A Student Workshop by
Writing Across the Curriculum
Jane Boyton, CUNY Writing Fellow
The EAS Exam asks you to answer:
42 “selected-response” questions (multiple choice with
four possible answers)
and
3 “focused response” questions (Short essay answers of
150-200 words each based on 3 “exhibits”)
You have 135 minutes (2 hours and 15 minutes)
TOTAL. The exam suggests using 10 minutes for each
short essay and 105 minutes on the multiple choice
questions (2-3 minutes per question).
All three written assignments have the same instructions:
Use the exhibits to complete the task that follows.
After analyzing the information provided, write a response of
approximately 150–200 words in which you:
( specific task is listed here)
The final version of your response should conform to the
conventions of edited American English.
The specific task for each question uses the same language:
Identify (an issue, need, aspect . . .)
Describe (a strategy or modification)
Explain (why that strategy or modification will work)
Review the exhibits, and then write a brief response in
which you
• describe a unique learning issue that Ms. Daley has in
this class;
• present a strategy that would address this unique
learning issue; and
• support your decision to use the strategy and explain
why it would be successful.
The unique learning issue I see is the competition in the class, and that 80 percent
of longer- term resident students in the class seem to be at a competitive
disadvantage to the newer group of advanced second language students. This kind
of competition can cause significant conflicts as the school year progresses. There
is nothing to be done about gaps in ability. How ever, there is something to be
done to have an effective classroom environment.
As a whole, the students are self-motivated. Ms. Daley should take advantage of
that ability to act independently and make more use of cooperative learning
groups. Each group could be crafted to represent the full range of students in the
class. The cooperative groups would have specific directions with specific desired
outcomes, and groups should benefit as a whole from the results of the groups’
work.
I choose this strategy because it emphasizes group and not individual
responsibility. The emphasis on cooperation removes some, but not all, of the
competition noted in the class. The approach emphasizes the contribution of
each individual to the larger whole and gives an opportunity for students to learn
from each other. I believe the strategy will be successful because of the ability of
the students in this class to work without a lot of close scrutiny, and because, as a
whole, they may be able to learn more from each other than from Ms. Daley.
 Step 1. Generate a checklist to see what the response
needs to include
 Step 2. Outline using topic sentences (answer each
part of the question in a separate paragraph)
 Step 3. Fill in with evidence and details
 Step 4. Edit, refine, and check each sentence for
relevance
 You will have 15 minutes to read through the exhibits and
construct a short essay response of 150-200 words.
 Make sure your word counter is on but spell checker is off
to replicate the exam conditions.
 Remember: Start with an outline, and then fill in with
details and evidence. You can use the language of the exam
to make it easy for your reader to line up each section.
Make it obvious! Each sentence should answer some part of
the question
 Answer all parts of the question!
Review the information in the scenario.
 Identify an additional approach related to the diverse
students described in this scenario that Ms. Anderson
should incorporate in the lesson.
 Describe the approach you recommend.
 Detail why the approach you suggest is likely to be
effective.
Does the essay answer each part of the question? Can
you identify each specific task in the essay?
Identify (an issue, need, aspect . . .)
Describe (a strategy or modification)
Explain (why that strategy or modification will work)
Let’s translate the rubric: what do they mean by?
Content
2. Analysis, Synthesis, and Application of Pedagogical Principles
3. Command of Evidence
1.
1. Read through the essay once, making no notes or
comments.
2. Read the essay a second time and underline each sentence
that best accomplishes the specific tasks from the question.
Identify each underlined section with the keyword from the
question (“Identify, Describe, Detail”).
3. Score the essay to the best of your ability using the rubric
and our ‘translation’. Type the score for each section at the
bottom of the essay, and include any notes to justify that
score or explain what is missing or needed.
Ms. Anderson identified the primary “intelligence” for the five identified students in the class. It
is unlikely that these are the sole "intelligences" present in these students. Ms. Anderson should
identify other "intelllgences” present in these students.
Ms. Anderson should include appropriate adaptations for these other intelligences in the lesson.
For example, if she recognized that Frances also possessed visual-spatial intelligence, she should
incorporate Frances’s facility with words and languages with visual-spatial approaches.
There are many benefits to this adaptation, but let me discuss the students identified as bodilykinesthetic learners. It is fine for them to put on a skit or play, but this does not match well with
what might be expected of them in the workplace. There is certainly one other intelligence that
applies to these two students, and Ms. Anderson could bring the activities more into the
mainstream and strengthen the students' preparedness for the world of work.
There are many reasons why this approach would be effective. It broadens the range of learning
activities available to students based on a more inclusive and comprehensive
assessment of students’ intelligences. It helps Ms. Anderson account for any errors she may have
made in her initial assessment and avoids tying students to a single range of
learning.
Check the official NYSTCE website for all testing
policies: www.nystce.nesinc.com
It also has links to computer-based test tutorials (if you
want to get familiar with the way the test will look),
EAS Prep Materials, and a $20 Practice exam
An EAS Sample Study Guide from CCNY