What's New In Language Arts

The Florida Writing Assessment will include scoring on conventions in writing. Conventions refers to punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and variation in sentence structure. The conventions are basic writing skills included in Florida's Minimum Student Performance Standards.

Students Focus on Effective Writing In Language Arts

Description of Effective Writing

A well-written piece can best be described as incorporating elements of writing in such a way that a reader can experience the writer's intended meaning, understand the writer's premise, and accept or reject the writer's point of view. Effective writing

• is focused on the topic and does not contain extraneous or loosely related information;
• has an organizational pattern that enables the reader to follow the flow of ideas because it contains a beginning, middle, and end and uses transitional devices;
• contains supporting ideas that are developed through the use of details, examples, vivid language, and mature word choice; and
• follows the conventions of standard written English (i.e., punctuation, capitalization, and spelling) and has variation in sentence structure.