1
ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Performance Task
Quarter 1, SY 2013-14
Teacher Guide
Task Overview (maximum 2 block periods or 4 class periods)
Title: Writing about Informative/Explanatory Text: Two Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance
Speeches
Part 1 (max. 1 block period or 2 class periods):
Ultimately tasked with writing an informative/explanatory essay on the similarities and
differences in purpose and rhetoric, students will read the texts of Nobel Peace Prize
acceptance speeches delivered by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1964) and President
Barack H. Obama (2009).
They will then respond to four constructed-response questions/tasks addressing the
reading and writings skills of (1) analyzing what a text explicitly and implicitly says, (2) selecting
strong and thorough textual evidence to support the analysis, and (3) marshaling that evidence
in an effective manner.
Part 2 (max. 1 block period or 2 class periods):
Finally, students will work individually to compose full-length informative/explanatory
essays on the purpose and rhetoric employed in both speeches referring to their notes as
needed. Pre-writing, drafting, and revising will be involved.
Scorable Products: Student responses to the constructed-response questions/task may be
scored at the teacher/PLC discretion. The final essay will be scored according to Common
Core/SBAC rubric and the score will be entered on Data Director.
Teacher preparation/Resource requirements
The teacher should assure sufficient that blank paper and writing utensils are
available for student note taking and writing of the essay.
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 2
Teacher Directions:
Students are given the texts, research, and any additional information about the essay.
Part 1 (max. 1 block period or 2 class periods):
 Initiate the testing session.
 Alert students when half the period has elapsed.
 Alert students when there are 10 minutes remaining in part 1.
Part 2 (max. 1 block period or 2 class periods):
 Initiate the testing session part 2.
o Allow students to re-read and review their work from Part 1.
 Once half the period has elapsed, suggest they begin writing their essays.
 Alert students when there are 10 minutes remaining in the session.
 Close the testing session.
MAJOR OBJECTIVE:
Students will write an informative/explanatory essay to a prompt that asks them to explain the
purpose and use of rhetorical devices from two speeches.
STANDARD ID STANDARD DESCRIPTION:
W.9‐10.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. RI.9‐10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. RI.9‐10.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. DOK Level and SBAC Claims:
DOK Level: 4
This performance task provides evidence to support the following claims:
Primary claim
Claim 2: Students can produce effective and well-grounded writing for a range of purposes and
audiences
Secondary claims
Claim 1: Students can read closely and analytically to comprehend a range of increasingly complex literary
and informational texts.
Claim 4: Students can engage in research and inquiry to investigate topics, and to analyze, integrate, and
present information.
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 3
ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Performance Task
Quarter 1, SY 2013-14
STUDENT EXAM
Part 1 (max. 1 block period or 2 class periods)
Your assignment:
People give speeches to influence others. They craft their words carefully in order to elicit a
particular response from their audience. They anticipate what will appeal to their listeners. The
Nobel Prizes are the most famous prizes in the world. Every year, they go to people for their
contributions in science, economics, and literature. Another prize goes to someone for contributions
to peace.
The prizes take their name from Alfred Nobel. He was a Swedish scientist who invented
dynamite. However, he wanted the world to remember him for something more than his destructive
invention. As a result, he created a way to honor people every year who make the world a better
place.
Mr. Nobel described in his will who should win the peace prize. He wanted it to go to a person
who did “the most or best work” for “fraternity among nations.” He said further that it should be for
work to reduce armies and promote peace. The committee that currently chooses the winner has
expanded Nobel’s ideas. Now it includes humanitarians and spiritual leaders who fight for human
rights and serve the sick, the poor, and victims of war.
In 1964, The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. In
2009, President Barack H. Obama received the same award. They both delivered significant
acceptance speeches that address their views on violence in their time.
Your job is to learn about the speeches so you can describe it to others. Your description will
be used by people who want to give speeches of their own. They both delivered significant
acceptance speeches that address their views on violence in their time. You will read two speeches
then write an informative/explanatory essay to explain how they develop a common purpose using
rhetorical devices.
Steps you will be following:
In order to plan and compose your explanatory article, you will do all of the following:
1. Read the four texts.
2. Answer the four constructed-response questions/tasks.
3. Plan and write your informative/explanatory essay.
Directions for beginning:
You will now examine several sources. You can re-examine any of the sources as often as you like.
Text #1 “AP Rhetorical Devices” by APStudyNotes.org
Text #2 “Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech” by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1964)
Text #3 “A Just and Lasting Peace” [Nobel Lecture] by President Barack H. Obama (2009)
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 4
Constructed-Response Questions/Task:
Use the remaining time to answer the questions/tasks below. Your answers to these questions will
be scored at the teacher’s discretion. Also, they will help you think about the sources you’ve read,
which should help you write your essay. You may refer back to the sources when you think it would
be helpful. You may also refer to your notes. Answer the constructed-response questions in the
spaces provided below them.
1. Although there are differences in the speeches, they were generally written to achieve the
same goal. Select two sentences (one from each speech) that illustrate the similarities of
purpose of the Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
in 1964 and the Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech by President Barack Obama in 2009.
Briefly explain how these sentences support their argument/ main claim/purpose.
2. Using Source #1: “AP Rhetorical Devices,” go back to the two speeches and annotate for
rhetorical devices that the authors used.
3. Citing textual evidence, analyze (a) rhetorical device(s) used in Nobel Peace Prize
acceptance speech by President Barack Obama in 2009 and explain how they would have
influenced the intended audience.
4. Citing textual evidence, analyze (a) rhetorical device(s) used in the Nobel Peace Prize
acceptance speech by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr in 1964 and explain how they
would have influenced the intended audience.
(Use additional paper as needed to help you prepare to write your essay.)
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 5
Part1
SourcesforthePerformanceTask: Source#1
AP Rhetorical Devices List
Anecdote
Perspective
Aphorism
Contradiction
Apostrophe
Oxymoron
Allusion
Syllogism
Satire
Bildungsroman
Devices
Foil
Epistolary
Epitaph
Parody
Delayed sentence
Sarcasm
Expletive
A brief story or tale told by a character in a piece of
literature
A character's view of the situation or events in the story
A concise statement designed to make a point or
illustrate a commonly held belief. The writings of
Benjamin Franklin contain many aphorisms, such as
"Early to bed and early to rise/Make a man healthy,
wealthy, and wise."
A direct opposition between things compared;
inconsistency
A figure of speech in which a person, thing, or abstract
quality is addressed as if present; for example, the
invocation to the muses usually found in epic poetry.
A figure of speech that combines two apparently
contradictory elements, as in "jumbo shrimp" or
"deafening silence."
—A figure of speech which makes brief, even casual
reference to a historical or literary figure, event, or object
to create a resonance in the reader or to apply a symbolic
meaning to the character or object of which the allusion
consists. For example, in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and
Men, the surname of the protagonist, George Milton, is an
allusion to John Milton, author of Paradise Lost, since by
the end of the novel, George has lost the dream of having
a little ranch of his own to share with his friend Lennie.
A form of deduction. An extremely subtle, sophisticated,
or deceptive argument
A literary style used to make fun of or ridicule an idea or
human vice or weakness
A novel or story whose theme is the moral or
psychological growth of the main character.
A particular word pattern or combination of words used
in a literary work to evoke a desired effect or arouse a
desired reaction in the reader
A person or thing that makes another seem better by
contrast
A piece of literature contained in or carried on by letters
A piece of writing in praise of a deceased person
A satirical imitation of a work of art for purpose of
ridiculing its style or subject.
A sentence that withholds its main idea until the end. For
example: Just as he bent to tie
his shoe, a car hit him.
A sharp caustic remark. A form of verbal irony in which
apparent praise is actually bitterly or harshly critical. For
example, a coach saying to a player who misses the ball,
"Nice catch."
A single word or short phrase intended to emphasize
surrounding words. Commonly, expletives are set off by
commas. Examples: in fact, of course, after all, certainly
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 6
Irony
Eulogy
Paradox
Epiphany
Onomatopoeia
Diction
Utopia
Hyperbole
Deus ex machina
Antagonist
Analogy
Inductive
Nostalgia
Chiasmus
Thesis
Litote
Doppelganger
Zeugma
Ethos
Propaganda
Didactic
Formal Language
Allegory
Abstract
A situation or statement characterized by significant
difference between what is expected or understood and
what actually happens or is meant. Irony is frequently
humorous, and can be sarcastic when using words to
imply the opposite of what they normally mean
A speech or writing in praise of a person or thing; an
oration in honor of a deceased person
A statement that seems contradictory, but is actually true.
A sudden or intuitive insight or perception into the
reality or essential meaning of something usually
brought on by a simple or common occurrence or
experience
A word capturing or approximating the sound of what it
describes, such as buzz or hiss.
An author's choice of words to convey a tone or effect
An imaginary place of ideal perfection. The opposite of
a dystopia. —An imaginary place where people live
dehumanized, often fearful lives.
An overstatement characterized by exaggerated language
As in Greek theater, use of an artificial device or
contrived solution to solve a difficult situation, usually
introduced suddenly and unexpectedly
Character or force in a literary work that opposes the
main character, or protagonist
Comparison of two things that are alike in some
respects. Metaphors and similes are both types of
analogy
Conclusion or type of reasoning whereby observation or
information about a part of a class is applied to the class
as a whole. Contrast with deductive.
Desire to return in thought or fact to a former time
Figure of speech by which the order of the terms in the
first of parallel clauses is reversed in the second. “Has
the Church failed mankind, or has mankind failed the
Church?”-- T. S. Eliot,
Focus statement of an essay; premise statement upon
which the point of view or discussion in the essay is
based. Antithesis—The juxtaposition of sharply
contrasting ideas in balanced or parallel words or phrases.
Form of understatement in which the negative of the
contrary is used to achieve emphasis and intensity. For
example, "She is not a bad cook." Or "No man ever
followed his genius until it misled him." Thoreau
Ghostly counterpart of a living person or an alter ego
Grammatically correct linkage of one subject with two or
more verbs or a verb with two or more direct objects. The
linking shows a relationship between ideas more clearly.
In dramatic literature, the moral element that determines
a character's actions, rather than thought or emotion.
Information or rumor deliberately spread to help or harm
a person, group, or institution
Intended for teaching or to teach a moral lesson
Language that is lofty, dignified, or impersonal
Narrative form in which characters and actions have
meanings outside themselves; characters are usually
personifications of abstract qualities
Not related to the concrete properties of an object;
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 7
pertaining to ideas, concepts, or qualities, as opposed to
physical attributes
In medias res
Opening a story in the middle of the action, requiring
filling in past details by exposition or flashback.
Colloquial
Ordinary language; the vernacular. For example,
depending on where in the United States you live, a
sandwich is called a sub, a grinder, or a hero.
Isocolon
Parallel structure in which the parallel elements are
similar not only in grammatical structure, but also in
length. For example, "An envious heart makes a
treacherous ear" (Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora
Neale Hurston).
Aesthetic
Pertaining to the value of art for its own sake or for form
Juxtaposition
Placing of two items side by side to create a certain
effect, reveal an attitude, or accomplish some other
purpose
Elegy
Poem or prose lamenting the death of a particular
person. Perhaps the most famous elegy is Thomas Grey's
poem, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard."
Antihero
Protagonist of a literary work who does not embody the
traditional qualities of a hero (e.g., honor, bravery,
kindness, intelligence); for example, the protagonists
created by Byron in Don Juan and Childe Harold, and the
characters of Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern Are Dead
Catharsis
Purification or cleansing of the spirit through the
emotions of pity and terror as a witness to a tragedy.
Epigraph
Quote set at the beginning of a literary work or at its
divisions to set the tone or suggest a theme.
Motif
Recurrent device, formula, or situation that often serves
as a signal for the appearance of a character or event
Parallelism
Recurrent syntactical similarity where several parts of a
sentence or several sentences are expressed alike to show
that the ideas in the parts or sentences equal in
importance. It also adds balance, rhythm, and clarity to
the sentence. For example, "I have always searched for,
but never found the perfect painting for that wall."
Anaphora
regular repetition of the same word or phrase at the
beginning of successive phrases or clauses. For example,
"We shall fight in the trenches. We shall fight on the
oceans. We shall fight in the sky."
Anadiplosis
Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning
of the next clause. For example, "The crime was common,
common be the pain." (Alexander Pope)
Appeals to: authority, emotion, logic Rhetorical arguments in which the speaker: either claims
to be an expert or relies on information provided by
experts (appeal to authority), attempts to affect the
listener's personal feelings (appeal to emotion), or
attempts to persuade the listener through use of deductive
reasoning (appeal to logic).
Imagery
Sensory details in a work; the use of figurative language
to evoke a feeling, call to mind an idea, or describe an
object. Imagery involves any or all of the five senses
Euphemism
Substitution of a milder or less direct expression for one
that is harsh or blunt. For example, using "passed away"
for "dead."
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 8
Genre
Voice
Tone
Theme
Protagonist
Denotation
Mood
Realism
Prose
Audience
Asyndeton
Deductive
Assonance
Alliteration
Consonance
Invective
Point of view
Persona
Syntax
Canon (canonical)
Foreshadow
Begging the question
Personification
Anachronism
Term used to describe literary forms, such as tragedy,
comedy, novel, or essay
The acknowledged or unacknowledged source of words
of the story; the speaker, a "person" telling the story or
poem.
The attitude a literary work takes towards its subject and
theme. It reflects the narrator's attitude.
The central or dominant idea or concern of a work; the
main idea or meaning
The chief character in a work of literature
The dictionary definition of a word; the direct and
specific meaning
The feeling or ambience resulting from the tone of a
piece as well as the writer/narrator's attitude and point of
view. The effect is created through descriptions of
feelings or objects that establish a particular feeling such
as gloom, fear, or hope
The literary practice of attempting to describe life and
nature without idealization and with attention to detail
The ordinary of form of written language without
metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse
The person(s) reached by a piece of writing.
The practice of omitting conjunctions between words,
phrases, or clauses. In a list, it gives a more
extemporaneous effect and suggests the list may be
incomplete. For example, "He was brave, fearless, afraid
of nothing."
The reasoning process by which a conclusion is drawn
from set of premises and contains no more facts than
these premises
The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds,
usually in successive or proximate words.
The repetition of initial consonant sounds or any vowel
sounds within a formal grouping, such as a poetic line or
stanza, or in close proximity in prose
The repetition of two or more consonants with a change
in the intervening vowels, such as pitter-patter, splishsplash, and click-clack.
The use of angry and insulting language in satirical
writing
The view the reader gets of the action and characters in a
story
The voice or figure of the author who tells and structures
the story and who may or may not share of the values of
the actual author.
The way words are put together to form phrases, clauses,
and sentences. It is sentence structure and how it
influences the way a reader perceives a piece of writing.
The works of an author that have been accepted as
authentic.
To hint at or present things to come in a story or play
To sidestep or evade the real problem.
Treating an abstraction or nonhuman object as if it were a
person by giving it human
Use of historically inaccurate details in a text; for
example, depicting a 19th-century character using a
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 9
Ambiguity
Connotation
Transition words
computer. Some authors employ anachronisms for
humorous effect, and some genres, such as science fiction
or fantasy, make extensive use of anachronism
—Use of language in which multiple meanings are
possible. Ambiguity can be unintentional through
insufficient focus on the part of the writer; in good
writing, ambiguity is frequently intentional in the form of
multiple connotative meanings, or situations in which
either the connotative or the denotative meaning can be
valid in a reading.
What is implied by a word. For example, the words sweet,
gay, and awesome have connotations that are quite
different from their actual definitions.
Words and devices that bring
unity and coherence to a piece
of writing. Examples: however,
in addition, and on the other
hand.
Source #2
Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech by President Barack Obama (2009)
Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, distinguished members of the
Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world:
I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that
speaks to our highest aspirations – that for all the cruelty and hardship of our
world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend
history in the direction of justice.
And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable
controversy that your generous decision has generated. (Laughter.) In part, this
is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world
stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who've received this prize –
Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela – my accomplishments are slight.
And then there are the men and women around the world who have been jailed
and beaten in the pursuit of justice; those who toil in humanitarian
organizations to relieve suffering; the unrecognized millions whose quiet acts
of courage and compassion inspire even the most hardened cynics. I cannot
argue with those who find these men and women – some known, some obscure
to all but those they help – to be far more deserving of this honor than I.
But perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the
fact that I am the Commander-in-Chief of the military of a nation in the midst
of two wars. One of these wars is winding down. The other is a conflict that
America did not seek; one in which we are joined by 42 other countries –
including Norway – in an effort to defend ourselves and all nations from
further attacks.
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 10
Still, we are at war, and I'm responsible for the deployment of thousands of
young Americans to battle in a distant land. Some will kill, and some will be
killed. And so I come here with an acute sense of the costs of armed conflict –
filled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace,
and our effort to replace one with the other.
Now these questions are not new. War, in one form or another, appeared with
the first man. At the dawn of history, its morality was not questioned; it was
simply a fact, like drought or disease – the manner in which tribes and then
civilizations sought power and settled their differences.
And over time, as codes of law sought to control violence within groups, so did
philosophers and clerics and statesmen seek to regulate the destructive power
of war. The concept of a "just war" emerged, suggesting that war is justified
only when certain conditions were met: if it is waged as a last resort or in selfdefense; if the force used is proportional; and if, whenever possible, civilians
are spared from violence.
Of course, we know that for most of history, this concept of "just war" was
rarely observed. The capacity of human beings to think up new ways to kill
one another proved inexhaustible, as did our capacity to exempt from mercy
those who look different or pray to a different God. Wars between armies gave
way to wars between nations – total wars in which the distinction between
combatant and civilian became blurred. In the span of 30 years, such carnage
would twice engulf this continent. And while it's hard to conceive of a cause
more just than the defeat of the Third Reich and the Axis powers, World War
II was a conflict in which the total number of civilians who died exceeded the
number of soldiers who perished.
In the wake of such destruction, and with the advent of the nuclear age, it
became clear to victor and vanquished alike that the world needed institutions
to prevent another world war. And so, a quarter century after the United States
Senate rejected the League of Nations – an idea for which Woodrow Wilson
received this prize – America led the world in constructing an architecture to
keep the peace: a Marshall Plan and a United Nations, mechanisms to govern
the waging of war, treaties to protect human rights, prevent genocide, restrict
the most dangerous weapons.
In many ways, these efforts succeeded. Yes, terrible wars have been fought,
and atrocities committed. But there has been no Third World War. The Cold
War ended with jubilant crowds dismantling a wall. Commerce has stitched
much of the world together. Billions have been lifted from poverty. The ideals
of liberty and self-determination, equality and the rule of law have haltingly
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 11
advanced. We are the heirs of the fortitude and foresight of generations past,
and it is a legacy for which my own country is rightfully proud.
And yet, a decade into a new century, this old architecture is buckling under
the weight of new threats. The world may no longer shudder at the prospect of
war between two nuclear superpowers, but proliferation may increase the risk
of catastrophe. Terrorism has long been a tactic, but modern technology allows
a few small men with outsized rage to murder innocents on a horrific scale.
Moreover, wars between nations have increasingly given way to wars within
nations. The resurgence of ethnic or sectarian conflicts; the growth of
secessionist movements, insurgencies, and failed states – all these things have
increasingly trapped civilians in unending chaos. In today's wars, many more
civilians are killed than soldiers; the seeds of future conflict are sown,
economies are wrecked, civil societies torn asunder, refugees amassed,
children scarred.
I do not bring with me today a definitive solution to the problems of war. What
I do know is that meeting these challenges will require the same vision, hard
work, and persistence of those men and women who acted so boldly decades
ago. And it will require us to think in new ways about the notions of just war
and the imperatives of a just peace.
We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth: We will not eradicate violent
conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations – acting individually
or in concert – will find the use of force not only necessary but morally
justified.
I make this statement mindful of what Martin Luther King Jr. said in this same
ceremony years ago: "Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no
social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones." As
someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King's life work, I am
living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. I know there's nothing
weak – nothing passive – nothing naïve – in the creed and lives of Gandhi and
King…
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 12
Source #3
Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech by Rev. Martin Luther King (1964)
Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and
Gentlemen:
I accept the Nobel Prize for Peace at a moment when 22 million Negroes of the
United States of America are engaged in a creative battle to end the long night
of racial injustice. I accept this award on behalf of a civil rights movement
which is moving with determination and a majestic scorn for risk and danger to
establish a reign of freedom and a rule of justice. I am mindful that only
yesterday in Birmingham, Alabama, our children, crying out for brotherhood,
were answered with fire hoses, snarling dogs and even death. I am mindful that
only yesterday in Philadelphia, Mississippi, young people seeking to secure the
right to vote were brutalized and murdered. And only yesterday more than 40
houses of worship in the State of Mississippi alone were bombed or burned
because they offered a sanctuary to those who would not accept segregation. I
am mindful that debilitating and grinding poverty afflicts my people and chains
them to the lowest rung of the economic ladder.
Therefore, I must ask why this prize is awarded to a movement which is
beleaguered and committed to unrelenting struggle; to a movement which has
not won the very peace and brotherhood which is the essence of the Nobel
Prize.
After contemplation, I conclude that this award which I receive on behalf of
that movement is a profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the
crucial political and moral question of our time - the need for man to overcome
oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression.
Civilization and violence are antithetical concepts. Negroes of the United
States, following the people of India, have demonstrated that nonviolence is
not sterile passivity, but a powerful moral force which makes for social
transformation. Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover
a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic
elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. If this is to be achieved, man must
evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and
retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
The tortuous road which has led from Montgomery, Alabama to Oslo bears
witness to this truth. This is a road over which millions of Negroes are
travelling to find a new sense of dignity. This same road has opened for all
Americans a new era of progress and hope. It has led to a new Civil Rights
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 13
Bill, and it will, I am convinced, be widened and lengthened into a super
highway of justice as Negro and white men in increasing numbers create
alliances to overcome their common problems.
I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious
faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to
the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the "isness" of man's
present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal
"oughtness" that forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is
mere flotsom and jetsom in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding
events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so
tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright
daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.
I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a
militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that
unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This
is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. I believe
that even amid today's mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for
a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the
blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to
reign supreme among the children of men. I have the audacity to believe that
peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and
culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I
believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can
build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God
and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent
redemptive good will proclaim the rule of the land. "And the lion and the lamb
shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree
and none shall be afraid." I still believe that We Shall overcome!
This faith can give us courage to face the uncertainties of the future. It will
give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward stride toward the
city of freedom. When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds and
our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, we will know that we are
living in the creative turmoil of a genuine civilization struggling to be born.
Today I come to Oslo as a trustee, inspired and with renewed dedication to
humanity. I accept this prize on behalf of all men who love peace and
brotherhood. I say I come as a trustee, for in the depths of my heart I am aware
that this prize is much more than an honor to me personally.
Every time I take a flight, I am always mindful of the many people who make a
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 14
successful journey possible - the known pilots and the unknown ground crew.
So you honor the dedicated pilots of our struggle who have sat at the controls
as the freedom movement soared into orbit. You honor, once again, Chief
Lutuli of South Africa, whose struggles with and for his people, are still met
with the most brutal expression of man's inhumanity to man. You honor the
ground crew without whose labor and sacrifices the jet flights to freedom could
never have left the earth. Most of these people will never make the headline
and their names will not appear in Who's Who. Yet when years have rolled past
and when the blazing light of truth is focused on this marvellous age in which
we live - men and women will know and children will be taught that we have a
finer land, a better people, a more noble civilization - because these humble
children of God were willing to suffer for righteousness' sake.
I think Alfred Nobel would know what I mean when I say that I accept this
award in the spirit of a curator of some precious heirloom which he holds in
trust for its true owners - all those to whom beauty is truth and truth beauty and in whose eyes the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more
precious than diamonds or silver or gold.
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) Part 2 (max. 1 block period or 2 class periods):
15
You will now have time to review your notes and sources, plan, draft, and revise your essay. You
may also refer to the answers you wrote to the questions in part 1. Now read your assignment and
the information about how your writing will be scored, then begin your work.
Your Assignment
You are an assistant to speech writers who are working with the newest Nobel
Peace Prize winner. She strongly admires both Dr. King’s 1964 and President Obama’s
2009 Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speeches and has asked for assistance with
writing a speech with similar impact and you have been assigned to help her.
Examine the purpose and use of rhetoric of Dr. King’s and President Obama’s
speeches. Explain the similarities and differences between them for the new Nobel
Peace Prize winner to consider when she and the team write her acceptance speech.
How your writing will be scored: The people scoring your writing will be assigning scores for
1. Statement of purpose/focus – how well you clearly state your controlling idea or topic and
maintain your focus throughout the writing
2. Organization – how well your ideas logically flow from the introduction to conclusion using
effective transitions and connections among ideas
3. Elaboration of evidence – how well you provide and integrate evidence from sources and
elaborate with specific information
4. Language and vocabulary – how well you effectively express ideas using precise language
that is appropriate for your audience and purpose
5. Conventions - how well you follow the rules of usage, punctuation, capitalization, and
spelling
Now begin work on your essay. Manage your time carefully so that you can:
 plan your essay
 write your essay
 revise and edit for a final draft
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 16
4-point Informational/Explanatory Writing Rubric (Grades 6–11)
Score
Statement of
Purpose/Focus
Statement of Purpose/Focus and
Organization
Statement of
Organization
Purpose/Focus
The response is fully
sustained and
consistently and
purposefully focused:
4
• controlling idea or
main idea of a topic
is focused, clearly
stated, and strongly
maintained
• controlling idea or
main idea of a topic
is introduced and
communicated clearly
within the context
The response has a
clear and effective
organizational
structure creating
unity and
completeness:
• use of a variety of
transitional strategies
* logical progression
of ideas from
beginning to end
• effective
introduction and
conclusion for
audience and purpose
• strong connections
among ideas, with
syntactic variety
Development: Language and Elaboration of
Evidence
Elaboration of Evidence
Language and
Vocabulary
The response provides
thorough and convincing
support/evidence for the
controlling idea or main
idea that includes the
effective use of sources,
facts, and details. The
response achieves
substantial depth that is
specific and relevant:
• use of evidence from
sources is smoothly
integrated,
comprehensive, and
concrete
The response clearly
and effectively
expresses ideas,
using precise
language:
• use of academic
and domain-specific
vocabulary is clearly
appropriate for the
audience and
purpose
Conventions
The response
demonstrates a
strong command of
conventions:
• few, if any, errors
are present in usage
and sentence
formation
• effective and
consistent use of
punctuation,
capitalization, and
spelling
* effective use of a
variety of elaborative
techniques
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 17
Version1.0
Score
Statement of
Purpose/Focus
3
Statement of Purpose/Focus and
Organization
Statement of
Organization
Purpose/Focus
The response is
The response has an
adequately sustained evident
and generally
organizational
focused:
structure and a sense
of completeness,
• focus is clear and
though there may be
for the most part
minor flaws and
maintained, though
some ideas may be
some loosely related
loosely connected:
material may be
present
* adequate use of
transitional strategies
• some context for
with some variety
the controlling idea
or main idea of the
• adequate
topic is adequate
progression of ideas
from beginning to
end
Development: Language and Elaboration of
Evidence
Elaboration of
Language and
Evidence
Vocabulary
The response provides
The response
adequate
adequately expresses
support/evidence for the
ideas, employing a
controlling idea or main
mix of precise with
idea that includes the use more general
of sources, facts, and
language:
details:
• use of domain• some evidence from
specific vocabulary is
sources is integrated,
generally appropriate
though citations may be
for the audience and
general or imprecise
purpose
* adequate use of some
elaborative techniques
Conventions
The response
demonstrates an
adequate command
of conventions:
• some errors in
usage and sentence
formation are
present, but no
systematic pattern of
errors is displayed
• adequate use of
punctuation,
capitalization, and
spelling
• adequate
introduction and
conclusion
• adequate, if slightly
inconsistent,
connection among
ideas
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) 18
Score
Statement of
Purpose/Focus
2
1
Statement of Purpose/Focus and
Organization
Statement of
Organization
Purpose/Focus
The response is
The response has an
somewhat sustained
inconsistent
and may have a
organizational
minor drift in focus:
structure, and flaws
are evident:
• may be clearly
focused on the
* inconsistent use of
controlling or main
transitional strategies
idea, but is
with little variety
insufficiently
sustained
• uneven progression
of ideas from
• controlling idea or
beginning to end
main idea may be
unclear and
• introductory and
somewhat unfocused
concluding ideas, if
present, are weak
The response may be
related to the topic
but may provide little
or no focus:
• weak connection
among ideas
The response has
little or no discernible
organizational
structure:
• may be very brief
• may have a major
drift
• focus may be
confusing or
ambiguous
* few or no
transitional strategies
are evident
• frequent
extraneous
ideas may intrude
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14) Development: Language and Elaboration of
Evidence
Elaboration of
Language and
Evidence
Vocabulary
The response provides
The response
uneven, cursory support/ expresses ideas
evidence for the
unevenly, using
controlling idea or main
simplistic language:
idea that includes partial
or uneven use of
• use of domainsources, facts, and
specific vocabulary
details:
that may at times be
inappropriate for the
• evidence from sources
audience and
is weakly integrated, and purpose
citations, if present, are
uneven
Conventions
The response
demonstrates a
partial command of
conventions:
• frequent errors in
usage may obscure
meaning
• inconsistent use of
punctuation,
capitalization, and
spelling
* weak or uneven use of
elaborative techniques
The response provides
minimal
support/evidence
for the controlling idea or
main idea that includes
little or no use of
sources,
facts, and details:
• use of evidence from
Source material is
The response
expression of ideas is
vague, lacks
clarity, or is
confusing:
• uses limited
language
or domain-specific
vocabulary
• may have little
The response
demonstrates a
lack of command of
conventions:
• errors are frequent
and severe and
meaning is often
obscure
19
minimal,
absent, in error, or
irrelevant
0
sense
of audience and
purpose
A response gets no credit if it provides no evidence of the ability write full informational/explanatory texts on a topic,
attending to purpose and audience.
SUHSD ELA 9/10 SAMPLE Quarter 1 Performance Task (SY 2013‐14)