As we enter the highest testing season of the year, this three-part series is focused on tips for success with each of the components of the AAPPL. This month’s focus is the Presentational Writing (PW) component.
Student Tips for Success on the PW
The PW portion of the AAPPL tests your writing skills. Typically, it takes 45-60 minutes to complete. Here are a few tips to help you manage your time and do your best on the PW. Watch a short video with these tips here!
1. Manage the time you have.
- Writing can take the most time, so watch the clock. You will have 6 prompts to answer. Try to pace yourself; on average, students take 7-10 minutes on each prompt.
2. Pay attention to what you’re being asked.
- Be sure to write about what’s asked in the prompt. Staying on topic will help you avoid spending time writing about something that won’t impact your score.
3. Write as much as you can about the topic.
- Try to answer the question with the level of detail required. For instance, if the prompt says write two or three paragraphs, shoot for just that. Writing 5 paragraphs will take more time and won’t necessarily result in a different rating.
4. Write in all time frames if you can.
- If the prompt asks for it, include information from the past, present, and future in your response.
5. Practice writing as much as you can!
- Practice typing on a computer in the target language, just as you will on the day of the test.
- Keep a journal, write emails, or text your classmates to practice writing in the language.
Watch a short video with AAPPL Pro Tips: Writing
Teacher Guidelines on the PW
The PW portion of the AAPPL takes the most time of all the components. These tips can help you support your students and prepare them for the test.
1. Give students many opportunities to practice writing on the computer, as they will the day of the test.
- AAPPL tasks explore a variety of topics that are familiar to learners, such as school, family, and community. Have students practice writing emails and short messages to each other on familiar topics such as their schedule at school, a story that happened (using all timeframes, if they’re able to do so), their family or community, etc.
- Have them take the demo version of the PW in their language (minding which form they will be taking) to get more comfortable keyboarding in the language.
- Being comfortable with the format of the test and having experience writing in the language will save time on test day.
2. Help students pace themselves.
- The PW can take 45-60 minutes. Students will be presented with 6 prompts on all forms of the test across two proficiency levels (Novice and Intermediate for Form A and Intermediate and Advanced for Form B). If they spend 7-10 minutes per prompt, they can expect to take up to an hour on the test.
- Some teachers like to help students watch the time during the PW component, giving announcements at 10 to 15 minute intervals with a goal of 60 minutes for completion.
3. Remind students to pay attention to the prompt and stay on topic.
- Writing more than is asked for in the prompt does not lead to a higher score. Proficiency is about what a person can do with the language, not how much language they can produce.
4. Help students practice writing at their target level.
- All AAPPL tasks target a specific major level of language proficiency (e.g., Novice, Intermediate, or Advanced) as described in the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2024 and the ACTFL Performance Descriptors for Language Learners. The performance tasks are designed to reflect the criteria for the level.
- For instance, the Novice level includes isolated words or lists, short familiar phrases, and commonly memorized phrases.
- Writers at the Intermediate level can meet practical writing needs, such as simple messages and letters, requests for information, and notes, all while maintaining sentence-level production. They can ask and respond to simple questions in writing and can communicate simple facts and ideas in a series of loosely connected sentences on topics of personal interest and social needs.
- Writers at the Advanced level can write routine informal and some formal correspondence, as well as narratives, descriptions, and summaries of a factual nature. They can narrate and describe in all major time frames and can produce connected discourse of paragraph length and structure.
5. Explain to students how the PW is rated.
- When students understand the rating criteria, it can help them practice writing efficiently in a manner that showcases what they can do with the language.
- AAPPL certified raters determine whether the responses within each topical area meet or do not meet the criteria for the level. If each set of responses is at the targeted level, the next step is to determine if it is a minimal or strong performance for the level. If the response is not at the targeted level, the rater determines whether there is some evidence of the criteria for the level or no evidence. The rater, therefore, has multiple opportunities to evaluate the test taker’s ability across tasks and across topics at one level as well as to evaluate ability at the next higher level (see www.languagetesting.com/aappl-faqs).
- AAPPL tasks are designed to provide multiple opportunities within the same content area to demonstrate ability at the floor level (what the learner can do consistently at that level) as well as multiple opportunities to demonstrate performance at the ceiling level (what the learner cannot do at the next higher level).
Find more at https://www.actfl.org/assessments/k-12-assessments/aappl#tips
