Research Report Detail
| Title | ||
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| Factors in Performance on Brief, Impromptu Essay Examinations
Hunter M. Breland; Melvin Y. Kubota; | ||
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01/01/1995 Brief, impromptu essays written for the 1990 administration of the College Board's English Composition Test were randomly sampled and subjected to further holistic ratings beyond those conducted for the ECT administration, and analytical ratings were also obtained. The holistic scores were correlated with the analytical scores to determine which essay characteristics were most closely associated with high holistic scores. The results indicated that overall organization, use of supporting materials, noteworthy ideas, rhetorical strategy, and thesis statement were the strongest correlates. Essays combining current affairs with literature and history or combining literature and history received slightly higher scores on average than essays based only on current affairs, literature, history, or personal experience. The analysis suggest that some practice with this type of brief, impromptu essay, particularly under strict time constraints, may be useful as preparation for taking such essay examinations. |
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