An Example of a CUNY/ACT Writing Sample Assignment

The question below is an example of the kind of question that students will be given for the CUNY/ACT Writing Sample. This one includes some information about a decision that must be made by a group of people and the criterion that will be used to make the decision. The student is asked to assist the group by choosing one alternative and explaining why it is the better choice.

Sample Question:
A Parks Board in a large city has received a generous donation and wants to use the donation to benefit the city as a whole. The Board is considering two options, but there is only enough funding for one. One option is to improve the city's parks by planting more flower gardens and creating more recreational areas. The other option is to improve the overall appearance of the city by planting flower beds and small trees along city streets and at intersections. Write a letter to the Parks Board in which you argue for improving the city's parks or for improving the appearance of the city, explaining how your choice will benefit the city as a whole. Begin your letter: Dear Parks Board:

Scoring the Writing Sample
Because this is a test of writing skills, responses should be as well-written as possible in the time allotted. Your response will be evaluated on your ability to address the question you have chosen, to develop and organize your ideas, and to use correct English sentence structure, usage, and mechanical conventions. Your response should conform to the conventions of edited American English. Evaluators will use a six-point scale (printed below) to score the papers. Each score point reflects an evaluator's holistic (overall) judgment of the writer's performance in relationship to the skills identified above. Two CUNY evaluators who are carefully trained to score writing using this six-point scale will read each paper.