Timed Writing
How to Prepare for the Timed Extemporaneous Writing Competition – January/ February
Step 1: Determine the level at which the student will be participating; thoroughly read and review the rubrics for that level to know what is expected.
Step 2: Carefully read through the possible prompts for the level at which the student will be competing.
Step 3: For each possible prompt, brainstorm themes and ideas to include, vocabulary/ lexical content, cultural knowledge, and appropriate verb tenses/ timeframes.
Step 4: Using the brainstormed info above, write 3 to 4 topic sentences that would easily be fleshed out into well-supported paragraphs.
Step 5: For each of the possible prompts, look again at your brainstormed information: are there places where you can include less commonly used, less anticipated structures? Where are places that you can include something that others students might not?
Feel free to use the following graphic organizer! (And see examples below)
My level:
Possible Prompt # :
| Themes/Topics/Ideas | Vocabulary | Verb Tenses/ Grammatical Structures | |
| Commonly used | |||
| Additional, higher level | |||
| Cultural Knowledge: | Products | Practices | Perspectives |
These are not fully completed, but are meant to give an idea.
