2019 MCAS
Grade 7 English Language Arts
Question 16

The narrative is somewhat developed with a larger focus on Lisa than on other elements of the existing story. There are limited details about Lisa's art: "She had jotted down the colors she would later use when she was finished, and she was." The plot is basic and unfolds rapidly: "Lisa got up, said ['good morning,'] ate [breakfast], did what she normally did in the morning, then ran. . . ," etc. The bare-bones retelling of events reveals both limited organization and only partial awareness of the task. While the act of painting the landscape is included, there is no description of Lisa's experience. In general, the writing tells what happens next in the story, but it consists of a basic plot and lacks both character development and setting.

Commas are used inconsistently throughout the narrative. Simple vocabulary and sentence structures, as in "Lisa looked," "Lisa told," and "happened to them," are prevalent and reveal an understanding of basic grammar. The narrative's complexity demonstrates mostly consistent control of sentence structures, but its length is insufficient to show consistent command of Standard English conventions for the grade level.