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CUNYAssessmentTestinWriting(CATW)
Practice Exercises for Students
OfficeofAssessment
OfficeofAcademicAffairs
TheCityUniversityofNewYork
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ThemostuptodateCATWinformationmaybefoundat
www.cuny.edu/academics/testing/cunyassessmenttests.
Copyright2010TheCityUniversityofNewYork
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Practice Exercises for Students
How to Understand the Reading and Get Started
Beforeyou start towriteyour response,we recommendyou spend20minutes readingand
underliningsignificant
ideas
and
10
minutes
planning
and
prewriting.
The
more
time
you
spend
understandingthereadingandgettingideasbeforeyouwrite,theeasieritwillbetowrite.
1. Below is a practice reading, How to Do One Thing at a Time. Read it and underline
significantideas. Makenotesofhowyouplantoorganizeyourresponse.
How to Do One Thing at a Time
By now, we all know that multi-tasking can be a losing proposition. Talking on the
phone while driving? Dumb idea. Texting while driving? Reallydumb idea. But even
seemingly harmless multi-taskinglike chatting with a friend while sending out an office
e-mailisnt as harmless or efficient as wed like to believe. A recent article published
in the science journal NeuroImage revealed that when we attempt demanding tasks
simultaneously, we end up doing neither as well as we should because our brains have
cognitive limits.
Whats more, were also less efficient afterweve shut down e-mail and turned off
our phones. In a recent experiment at Stanford University, a group of students was
asked to spend 30 minutes simultaneously compiling a music playlist, chatting, and
writing a short essay. A second group focused on each task individually for 10 minutes
each. Afterward, they were given a memory test. The single-taskers did significantly
better than their multi-tasking peers.
A tremendous amount of evidence shows that the brain does better when its
performing tasks in sequence rather than all at once, says Clifford Nass, Ph.D., a
professor of communication at Stanford University. We still dont know the long-term
effects of chronic multi-tasking, but theres no question were bad at it, and its bad for
us.
Many experts believe, however, that its possible to repair your power of
concentration. Through solutions such as yoga and acupuncture, experts believe we
can break our multi-tasking habit and sharpen our focus.
Adapted from Womens Health Magazine, May 2010
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2. Belowisanexampleofhowastudentannotatedthereadingandplannedaresponse. Compare
yourannotationswiththeexample. Didyouunderlinethesamesentences? Noticehowthis
studentmadeaTcharttoorganizetheideas.
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How to Develop Your Response
In theWritingDirections for theCATWassignment,youareasked todevelopyouressayby
identifyingone ideaandexplaining its significance. Youarealso told tosupportyour ideas
with evidenceor examples from what youhave read, learned in school, and/or personally
experienced.
Below
is
a
portion
of
a
response
to
the
passage,
How
to
Do
One
Thing
at
a
Time.
1. Readthepartialresponsebelowandidentifytheideathewriterhaschosentofocuson.
Howdoesthewriterdeveloptheidea? Doesthewriteruseexamplesanddetailsfrom
his/herreading,previousschoollearning,orpersonalexperience? Noticealsowhatthe
writerdoesinthefirstparagraph.
SampleResponse
The article says were less efficient even after we stop emailing and get off thephone. This conclusion was based on an experiment where students were asked to
do three things at once for 30 minutescreate a playlist of music, chat on email,
and write an essay. A second group was asked to do the same three things but one
at a time, for ten minutes each. At the end, students in the second group
performed better on a memory test than those who tried to multitask.
I am not surprised the second group performed better. I can imagine chatting
on email at the same time Im fooling around with an iPod, but I certainly couldnt
write an essay as well. Writing an essay takes (me) a lot of time and concentration.
I once had a teacher who made us practice writing 10-minute essays so we would be
ready for a timed test. We did it every class for a couple of weeks before thetest, and it was effective for training the class to concentrate and write fast
enough to do a 50 minute test. He called it special case writing, something to do
for a timed test to get ideas down quickly. He never said it was the way to really
write. Writing an essay involves reading, thinking, and revising, not while doing
other things. Thats why we have libraries and quiet study areas. I envy the person
who can write an essay while doing other thingsbut only if the person gets an A on
the essay. Otherwise, Ill stick to my slow, single-minded approach.
Students who think they can multitask are in for a big surprise when they get to
difficult subjects and demanding assignments. This carries beyond school to many
activities in life, driving, parenting, getting promoted for doing a job well.
[Note:Thisresponseisnotfinished. Itneedsfurtherdevelopmentandanending.]
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2. Belowisthesampleresponseshowingitsdevelopment. Refertothecodebelow.
Development of Sample Response
1
The article says were less efficient even after we stop emailing and get offthe phone. This conclusion was based on an experiment where students were
asked to do three things at once for 30 minutescreate a playlist of music,
chat on email, and write an essay. A second group was asked to do the same
three things but one at a time, for ten minutes each. At the end, students
in the second group performed better on a memory test than those who
tried to multitask.2I am not surprised the second group performed better. 3I can
imagine chatting on email at the same time Im fooling around with an iPod,
but I certainly couldnt write an essay as well. Writing an essay takes (me) a
lot of time and concentration.4
I once had a teacher who made us practicewriting 10-minute essays so we would be ready for a timed test. We did it
every class for a couple of weeks before the test, and it was effective for
training the class to concentrate and write fast enough to do a 50 minute
test. He called it special case writing, something to do for a timed test to
get ideas down quickly. He never said it was the way to really write. Writing
an essay involves reading, thinking, and revising, not while doing other things.
Thats why we have libraries and quiet study areas. 5I envy the person who
can write an essay while doing other thingsbut only if the person gets an A
on the essay. Otherwise, Ill stick to my slow, single-minded approach.6
Students who think they can multitask are in for a big surprisewhen they get to difficult subjects and demanding assignments. This carries
beyond school to many activities in life, driving, parenting, getting promoted
for doing a job well.
Code:1Summary of passage2Personal response overall to summary3One idea writer wants to develop4Personal experience that develops idea5Conclusion/lesson of personal experience6Continuing development
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How to Demonstrate Connect ions Between Ideas
IntheCATWanalyticscoringrubric,thecategoryStructureoftheResponselooksathowwellyou
organize your response and demonstrate connections between ideas. In other words, it is
importantthatyoursentencesandparagraphconnectonetothenext,sothereadercanfollowyour
thinking. Youdontwantthereadertofallintoaholebetweensentencesorparagraphs.
Asan
example,
here
are
two
sets
of
sentences:
A
and
B.
In
which
set
are
the
two
connected?
Explainyouranswer.
A. 1It is safe to say that advertisements are a persons guideline in life. 2After the Industrial
Revolutionalmosteveryonewantstotransfigureintoamodernizedindividual.
B. 1Although itmaybe irritating to see anad comeon in themiddleofyour favorite show, the
informationsuppliedbythatadmaynotbeavailabletoyouanywhereelse. 2Corporationscreate
adstokeepusupdatedonwhatisnew.
Answer: ThesentencesinBareconnected. Thesecondsentenceprovidesaspecificdetail/example
asarestatementofthefirst. Itopensupthefirstsentence. Incontrast,thesentencesinAseem
unconnected.You
cannot
be
sure
of
the
connection,
and
the
meaning
is
not
clear.
FurtherExamples
1. LookattheSampleStudentPaper#1,paragraphs5and6below. (Thecompleteresponseison
pp.1112) Noticehowthewriterconnectseachsentenceandparagraphtothenextone.
I suppose Ive written all of this to show, as the author points out, how advertisingpermeates our entire society. Theres a chemical term which I think would apply to this,the Point of Saturation. Basically, when you have mixed so much solute (e.g. sugar)into a solvent (e.g. water) to the point that the solvent can hold no more of the solute (Inmy example, any further sugar crystals would just drop to the bottom), it had reached itsP.O.S. Somehow, I think this aptly describes our minds when it comes to advertising. Iwonder if we can take much more without any adverse effects. The author starts to
delve into this when they mention how children watch ads in the classroom, and in thelast sentence [kid singing the song]. Actually, most advertisements target children.They want children to see the ads, desire the product, and then beg their parents to buyit. As an additional bonus, this constant message of consumerism at such a young agewill ensure that many children wanting (overspending) all sorts of products intoadulthood. To illustrate, one study found that Polish families spend the most family timewhen shopping together. Maybe facts like this, and the rising number of families inperpetual credit card debt, can be taken as evidence of the adverse effects ofadvertising.
All things considered, we suffer. We are victims of a malady known asoverabundant advertising. Maybe one day, a commission will be formed to limit theamount, and location of advertisements companies can use. But until then, one thing iscertain. It is only a matter of time before we all begin hearing that Oscar Meyer song inour heads.
Explanation: Paper#1,paragraph5beginswitha summarizing sentence:I suppose Ive
writtenallofthistoshow,astheauthorpointsout,howadvertisingpermeatesourentire
society. Thissentenceconnectseverythingwrittenbefore,aswellasthereading,tothis
writers restatement of the main point. Paper #1, paragraph 6 begins: All things
considered,wesuffer. Onceagain, thewriter remindsusofall thatsbeenwritten (All
thingsconsidered)anddrawsaconclusion.
2. LookatPaper#4,paragraph3belowtoseeifthewriterissuccessfulinconnectingonesentence
tothenext. (ThecompletePaper#4response isonpp.1617.) Readparagraph3andpickout
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thesentenceyouthinkbestexpressesthemainpointoftheparagraph. Isitthefirstorthelast
one? Or is itnotstated? Ifnotstated,writeasentencestatingamainpointand reviseother
sentencesintheparagraphtofitit.
The media itself sends us thousands of marketing messages per day. Themedia explores on the issue of obesity America is suffering with but in the nextminutes a fast food restaurant commercial is acknowledged. Followed by videogame commercials leading into a weight loss commercial. Advertisementsdoesnt have a valid message because its advocating to eat while playing videogames or watching TV. Although on the contrary it is advised to lose weightbecause the previous commercials could cause medical problems. The vastamount of advertisements shown are implying on how we should live are livesand most of the population is agreeing with this patetic lifestyle.
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SampleRevision:Paper#4,Paragraph3
Themediasendsthousandsofinconsistentandcontradictorymessageseverydaytelling
ushow to liveour lives. Oneminute, themediaexplores the issueofobesity thatmany
Americanssufferfrom,butinthenext,itshowsacommercialaboutafastfoodrestaurant.
A commercial of a video game is followed by a weight loss commercial. The message
appearstoadvocateeatingwhileplayingvideogamesorwatchingTV. Onthecontrary, it
couldbeadvisingus to loseweightbecause theprevious commercials showwhat causes
medicalproblems.
Most
of
the
population
that
takes
in
these
commercials
ends
up
agreeingwiththispatheticlifestyle.
Whatdoyouthinkofthisrevision? Dothesentencesseemconnected? Whatsentencewould
you say controls the paragraph? As you review your own writing, check to see that your
sentencesandideasareconnectedandleadfromonetoanother.
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How to Write a Summary for the CATW Response
IntheWritingDirectionsfortheCATWresponse,youarerequiredtosummarizethepassageinyour
ownwords, stating the authorsmost important ideas. It is important that youdonot copy the
authors ideasdirectly fromthepassagewhenwritingyoursummary. Yourgoal in thispartofthe
CATWwritingtaskistodemonstratehowwellyouunderstandthereadingpassage,usingyourown
words.
Write the followingkey ideas from thesample reading,How toDoOneThingataTime, inyour
ownwords:
1. When we attempt demanding tasks simultaneously, we end up doing neither as well as weshould because our brains have cognitive limits.
2. Whats more, were less efficient after weve shut down e-mail and turned off ourphones.
3. The single-taskers did significantly better than their multi-tasking peers.
4. A tremendous amount of evidence shows that the brain does better when itsperforming tasks in sequence rather than all at once.
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5. We still dont know the long-term effects of chronic multi-tasking, but theres noquestion were bad at it, and its bad for us.
6. Through solutions such as yoga and acupuncture, experts believe we can break ourmulti-tasking habit and sharpen our focus.
On the following page youwill find examples of how to paraphrase these key ideas in the
reading passage. Study them and seehow closely yourown answers resemble the sample
answers.
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Answers: Summar izing Key Ideas in a CATW Reading Passage
1. Whenweattemptdemandingtaskssimultaneously,weendupdoingneitheraswellaswe
shouldbecauseourbrainshavecognitivelimits.
Sample paraphrase: The reading passage mentions an article in the journal
NeuraImage that says when we try to do too many things at once, we end up notdoing any of them well because our brains cant handle it.
2. Whatsmore,werealsolessefficientafterweveshutdownemailandturnedoffour
phones.
Sample paraphrase: Furthermore, the reading says that even after we stop multi-tasking, were not as efficient as we could be.
3. Thesingletaskersdidsignificantlybetterthantheirmultitaskingpeers.
Sample paraphrase: In addition, a study showed that students who did one thing ata time did better than students who did many things at once.
4. Atremendousamountofevidenceshowsthatthebraindoesbetterwhenitsperforming
tasksinsequenceratherthanallatonce.
Sample paraphrase: In the reading, a researcher is quoted as saying that theres alot of evidence that the brain works better doing one thing at a time.
5. We
still
dont
know
the
long
term
effects
of
chronic
multi
tasking,
but
theres
no
question
werebadatit,anditsbadforus.
Sample paraphrase: The reading passage also mentions that even though multi-tasking is bad for us, the long-term effects arent known.
6. Throughsolutionssuchasyogaandacupuncture,expertsbelievewecanbreakourmulti
taskinghabitandsharpenourfocus.
Sample paraphrase: Experts say that we can use things like yoga and acupunctureto break the habit of multi-tasking and learn to focus better.
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How to Refer to the Reading Passage in Your CATW Response
ThefirsttwoscoringcategoriesontheCATWscoringrubricevaluateyourabilitytounderstand
thereadingpassage,andtouseyourownideasandexperiencestowriteaboutspecificideasin
the readingpassage.Youare required tomake specific references to the readingpassage in
yourCATW response.Therefore, it is important thatyouknowhow tocorrectly refer to the
text.
Therearetwowaysinwhichyoucanrefertothereadingpassage:
1. Indirectreference,orparaphrase: Thisiswhenyoutakeanideafromthereadingpassage
andputitintoyourownwords.
For example, in the sample passageHow toDoOne Thing at a Time, the authorwrites: A
tremendousamountofevidenceshowsthatthebraindoesbetterwhenitsperformingtasksin
sequenceratherthanallatonce. Ifyouwantedtoparaphrasethisidea,youcouldwrite:
In the reading, Clifford Nass, a professor of communication at Stanford University, is
quotedassayingthatthebraindoesbetterwhenithandlesonetaskatatime.
2. Direct reference,ordirectquotation: This iswhenyouuse theauthorswordsexactlyas
theyarewritteninthereadingpassage. Youmustusequotationmarksaroundtheauthors
exactwords.
Forexample,ifweusethesamequoteasabove,adirectquotationwouldbewrittenlikethis:
In
the
reading,
Clifford
Nass,
a
professor
of
communication
at
Stanford
University,
states,
Atremendousamountofevidenceshowsthatthebraindoesbetterwhenitsperforming
tasksinsequenceratherthanallatonce.
Noticethat inbothcasesrecognitionisgiventotheauthorofthe idea,regardlessofwhether
director indirect reference isused. Youmustalwaysgivecreditto theoriginalwriterof the
idea taken from thereadingpassage ifyoudecidetouse it inyourCATW response,and it is
importanttoalwaysmakeadistinctionbetweenyour ideasand ideastakenfromthereading
passage.
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How to Proof read and Edit Your CATW Response
TheWritingDirectionsinstructyouto:Remembertoreviewyouressayandmakeanychanges
orcorrectionsthatareneededtohelpyourreaderfollowyourthinking. Thismeansthatyou
should spend about10minutes at the endof theexamperiod lookingover yourwork and
correctingerrorsingrammar,spelling,andpunctuation. Youshouldalsoreadoveryourentire
responseto
determine
ifthere
are
any
sentences
that
are
unclear
or
incomplete.
Are
all
of
your ideas clearly and fully explained? Have you made specific references to the reading
passagethroughoutyourresponse? Isthereasummaryofthekeypointsinthereading? Have
youusedtransitionswheretheyarenecessarytoconnectrelatedthoughtsandexamples?
Practice Exercise
Below ispartofawrittenresponsetothereadingpassageHowtoDoOneThingataTime.
Read the responsecarefullyand identify thegrammaticaland contenterrors. Thencircleor
underline theerrorsandwrite the correctionsabove them. Heresahint:Thereare fifteen
grammar,spelling,andpunctuationerrorsintheresponse.
Nowthink
about
what
kinds
of
additional
details
and/or
examples
might
be
added
to
make
the
writersparagraphsstrongerandclearerforareader. Isthereanadequatesummaryofthekey
points inthereading? Is itclearwhich ideafromthereadingthewriter istryingtoexplain in
theresponse? Istheresponsewellorganized,anddoesthewriterusetransitionstoconnect
ideas?
*****
1The article have some good point. 2It talks about why its a bad idea to do too many
things at one time because we end up doing everything wrong. 3Because our brain has
limits. 4The author says that when you try to do many things simultaneous, we end up
not doing any of them good. 5The article also says it better for our brain to do one thing
at a time and many researches show this is true.
6Like the Stamford University expriment. 7The reading says we can repair our multi-
tasking through experts and concentration. 8I think this is true I go to yoga class every
weak. 9In conclusion, multi-tasking is bad for you and we should stop doing it.
*****
Now,write a few additional details thatwouldmake thiswriters response clearer and
morespecific:
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Answers : Proof reading and Ed it ing Exerc ise
Sentence1hasonesubjectverbagreementerror:articlehaveshouldbearticlehas.
Sentence2iscorrect.
Sentence 3 is an incomplete sentence. There are two ways to correct this error: Join the
incompletesentencetothesentencebeforeit,usingacommabeforebecause;ORaddwhats
missingtotheincompletesentencesothatitisacompletesentence,inthiscaseasubjectanda
verb. Forexample,itshouldread:Thisisbecauseourbrainshavelimits.
Sentence4hasthreegrammaticalerrors. Theadjectivesimultaneousisincorrect;thecorrect
word form istheadverbsimultaneously. Secondly,good is thewrongwordtouse inthis
case;itshouldbewell. Finally,thereisapronounagreementerror:Thewriterusesbothwe
andyou inthesentencebutshoulduseonepronounortheother,notboth. So,thecorrect
waytowritethesentenceis,Whenwetrytodotoomanythingssimultaneously,weendupnot
doinganyofthemaswellaswecan.
Sentence 5 has three grammatical errors. The verb is ismissing at the beginning of the
sentence;itbettershouldbeit isbetter. Also,there isaplural/singularagreementerror:
ourbrain shouldbewritten ourbrains. Lastly, many researches show is incorrect since
research isanuncountablenoun; therefore, theclause shouldbewrittenas,and research
showsthisistrue.
Sentence
6has
three
errors.
It
is
an
incomplete
sentence
because
it
is
missing
averb.
In
addition there are two spelling errors: Stamford University should be written Stanford
University, and expriment should be written experiment. One way to correct the
incompletesentence,orsentence fragment, istoaddwhat ismissing, inthiscaseaverb. An
example of how the corrected sentencemight bewritten is, One experimentwas done at
Stanford University. By adding the verb was done, the sentence is now complete and
grammaticallycorrect.
Sentence7isincorrectbecauseitdoesntmakegrammaticalsenseandthewritersmeaningis
unclear. Thewaytocorrectthissentence istorewrite itsothat it isclearandgrammatically
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correct. Forexample,thewritersoriginalsentenceThereadingsayswecanrepairourmulti
taskingthroughexpertsandconcentrationcouldberewrittentoread:Thereadingsaysthat
byusingexpertsandincreasingourconcentration,wecanstopmultitasking.
Sentence8has two grammaticalerrors. First, the sentence isa runon; this iswhen twoor
moresentencesarewrittentogetherwithoutthepunctuationoruseofconjunctionsnecessary
toseparatethedifferent ideastheycontain. Inthiscase,This istrueIgotoyogaclassevery
weakshouldinsteadbewritten:ThisistruebecauseIgotoyogaclasseveryweak. Secondly,
weakisthewrongwordtousehere;itshouldbeweek.
Sentence9hasapronounagreementerror: multitasking isbadforyouandweshouldstop
doingitshouldbewrittenmultitaskingisbadforusandweshouldstopdoingit.
So,howdidyoudo?
Copyright2010TheCityUniversityofNewYork
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