from released AP or IB exams.
Ask for sample prompts from a nearby college or university to use
for practice.

276 The Write Path English Language Arts: Informing Ourselves and Others Through Writing and Speaking
 student handout

Student Plan for On-Demand Writing

Adapted from High School Writing Teacher Guide

Plan 2. Explain each point completely before going on to

1. Write down the amount of time you have to the next one. If you skip around, your answer will
complete the essay. seem confusing and incomplete. Make sure each
topic sentence relates to your thesis.
2. Look at the clock and determine the time for
each of the steps. Note specifically when you 3. Support your general statements with details,
should move on to the next step. Write this examples, and facts. Use specific people and
somewhere where you can see it as you create events to show that you know your subject and to
your essay. help your audience follow your line of thinking/
reasoning. You must use examples, even with a
Pre-writing: 1/6 of allotted time short essay. If your answer is two sentences long,
Writing: 4/6 (2/3) of allotted time make the first sentence a thesis and the second an
Revising/Editing: 1/6 of allotted time example.
3. Glance at the clock periodically and when 4. Do not be afraid to think on paper. Some of your
time has elapsed, move to the next step in the best ideas may develop as you write.
process. 5. Make it clear that you are moving on to another
point by using transition words. These may
Pre-Writing include: such as, besides, in addition, next, however,
Use approximately 1/6 of the allotted time (10 and although.
minutes for a 60-minute essay; 5 minutes for a 6. Conclude in a sentence or two when you feel
30-minute essay) to complete the following tasks. youve covered everything. Dont simply repeat
1. Deconstruct the prompt. your opening sentence. Use some of the main
Read the prompt and circle action ideas you brought up in your essay.
words and verbs. 7. Stay aware of the time.
Number the tasks listed in the prompt.
Revising and Editing
2. Create a plan.
Use approximately 1/6 of the allotted time (10
Choose a topic
minutes for a 60-minute essay; 5 minutes for a
Create a visual, cluster, jot-list outline, or 30-minute essay) to complete the following tasks.
notes detailing key points and evidence
1. Reread your completed essay and revise.
that will be included in the essay.
2. Make sure you have answered the question and
Review prompt and check that outline
have not strayed from the prompt.
addresses all tasks listed.
3. Look for mistakes you might have made on the
Writing the Essay facts (dates, names, etc.). If you need to make
a correction, draw a single line through the old
Use approximately 4/6 of the allotted time (40 information and write the new information just
minutes for a 60-minute essay; 20 minutes for a above it. Dont waste time scribbling out old
30-minute essay) to complete the following tasks. information.
1. Introduce your topic by rephrasing the question/ 4. Check for complete ideas, clear thoughts, and
prompt or repeating key words from the prompt details/explanations.
in your first sentence. Get right to the heart of
your essay with a clear thesis; do NOT write a 5. Proofread for spelling, punctuation, and
lengthy introduction and do NOT repeat yourself. capitalization errors.
6. Make any needed corrections neatly and legibly.

Section 1: Writing 277

 Student Handout 2.9

Analyzing Writing Prompts

The ability to read and analyze writing prompts is a very important skill. As students advance into upper-level
courses, the writing tasks become more detailed and complex. Students need appropriate resources and tools
to analyze a prompt and to ensure all components are being addressed thoroughly and effectively. Practice
analyzing prompts with guidance will facilitate the development of this requisite skill.

Goal
To analyze each separate task requested in a prompt and, accordingly, to understand what needs to be
accomplished

Materials
A set of writing prompts from course(s)
Student Handouts:
2.10 Organizational Words in Writing Prompts
2.11 Analyzing a Writing Prompt

Instructions
1. Define a prompt. Describe the skill of prompt analysis and explain why it is an important tool for academic
success.

2. Give each student a copy of the handout Organizational Words in Writing Prompts. As a class, discuss the
different expectations that each word implies.

3. Provide students with sample writing prompts from the course.

4. Ask students to circle all the verbs in the prompt.

5. Instruct students to fold their paper in half to create a T-chart. The heading of the left column is DO (verb)
and the heading of the second column is WHAT. Ask students to complete the T-chart. Explain that this is
the simplest process for analyzing the tasks of writing prompt.

6. Select another prompt to analyze. Again, ask students to circle all verbs so that there is a clear understanding
of the steps or parts to the prompt. Provide students with the Analyzing a Writing Prompt handout. Ask
students to record their responses to the questions in the handout.

7. Discuss and reflect on student responses to the task:

a. How do these questions help clarify the tasks required in the writing prompt?
b. What questions were most challenging to answer?

8. Create opportunities for students to practice these strategies in small groups.

9. In the First Year Experience Seminar class, analyze writing prompts from other courses students are taking.

References
Johns, A. (2009). AVID college readiness: Working with sources. San Diego, CA: AVID Press.
LeMaster, J. (2010). Critical reading: Deep reading strategies for expository texts. San Diego, CA: AVID Press.

56 AVID Postsecondary Strategies for Success

 Student Handout 2.10

Organizational Words in Writing Prompts

Below are organizational words often used in writing prompts for both in-class writing (essay examinations)
and out-of-class assignments. This information will help you to interpret the prompts.
Analyze: Examine carefully to determine why. Separate or distinguish the elements of complex
ideas or statements. Break the idea into parts, and explain the various parts.
Assess: Examine critically, and estimate the merit, significance, or value.
Compare/Contrast: Point out how elements are similar and how they are different. (Sometimes compare
means both compare and contrast.)
Criticize/Critique: Discuss the good and bad elements in a text. Give evidence to justify your claims.
Define: Give the meaning of a term with enough detail to show that you really understand it.
Describe: Explain or write about an idea, person, place or thing (putting it in words). Tell how
something looks or how something happened. Include responses to questions such as
how, where, who, and why.
Diagram: Make a drawing or visual outline of an element and label its parts.
Discuss: Give reasons with details. Explore an element from different perspectives, looking at the
pros and cons.
Effect: Identify whatever is produced by a cause, something made to happen by a person or thing,
or the result.
Enumerate: Count off or list examples, reasons, causes, or effectsone by one.
Evaluate: Using evidence, discuss the strengths and weaknesses.
Explain: Make clear or interpret the reasons why something exists or is happening.
Identify: List and explain.
Illustrate: Make the point or idea clear by giving examples.
Interpret: Give the meaning of or use examples and personal comments to make the thought clear.
Justify: Give reasons for your claim (in an academic argument).
List: Enumerate without details.
Outline: Make an organized listing of the important points of a subject. (This outline does not always
have to look like the formal outline written for an English paper.)
Relate: Show the connections between things or how one thing causes another.
Respond: State your overall reaction (response) to the content, and then support your response with
specific reasons and examples, often referring back to the reading.
Solve: Come up with a solution based on the information provided as well as your own
knowledge.
State: Give the main points in brief, clear form.
Summarize: Organize, bring together and articulate the main points, keeping out personal opinions.
Support: Back up statements with evidence.
Synthesize: Pull together parts to make a wholethis requires looking for common attributes among
the parts in order to link them together.
Reference
Johns, A. (2009). AVID college readiness: Working with sources. San Diego, CA: AVID Press.
Section 2: Writing and Speaking to Learn 57
 Student Handout 2.11

Analyzing a Writing Prompt

Develop the habit of asking critical questions that will help in understanding and preparing for a formal writing
assignment. The following questions will provide insights when responding to complex writing prompts.

1. What am I supposed to do as a writer when I respond to this prompt?

Does the prompt ask me to make an argument, inform my readers about a particular issue, or describe an
event? Do I have to explain the significance of a particular topic? If you do not understand what you are being
asked to do, seek clarification.

2. What am I expected to cover in this paper?

What content should I include?

3. From which perspective or persona am I being asked to write this paper?

Does the prompt ask me to speak from a particular perspective? Should I write this paper as an ordinary
student or as someone else? Some prompts will ask young writers to take on the persona of celebrities,
leaders, government officials, and so on.

4. Who is my audience?
For whom am I writing this paper (an organization, the mayor, a city council member, or some other
individual or group)? What kind of language (formal, conversational, etc.) is most appropriate for my
audience? What does my audience know and/or believe?

5. What type of text am I being asked to write? What do I know about this type of writing?
Am I being asked to write a business letter, a personal statement, or a book review? Ask your instructor about
the writing type expected, and ask specifically how to organize the content.

6. Does the prompt ask me to use sources? If so, what sources should I use?
Does the prompt specify whether the sources should be primary (e.g., speeches, interviews, autobiographies,
etc.) or secondary (e.g., biographies, analyses, or commentaries on events, articles, ideas, people, etc.) What
types of sources are appropriate? May I use magazines or journal articles, films, or other such source material?
How many different types of sources should I use?

7. Does the prompt tell me to focus on a specific text?

What does the prompt ask me to consider? How should I focus my analysis? How many elements and/or
strategies am I being asked to analyze?

8. Are there clues in the prompt that will help me organize my paper?
Does the prompt use transition words? Is there a series of questions to consider? Does it make sense to
discuss a specific portion of the prompt as first, second, and third?

Reference
LeMaster, J. (2009). Critical reading: Deep reading strategies for expository texts. San Diego, CA:
AVID Press.

58 AVID Postsecondary Strategies for Success

 student handout

Sample Writing Prompt

Deconstruction 1
Read through the example of a writing prompt Use RAMP to further deconstruct the prompt.
deconstruction below. Then using the handout,
Guiding Questions for Deconstructing a Writing 8. ROLE: From which perspective am I being asked
Prompt, practice deconstructing the second writing to write this paper? This is an essay prompt so I will
prompt. NOTE: Do not use one-word answers. write from the perspective of a student.

PROMPT #1: Read the Speech to the Troops 9. AUDIENCE: Who is my audience? My teacher is my
at Tilbury. Identify the speakers purpose and audience.
intended effect, and analyze the rhetorical 10. MODE: What type of text am I being asked to
strategies and techniques Queen Elizabeth write? What do I know about this type of writing?
employs to achieve this. I am writing a literary analysis essay.
1. What are the verbs or action words stated in the 1 1. PURPOSE: According to the definitions on
prompt? Identify and analyze. the handout, Organizational Words in Writing
2. What are the details that follow the verb and Prompts, what am I supposed to DO? Identify:
clarify the task? Identify the speakers purpose and list and explain the speakers purpose. Analyze:
intended effect; analyze the rhetorical strategies Examine each rhetorical strategy or technique to
and techniques. determine if it is effective in achieving the purpose
of the speech.
3. Are there clues in the prompt that will help
me organize my paper? In this order, name the
purpose and effect, and analyze strategies.

4. What content am I expected to cover in this

paper? First, I will need to know when the speech
was delivered, who delivered it, and why. I also
need to list the rhetorical strategies used.

5. Does the prompt tell me to focus on a specific

text? The focus will be on the speech.
6. Does the prompt require me to use sources? If
so, what kinds of sources should I use? The only
source is the speech.
7. Does the prompt tell me to focus on specific
literary elements? I am to focus on more than one
rhetorical strategy.

Section 1: Writing 67
 student handout

Sample Writing Prompt

Deconstruction 2
PROMPT #2: Discuss how Harper Lee conveys the atmosphere of Maycomb in the first chapter of To Kill a
Mockingbird and how she prepares the reader for the ending of the novel. Include at least three literary
techniques she employs.

1. What are the verbs or action words stated in the prompt?

2. What are the details that follow the verb and clarify the task?

3. Are there clues in the prompt that will help me organize my paper?

4. What content am I expected to cover in this paper?

5. Does the prompt tell me to focus on a specific text?

6. Does the prompt require me to use sources? If so, what kinds of sources should I use?

7. Does the prompt tell me to focus on specific literary elements?

Use RAMP to further deconstruct the prompt.

8. ROLE: From which perspective am I being asked to write this paper?

9. AUDIENCE: Who is my audience?

10. MODE: What type of text am I being asked to write? What do I know about this type of writing?

11. PURPOSE: According to the definitions on the handout, Organizational Words in Writing Prompts, what am I
supposed to DO?

68 The Write Path English Language Arts: Informing Ourselves and Others Through Writing and Speaking
 STUDENT SAMPLE

Deconstructing Prompt

Section 1: Writing 669

Resources for Timed Writing Prompts
AVID Resources
1. AVID Weeks at a Glance Lessons
2. AVID Weekly

Released Test Questions

4. Released SAT Writing Prompts
5. Released ACT writing prompts
6. Released English placement tests (EPT)
a. CSU EPT test 45min essay prompt
b. CSU EPT 30-45min Calibrated Peer Review (CPR) essay prompts
7. State Testing
a. CCSS SBAC ELA/Literacy release questions
b. CCSS PARCC Sample Questions
i. Samples can be found by clicking on the grade level on the left menu.
c. TEKS STAAR release questions
8. High School Exit Exams
a. CAHSEE (California High School Exit Exam)
b. TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills)
c. FCAT (Floridas Comprehensive Assessment Test)
d. List of High School Exit Exams by State

Real World Prompts

9. Supreme court cases
a. Landmark Cases of the US Supreme Court
b. Lesson plans and resources from PBS
10. Current events
a. NY Times & The Learning Network
i. Student Opinion Writing Prompts
b. CNN Student News
c. PBS Learning Media
d. LA Times In Education
Timed Writing: Post-Test Name: ___________________________

Multiple Choice: Choose the answer that best completes each sentence, according to the AVID Timed Writing
video.

1. When writing a timed essay, the first step is ____________, the second step is ____________, and the
final step is ____________.
a. prewriting, writing, publishing
b. deconstructing the prompt, brainstorming, outlining
c. prewriting, writing, reviewing and editing
d. brainstorming, writing, rewriting

2. Most timed writings last between ___ and 60 minutes.

a. 5
b. 25
c. 12
d. 75

3. Timed writing is closely related to ____________ writing.

a. process
b. story
c. expository
d. journal

4. In general, you should spend ____ of your time writing your essay.
a. 1/6
b. 1/2
c. 3/5
d. 4/6

5. The three steps of prewriting are ____________, ____________, and ____________.

a. prewriting, writing, publishing
b. deconstructing the prompt, brainstorming, outlining
c. prewriting, writing, reviewing and editing
d. brainstorming, writing, rewriting

6. Choose four aspects of timed writing that make it unique.

a. Increased time pressure
b. There is no process to follow
c. Less time for revision
d. No access to additional resources like Google, spell check, or other classmates
e. Must be written in pen
f. Usually written by hand

Short Answer:

7. Compare and contrast timed writing and process writing. How are they different and how are they
similar?
Timed Writing: Post-Test ANSWER KEY Name: ___________________________

Multiple Choice: Choose the answer that best completes each sentence, according to the AVID Timed Writing
video.

1. When writing a timed essay, the first step is ____________, the second step is ____________, and the
final step is ____________.
a. prewriting, writing, publishing
b. deconstructing the prompt, brainstorming, outlining
c. prewriting, writing, reviewing and editing
d. brainstorming, writing, rewriting

2. Most timed writings last between ___ and 60 minutes.

a. 5
b. 25
c. 12
d. 75

3. Timed writing is closely related to ____________ writing.

a. process
b. story
c. expository
d. journal

4. In general, you should spend ____ of your time writing your essay.
a. 1/6
b. 1/2
c. 3/5
d. 4/6

5. The three steps of prewriting are ____________, ____________, and ____________.

a. prewriting, writing, publishing
b. deconstructing the prompt, brainstorming, outlining
c. prewriting, writing, reviewing and editing
d. brainstorming, writing, rewriting

6. List four aspects of timed writing that make it unique.

a. Increased time pressure
b. There is no process to follow
c. Less time for revision
d. No access to additional resources like Google, spell check, or other classmates
e. Must be written in pen
f. Usually written by hand

Short Answer:
7. Compare and contrast timed writing and process writing. How are they different and how are they
similar?