2019 MCAS
Grade 7 English Language Arts
Question 8

The central idea, that the character traits of resilience and curiosity made Newton "a scientist known world-wide," is moderately developed, using some details from the excerpt. Analysis tends to be general and focuses more on each trait and less on how the traits helped Newton become a great scientist: "Newton was curious with the sun, the moon, the Earth, and how it orbited around the sun. Without his curiosity, Newton's discovery of gravity may have been discovered by someone other than Newton." However, several appropriate details are provided for each trait to show its presence in various aspects of Newton's education. The conclusion is somewhat abrupt, although it adds intrigue that is not further developed. There is sufficient awareness of the task.

Some minor spelling and usage errors are present in otherwise complex sentences, such as "[Without] Isaac Newton's [resilience], he might not of continued his studies and go on to become one of the world's most well-known scientists." However, the complexity of the writing, which includes a variety of punctuation and sentence structures, displays consistent control of Standard English conventions for the grade level.