2019 MCAS
Grade 5 English Language Arts
Question 9

The narrative, a fully developed and clear continuation of the story, describes what happens next in The Wild Robot. A purposeful selection of descriptive details develops the setting and plot, as evidenced by "The robot got to her feet and walked on the rocky beach, her feet making a soft metallic ping every time she took a step." Detailed language enhances the descriptions of characters; for example, "The eyes of the robot started to glow mechanical yellow, and electricity whirred to life inside her silver metallic body." Skillful organization builds the plot that unfolds to a suspenseful conclusion: "she could finally [make out] what the voice was saying, and it was not the peaceful words she had heard at first. 'Did you have a nice sleep? Good, because I wouldn't count on another one!'" There is a full awareness of the purpose for writing throughout the narrative.

The narrative demonstrates consistent control through a variety of sentence structures, effortlessly weaving together complex and simple sentences as in this example: "She remembered that and only that, everything else was a haze, even her own name a foggy shadow of remembrance. She wanted to remember. Just her name, that was all. So, she strained, searched her fading memory." Effective use of punctuation is shown in dialogue and within sentences. Based on its length and complexity, the narrative demonstrates consistent control of Standard English conventions for this grade level.