Writing Assessment Student’s Guide

SUMMIT 1 WRITING ASSESSMENT 6 Families

throughout time
Students…
 Develop an argument with appropriate highlighting of significant points and
relevant supporting detail.
 Edit a text to make the style more neutral or formal.
 Write essays synthesizing information from a number of sources.

1. Think about:

1. Do you consider you are/were a “rebel”

when you were a teenager? Why?

2. Do you think it is better to start a family

at an early age or to wait until late
adulthood?

3. Do you consider new generations are

willing to settle down?

Adulthood: A stage of life where a person is

considered fully grown or developed.

Settle down: Make a decision to have a

committed relationship.

2. Words matter!

To do well in this lesson, it is necessary to learn a number of words. Please complete

the following exercise. At the end, you will have increased your vocabulary.

2.1. Underline the expression that best matches the idea of the boldfaced word or
phrase. Have a dictionary at hand!

a. I suspect my son Ross is using drugs, he has made me suffer since he was a little kid. I
hate to say it but he is the black sheep of the family.

- A member of the family who does bad things. – A member of the family who drinks a
lot.

I&D Team 2019

Writing Assessment Student’s Guide

b. Did you hear about Michael and Janet? They split up last month. They argued a lot, maybe
they are happier now.

- Separation. -Fight.

c. Why didn’t you tell me you failed five subjects?! Go to your room, you are grounded!

- To be awarded - To be punished

d. Did you know the birth rate in Canada is the lowest in the planet? For every ten adults
there are just two babies.

- There are more children than adults. - There are more adults than children.

2.2. Match the adjective on the left with the corresponding opposite on the right. In
this way you will know how to use it in specific contexts. Then discuss the meaning
with your classmates.

Word Category
1. Spoiled (___) a. Young people
2. Overprotected (___) b. Nuclear family
3. Stay-at-home adults (___) c. Independent
4. The elderly (___) d. Underprotected
5. Single parent (___) e. Rejected

3. Read a bit!
Read the following text about the evolution of families. Discuss with your classmates
the definition of the words in bold, in the context of the reading.

FAMILIES THROUGHOUT TIME

The concept of family has changed dramatically in

the last 50 years. Nuclear families were considered
to be the base of society. It was composed by a
mother, a father and their children; and each one
had very specific roles. There also were traditional
big families, with grandparents, parents,
grandchildren, sharing moments and traditions
from generation to generation, and of course,
dealing with the typical black sheep every family
usually has. However, lots of different family
models have appeared, given to different
circumstances, such as economic, environmental
and even romantic issues.

I&D Team 2019

Writing Assessment Student’s Guide

That is why we can see various family structures that are equally valid in today’s world. The
first characteristic is the number of children in families. The birth rate has decreased
strikingly because couples tend to have less children every time: it is difficult to raise them
since both parents have to work. This families usually have an only child who is really spoiled
and overprotected. In very extreme cases, when they grow up, they become stay-at-home
adults, so they are not likely to abandon their parents’ home. The world bank made an
analysis of this phenomenon determining the birthrate per country, identifying the date of
50 different countries. Japan is consolidated as the first country with the lowest birthrate
worldwide.

Taken from: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-the-lowest-birth-rates-in-the-world.html

We also have single parents, or couples who have split up and only one of them takes
charge of the kids. Children under this model are rarely grounded, because parents feel they
need more affection and understanding. We also have same gender families where we can
have two moms or two dads. To illustrate, Colombia is identified as one of the societies with
the biggest changes; it was determined by the Childs Trends Institute and Piura University,
Perú. The study showed that in our country 53 percent of children live with their parents, 35
percent inhabit with only one and 12 percent live without them.

Unfortunately, the elderly are the ones who have suffered these changes the most. They are
no longer the wise members of the family. Instead, they are often forgotten and secluded in

I&D Team 2019

Writing Assessment Student’s Guide

special retirement houses. Finally, it is important to say no matter what family model you live
in, the most important is to love and to be loved.

References:

Dillinger, J. (2015, December 07). Lowest Birth Rates in The World by Country. Retrieved April 14,
2019, from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-the-lowest-birth-rates-in-the-
world.html

Semana. (2013, July 19). La familia en Colombia está en crisis. Retrieved April 14, 2019, from
https://www.semana.com/vida-moderna/articulo/la-familia-colombia-esta-crisis/351347-3

4. Grammar and composition

In this session you find grammar elements and composition strategies that help you
with your writing production. Read the explanation; this is important for the next
step!

Developing significant points and relevant supporting detail

When developing your ideas, state the main arguments and illustrate them with examples.
Some ideas about how to support your arguments might include:

FACTS

STATISTICS

QUOTATIONS

EXAMPLES

Think about the following when writing: How does your supporting detail relate to the
main idea of the text? Does it relate to the main idea?

I&D Team 2019

Writing Assessment Student’s Guide

The birth rate has decreased strikingly because couples MAIN IDEA
tend to have less children every time: it is difficult to raise
them since both parents have to work. This families
usually have an only child who is really spoiled and
overprotected. In very extreme cases, when they grow
up, they become stay-at-home adults, so they are not EXAMPLE
likely to abandon their parents’ home. The world bank
made an analysis of this phenomenon determining the
birthrate per country, identifying the date of 50 different
countries. Japan is consolidated as the first country with STATISTIC
the lowest birthrate worldwide.

4.1 Think of a typical Colombian family. How is it composed? Think of five perceptions
you think locals and foreigners might have about Colombian families. Then, write
some supporting details you may develop about the topic. Use examples, facts or
description you may find important.

 ________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________.
 ________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________.

 ________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________.

 ________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________.
 ________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________.

I&D Team 2019

Writing Assessment Student’s Guide

Synthesis

Synthesis is the ability choose specific information or infer key information

among different sources: articles, news, lectures, or interviews. According to
the topic of your text, you can determine what parts of your sources you will
use and how they are going to be related with your ideas. For doing so, you
need to define which of your ideas required evidence or support in detail to
complement it with the information of the sources you have chosen.

Take a look at the following tips:

1. When reporting information from a particular source, paraphrase! Use

different phrases and sentences.

2. Organize the information in a way the reader can notice the correlation
between the ideas.

3. When checking the material, highlight the words or phrases that matches the
ideas that you think are significant.

4. Create the corresponding citation. Give credit to the work or the original source
you used.

5. Review the highlighted information.

I&D Team 2019

Writing Assessment Student’s Guide

4.2. Bearing in mind the exercise 4.1 look for different sources that support the ideas
you state. Then, choose the most appropriated ones and complete the following chart.

Your idea Source you used Information you

synthetized
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Now you are ready for your writing test. Let’s write something!

I&D Team 2019