Microsoft Word language assessment theory with practice

(iv) specific
Formative feedback is not generic (e.g., Good work./I like your essay./This is a weak 
paper). It is specific and personalised. It identifies and highlights the strengths and needs of 
each student and gives them directions for improvement (see Examples i-iiii): 

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Language Assessment - Theory with Practice
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i) You seem to understand the main idea, but it looks as if you are confusing simple 
past and present perfect usage. Check Unit 2 in your book again. 
ii) Your word choice was more precise in this essay than in your last two papers, and 
I saw the scenes you described clearly in my mind’s eye. 
iii) Ok, here we go. In the first paragraph, I was confused about your initial thesis and 
the evidence you provided for it. In the next paragraph, you come up with a 
different thesis, and in the third paragraph, you don’t offer evidence, just beliefs.
Formative teacher feedback can be in the form of verification (i.e., a judgment of whether 
an answer is correct) or elaboration (i.e., the informational aspect of the message, 
providing relevant cues to guide the learner toward a correct answer) of response accuracy, 
explanation of the correct answer, hints, worked examples (Shuter, 2008).
Example 5b: Grammar Transformation Task (A Diagnostic Test) 
Date: 
Instruction 1: 
Use the words in the parentheses and transform the sentences as shown in the examples. 
Example: I wash my face every morning. (he, ?) → Does he wash his face every morning? 
Example 2: I wash my hands. (now, not) → I am not washing my hands. 
 
Instruction 2: 
=Read the Original and New sentences and decide: “Is the new sentence correct?” 
=In the ‘Is the new sentence correct?” column, put a ‘‘for correct sentences, and ‘X’ for incorrect