Thea writting review 10 ppt

A “U” essay is a writing sample that fails because
of one or more of the following:
■
failure to address the assigned topic
■
illegibility
■
written primarily in a language other than
English
■
length insufficient to score
A “B” essay is a writing sample left completely
blank (that is, the test-taker did not respond at all).
Following are examples of scored writing sam-
ples. (Note: There are some deliberate errors in all the
essays.)
Sample “4” essay
Courage and cowardice seem like absolutes. We are
often quick to label other people, or ourselves, either
“brave” or “timid,” “courageous,” or “cowardly.”
However, one bright afternoon on a river deep in the
wilds of the Ozark mountains, I learned that these
qualities are as changeable as mercury.
During a cross-country drive, my friend Nina
and I decided to stop at a campsite in Missouri and
spend the afternoon on a float trip down Big Piney
River, 14 miles through the wilderness. We rented a
canoe and paddled happily off.
Things went fine—for the first seven or eight
miles. We gazed at the overhanging bluffs, com-
mented on the wonderful variety of trees (it was

spring, and the dogwood was in bloom), and mar-
veled at the clarity of the water. Then, in approach-
ing a bend in the river (which we later learned was
called “Devil’s Elbow”) the current suddenly swept
us in toward the bank, underneath the low-hanging
branches of a weeping willow. The canoe tipped
over and I was pulled under, my foot caught for just
a few seconds on the submerged roots of the willow.
Just as I surfaced, taking my first frantic gulp of air,
I saw the canoe sweeping out, upright again, but
empty, and Nina frantically swimming after it.
I knew I should help but I was petrified and
hung my head in shame as I let my friend brave the
treacherous rapids and haul the canoe back onto
the gravel bar, while I stood by cravenly.
Then came the scream. Startled, I glanced up
to see Nina, both hands over her eyes, dash off the
gravel bar and back into the water. I gazed down into
the canoe to see, coiled in the bottom of it, the
unmistakable, black-and-brown, checkerboard-pat-
tered form of a copperhead snake. It had evidently
been sunning itself peacefully on the weeping willow
branch when we passed by underneath.
I don’t know exactly why. but the supposedly
inborn terror of snakes is something that has passed
me by completely. I actually find them rather charm-
ing in a scaly sort of way.
Nina was still screaming, near hysterics: “Kill
it!” But I was calm in a way that must have seemed
smug. “We’re in its home, it’s not in ours,” I

informed her. And gently I prodded it with the oar
until it reared up, slithered over the side of the
canoe, and raced away—terrified, itself—into the
underbrush.
Later that night, in our cozy, safe motel room,
we agreed that we each had cold chills thinking
about what might have happened. Still, I learned
something important from the ordeal. I know that,
had we encountered only the rapids, I might have
come away ashamed, labeling myself a coward, and
had we encountered only the snake, Nina might
have done the same. And I also know that neither of
us will ever again be quite so apt to brand another
person as lacking courage. Because we will always
know that, just around the corner, may be the snake
or the bend in the river or the figure in the shadows
or something else as yet unanticipated, that will
cause our own blood to freeze.
– THEA PRACTICE EXAM 2–
235
Sample “3” essay
Courage can be shown in many ways and by many
kinds of people. One does not have to be rich, or
educated, or even an adult to show true courage.
For example, a very heartbreaking thing hap-
pened in our family. It turned out all right but at the
time it almost made us lose our faith. However, it
also taught us a lesson regarding courage. In spite of
our father’s and my repeated warnings, my brother
Matt went ice-fishing with some friends and fell

through the ice into the frigid water beneath. He is
prone to do things that are dangerous no matter
how many times he’s told. Fortunately there were
grown-ups near and they were able to throw him a
life line and pull him to safety. However, when they
got him onto shore they discovered he was uncon-
scious. There were vital signs but they were weak, the
paramedics pronounced him in grave danger.
He is our little sisters (Nans) hero. He is 16 and
she is 13, just at the age where she admires every-
thing he does. When they took him to the hospital
she insisted on going that night to see him, and she
insisted on staying with me there. My father thought
we should insist she go home, but it was Christmas
vacation for her so there was no real reason. So he
decide to let her stay. She stayed every night for the
whole week just to be by Matt’s side. And when he
woke up she was there. Her smiling face the was
first thing he saw.
In spite of the fact she was just a child and it
was frightning for her to be there beside her brother
she loves so much, and had to wonder, every day if
he would die, she stayed. So courage has many faces.
Sample “2” essay
Courage is not something we are born with. It is
something that we have to learn.
For example when your children are growing
up you should teach them courage. Teach them to
face lifes challanges and not to show there fear. For
instance my father. Some people would say he was

harsh, but back then I didnt think of it that way. One
time he took me camping and I had a tent of my
own. I wanted to crawl in with him but he said there
was nothing to be afriad of. And I went to sleep
sooner than I would have expect. He taught me not
to be afriad.
There are many reasons for courage. In a war
a solder has to be couragous and a mother has to be
no less couragous if she is rasing a child alone and
has to make a living. So, in me it is totally alright to
be afriad as long as you face your fear. I have been
greatful to him ever since that night.
If we dont learn from our parents, like I did
from my father, then we have to learn it after we
grow up. But it is better to learn it, as a child. I have
never been as afriad as I was that night, and I learned
a valuble lesson from it.
Sample “1” essay
Courage is important in a battle and also ordinary
life. In a war if your buddy depends on you and you
let him down he might die. Courage is also impor-
tant in daly life. If you have sicknes in the famly or
if you enconter a mugger on the street you will
need all the courage you can get. There are many
dangers in life that only courage will see you
through.
Once, my apartment was burglerised and they
stole a TV and micro-wave. I didnt have very much.
They took some money to. I felt afraid when I
walked in and saw things moved or gone. But I call

the police and waited for them inside my apartment
which was brave and also some might say stupid! But
the police came and took my statement and also
later caught the guy. Another time my girlfreind
and I were in my apartment and we looked out the
window and there was somebody suspisious out in
front. It turned out to be a false alarm but she was
scard and she said because I was calm it made her
feel better. So courage was important to me, in my
relatinship with my girlfreind.
So courage is importand not only in war but
also in life.
– THEA PRACTICE EXAM 2–
236

Scoring
Once again, in order to evaluate how you did on this
practice exam, start by scoring the three sections of
the THEA—Reading, Mathematics, and Writing—
separately. You will recall that the Reading section, the
Mathematics section, and the multiple-choice subsec-
tion of the Writing section are scored the same way:
First find the number of questions you got right in
each section. Questions you skipped or got wrong don’t
count; just add up the number of correct answers.
Divide the number of questions you got right by the
number of questions on that section of the exam to find
a percentage equivalent.
In addition to achieving a passing score on the
Reading section and the Mathematics section, you must

receive a passing score on the writing sample subsection
of the Writing section of the THEA. Your writing sam-
ple will be graded by two trained readers and their
combined score used to evaluate how you did. Your
score will be a combination of the two readers’ judg-
ments, somewhere between a possible high of 8 and a
low of 2. The best way to see how you did on your
essay for this practice exam is to give your writing
sample and the scoring criteria to a teacher and ask him
or her to score your essay for you.
You have probably seen improvement between
your first practice exam score and this one; but keep in
mind that how you did on each of the basic skills tested
by the exam is more important than your overall score
right now. Use your scores on this practice test to once
again diagnose your strengths and weaknesses so that
you can concentrate your efforts as you prepare for
the exam. Turn again to the review lessons in Chapters
4, 5, and 6 that cover each of the basic skills tested on
the THEA.
If you didn’t score as well as you would like, ask
yourself the following: Did I run out of time before I
could answer all the questions? Did I go back and change
my answers from right to wrong? Did I get flustered and sit
staring at a difficult question for what seemed like
hours? If you had any of these problems, once again, be
sure to go over the LearningExpress Test Preparation
System in Chapter 2 to learn how to avoid them.
After working on your reading, writing, and math
skills, take the final practice exam in Chapter 8 to see

how much you have improved.
– THEA PRACTICE EXAM 2–
237
M
uch like the previous practice exams in this book, this one is divided into three sections: a Read-
ing section, a Mathematics section, and a two-part Writing section that consists of multiple-
choice questions and one essay topic on which you are to write from 300–600 words.
For this exam, you should simulate the actual test-taking experience as closely as you can. Work in a quiet
place, away from interruptions. Use the answer sheet on the following page and, as you did before, write your essay
on a separate piece of paper. Before you begin, decide in what order you are going to do the sections. Use a timer
and allow yourself five hours for the entire exam.
After the exam, use the answer explanations that follow to find out which questions you missed and why.
CHAPTER
THEA Practice
Exam 3
CHAPTER SUMMARY
This is the third practice test in this book based on the Texas Higher
Education Assessment (THEA). Use this test to see how much you have
improved.
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