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ENGLISH ALIGNMENT CONTENT

ENGLISH ALIGNMENT PLACEMENT
UW System Competency Based Admissions - English
Placement Test Blueprint
A. Writing: Process

Pre-writing: An effective writer

1. Formulates and explores ideas using strategies such as brainstorming, listing, mapping, journal writing, questioning, clustering, and outlining; 

  
2. Considers purpose and audience when selecting and limiting topics;   
3. Gathers and evaluates materials and information pertinent to the topic;   
4. Uses primary and secondary research to shape ideas, when appropriate;   
Drafting: An effective writer

5. Discovers and develops ideas, distinguishing between topics and theses; 

  
6. Supports ideas with evidence that is both sufficient and relevant, including source materials where appropriate;   
7. Distinguishes major points from minor points;   
8. Uses appropriate resources for research, e.g., interviews, bibliographies and data bases;   
9. Uses and acknowledges the ideas of others;   
10. Writes multiple drafts when necessary;   
Revising: An effective writer

11. Reads own drafts critically to refine the development and expression of ideas; 

  
12. Anticipates the needs and responses of readers;   
13. Incorporates feedback from readers and provides constructive feedback to other writers;   
14. Assesses and, as necessary, improves the focus and clarity of the controlling idea(s);   
15. Reviews supporting material for relevance and adequacy;   
16. Revises for ideas, coherence, and organization, reshaping the text as necessary by adding, deleting, substituting, and rearranging;  3. Students should be able to recognize errors in edited, American English in the following areas: a. parallelism and subordination

b. economy and word order

c. punctuation for clarity

d. subject/verb agreement

e. verb tense and form

f. pronoun agreement, case, and reference

g. dangling and misplaced modifiers

h. run-on sentence, comma splice, and sentence fragment

i. adverb/adjective comparison

j. idiom and diction

5. Students should be able to distinguish sentences that are "correct" and "effective."
17. Demonstrates control of standard usage, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.  3. Students should be able to recognize errors in edited, American English in the following areas:

a. parallelism and subordination

b. economy and word order

c. punctuation for clarity

d. subject/verb agreement

e. verb tense and form

f. pronoun agreement, case, and reference

g. dangling and misplaced modifiers

h. run-on sentence, comma splice, and sentence fragment

i. adverb/adjective comparison

j. idiom and diction

5. Students should be able to distinguish sentences that are "correct" and "effective."
B. Writing: Product

Effective writing

1. Displays a clear purpose and addresses an audience appropriately; 

  
2. Focuses on a subject, employs unifying ideas, and uses appropriate organizational patterns (e.g., comparison/contrast, cause/effect, description/narration);   
3. Has a logical organization, appropriate transitions, and internal coherence and cohesion;   
4. Uses a variety of sentence types and lengths appropriate for the reader and genre;   
5. Supports generalizations with appropriate details;   
6. Expresses ideas with individuality and insight;   
7. Employs conventional formats of documentation, for example, MLA, APA, Chicago.   
C. Reading

An effective reader

1. Analyzes, and interprets texts orally and in writing; 

 4.a. After reading a college-level prose passage, students should be able to demonstrate understanding the literal meaning of the passage 4.b. After reading a college-level prose passage, students should be able to demonstrate interpreting figurative language in the passage

4.c. After reading a college-level prose passage, students should be able to demonstrate drawing inferences and analyzing

4.d. After reading a college-level prose passage, students should be able to demonstrate recognizing principles of organization of the passage
2. Understands denotative, connotative, and figurative meanings;  4.a. After reading a college-level prose passage, students should be able to demonstrate understanding the literal meaning of the passage 4.b. After reading a college-level prose passage, students should be able to demonstrate interpreting figurative language in the passage

4.c. After reading a college-level prose passage, students should be able to demonstrate deriving the meaning of selected vocabulary from its context
3. Comprehends literal and inferential meanings;  4.a. After reading a college-level prose passage, students should be able to demonstrate understanding the literal meaning of the passage 4.c. After reading a college-level prose passage, students should be able to demonstrate drawing inferences and analyzing
4. Distinguishes main ideas from subordinate details;  4.d. After reading a college-level prose passage, students should be able to demonstrate recognizing principles of organization of the passage
5. Summarizes and paraphrases texts orally and in writing;   
6. Formulates questions about the implications of a text;   
7. Recognizes and evaluates the validity of differing interpretations of a text;   
8. Transfers critical reading skills from one discipline or setting to another;   
9. Recognizes the influences of historical, social, biographical, cultural, ethnic and other contexts on a text;   
10. Recognizes the role of imaginative literature in the development of cultures;   
11. Recognizes, understands, and discusses, orally and in writing, conventional literary forms, using appropriate literary terms;   
12. Discusses, orally and in writing, characterization, setting, point of view, and plot development in imaginative literature.   
D. Oral Communication

An effective speaker

1. Communicates in ways appropriate to a variety of audiences and contexts; 

  
2. Presents information that is well organized;   
3. Supports a position with evidence and effective reasoning;   
4. Presents information which reflects effective language skills, e.g., use of transitions and clear and appropriate word choices;   
5. Uses effectively vocal articulation, pronunciation, volume, pitch, vocal quality and body movement;   
6. Distinguishes and uses various functions or purposes of communication (e.g., informative, expressive, imaginative, and persuasive);   
7. Employs and responds to nonverbal communication.   
An effective listener

1. Distinguishes between hearing and listening; 

  
2. Recognizes the existence of various dialects and their appropriate use;   
3. Identifies barriers to effective listening and applies techniques to overcome the barriers   
4. Identifies the different types and levels of listening.   

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UWSA LogoThis document was last revised on October 14, 1999. ©January 1999 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, All Rights Reserved.
 
 
 
 

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