Study Guide

Field 124: Hebrew CST
Presentational Writing

Review the IME tutorial video and the IME instructions for Hebrew . The IME instruction document will be available to you during the actual test.

Directions for Presentational Writing Assignment

For the Presentational Writing section of the test, you will write an essay in the target language in response to an assignment.

Read the assignment carefully before you begin to write. Think about how you will organize your essay. You should use your time to plan, write, review, and edit your essay. Your final essay must be typed in the on-screen response box presented with the assignment.

For this assignment, you will type your response in the target language using Input Method Editor (IME) technology. You may access specific instructions for IME use by selecting the button above the response box. Note that because the default input language is set as English, you will need to select the target language before you begin typing by clicking on the arrow in the language selection box at the top left corner of the screen.

Your response will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• APPROPRIATENESS: The extent to which the response is an essay written in the candidate's own words, demonstrates engagement with the provided passage, establishes a position on the issue presented in the question, and uses language, style, and sociocultural conventions appropriate for the assignment (task, context, and specified audience)
• SUPPORT: The extent to which the response supports the established position with information (appropriately cited details, quotations, and paraphrases) from the provided passage and the candidate's own ideas or examples
• ORGANIZATION: The extent to which the response is a well-organized and coherent essay that communicates clear ideas, develops a logical conclusion, and uses cohesive devices to connect sentences
• GRAMMAR: The extent to which the response uses a range of appropriate grammatical constructions, time frames, sentence structures, and mechanics (i.e., spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and diacritical marks)
• VOCABULARY: The extent to which the response uses a range of appropriate vocabulary and academic and idiomatic language

Your response will be evaluated on the criteria above, not on the position you take. Your response must be written in your own words. With the exception of appropriately identified quotations and paraphrases from the passage, your writing must be your own.

You may use the erasable notebooklet provided to take notes; however, you will be scored only on the response that you type in the response box for the assignment.

Select the Next button to continue.

Sample Presentational Writing Assignment

Competency 0003
Presentational Writing

Use the passage that appears on the "Passage" tab to complete the assignment below.

עד כמה, לדעתך, חשובה התמיכה בקיום מדעי הרוח כחלק ממוסדות ההשכלה הגבוהה?

In response to the question above and using the passage provided, write in Hebrew a well-organized and coherent essay for an audience of educated adults. In your essay, you must:

• state your position on the issue presented in the question;
• support your position by:
• citing relevant details from the passage, and
• providing your own relevant ideas or examples; and
• develop a conclusion that follows from and supports the ideas presented in your essay.

Your response must be written in your own words. With the exception of appropriately identified quotations and paraphrases from the passage, your writing must be your own.

Use the passage below from an article published in the newspaper הארץ to complete the assignment that appears on the "Assignment" tab.

החלטת אוניברסיטת תל אביב לסגור את החוג ללימודי צרפת היא חלק מתופעה כללית ומטרידה של ירידה במעמדם של מדעי הרוח. ראש החוג ללימודי צרפת, פרופ' מישל בוקובזה קאהן, סיפרה אתמול ש"לפני 15 שנה היו 400 סטודנטים בחוג, השנה נרשמו לשנה א' פחות מ–30". נתוני המל"ג¹מלמדים שלא רק לימודי צרפת נתפשים כלא אטרקטיביים. עד 2012 ירד מספר הלומדים בפקולטות למדעי הרוח ל–7.5% בלבד מכלל הלומדים לתואר ראשון, בהשוואה ל–11.7% ב–2001, וגם בשנת הלימודים האקדמית הנוכחית נרשמה ירידה במספר הסטודנטים.

הידרדרות מעמדם של מדעי הרוח קשורה לנטייה הברורה של הסטודנטים להעדיף את ההכשרה הפרקטית על פני הרחבת האופקים. בעקבות התחרות הקשה עם עשרות המכללות שנפתחו בשנים האחרונות, ומאפשרות נגישות לתוארים עם אופק תעסוקתי, נאלצות האוניברסיטאות לדלל את החוגים הפחות פופולריים, שהם בדרך כלל גם החוגים הפחות "מעשיים".

מדעי הרוח סובלים מתקצוב נמוך גם בשל גורמים שאינם קשורים לשיעורי ההרשמה. מענקי מחקר חיצוניים ניתנים בדרך כלל לסטודנטים שלומדים בחוגי המדעים המדוייקים. גם התגמולים על פרסום בכתבי עת, על פי מפתח שנקבע בוות"ת² , בעייתי: רבים מהפרסומים במדעי הרוח הם ספרים או פרקים מספרים, ולכן אינם מתוגמלים.

מדעי הרוח הם נכס תרבותי וחברתי, שערכו לא פחוּת מערכם של מקצועות ההנדסה והמחשב, למשל. השכלה ומחשבה ביקורתית הם כלים הכרחיים בחברה דמוקרטית וליברלית. מדינה אינה יכולה להסתפק בהכשרה מקצועית של אזרחיה. עליה לדאוג להעמקת המחשבה העיונית, ופיתוח תחומי ידע רחבים ומגוונים ככל האפשר. גוויעת מדעי הרוח נדמית אולי כגזירת גורל, אך היא אינה כזאת. שר החינוך שי פירון וראשי הוות"ת צריכים לשקול העדפה מתקנת בתקצוב מדעי הרוח. האוניברסיטאות מצדן חייבות להילחם כדי לגייס כמה שיותר סטודנטים ומרצים לחוגים אלה, ולהתעקש על המשך קיומם.

_______________________

¹מל"ג: המועצה להשכלה גבוהה

²וות"ת: הוועדה לתכנון ותקצוב

_______________________

"להילחם על הרוח" published in the newspaper הארץ. Copyright Haaretz. Reprinted with permission.

Sample Strong Response to Presentational Writing Assignment

Note: The sample strong response for the presentational writing assignment is an example of a response that a candidate might write. While the sample response demonstrates effective presentational writing skills, it could contain typical errors that candidates may produce in composing an essay in the target language. Please see the rationale following the response (coming soon) for more details.

Rationale for Sample Strong Response to Presentational Writing Assignment

The response is a well-organized and coherent essay that effectively communicates clear ideas and develops a logical conclusion. The candidate establishes a clear position on the issue presented in the question and effectively supports the established position with relevant information from the passage, as well as his or her own relevant ideas and examples. Overall, the response demonstrates a strong engagement with the passage.

The essay is written in the candidate's own words and effectively uses a broad range of vocabulary and academic and idiomatic language, as well as a style and sociocultural conventions that are appropriate for the assignment. Ideas are effectively expressed and connected through the use of a broad range of appropriate grammatical constructions, time frames, sentence structures, mechanics, and cohesive devices. Errors are minor and do not interfere with comprehensibility. Examples of such errors include a missing article (התמיכה מספיקה instead of התמיכה המספיקה), a missing conjunction (לדרוש יותר instead of לדרוש שיותר), and incorrect gender agreements ( מוסדות בהן ,עצמן instead of בהם, מוסדות עצמם, respectively).

Performance Characteristics for Presentational Writing Assignment

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the Presentational Writing assignment.

APPROPRIATENESS	The extent to which the response is an essay written in the candidate's own words, demonstrates engagement with the provided passage, establishes a position on the issue presented in the question, and uses language, style, and sociocultural conventions appropriate for the assignment (task, context, and specified audience)
SUPPORT	The extent to which the response supports the established position with information (appropriately cited details, quotations, and paraphrases) from the provided passage and the candidate's own ideas or examples
ORGANIZATION	The extent to which the response is a well-organized and coherent essay that communicates clear ideas, develops a logical conclusion, and uses cohesive devices to connect sentences
GRAMMAR	The extent to which the response uses a range of appropriate grammatical constructions, time frames, sentence structures, and mechanics (i.e., spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and diacritical marks)
VOCABULARY	The extent to which the response uses a range of appropriate vocabulary and academic and idiomatic language

Score Scale for Presentational Writing Assignment

A score will be assigned to the response to the Presentational Writing assignment according to the following score scale.

Score Point	Score Point Description
4	The "4" response demonstrates effective presentational writing skills.
3	The "3" response demonstrates generally effective presentational writing skills.
2	The "2" response demonstrates partially effective presentational writing skills.
1	The "1" response demonstrates ineffective presentational writing skills.
U	The response is unscorable because it is merely a repetition of the assignment, not related to the assignment, not primarily in the target language, or not of sufficient length to score.
B	There is no response to the assignment.

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