ParaPro Assessment Test Classroom Application of Writing Skills — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student's draft reads: 'I went to the store. I bought milk. I went home.' A paraprofessional wants to help the student improve sentence variety. Which revision is most helpful?
- I went to the store and I bought milk and I went home.
- After going to the store to buy milk, I headed home. (Correct answer)
- I went to the store, bought milk, and I went home.
- The store was where I went, and milk was bought, and home was where I went.
Correct answer: After going to the store to buy milk, I headed home.
Option B combines the three ideas into one smooth sentence using a participial phrase, demonstrating true sentence variety. Option A just chains the sentences with 'and,' option C is only partial, and option D is awkward.
Question 2: Which question is most effective for a paraprofessional to ask a student during the revision stage of writing?
- 'Did you remember to put a period at the end of every sentence?'
- 'Does your paragraph have a clear main idea, and does every sentence support it?' (Correct answer)
- 'Did you spell all of the words correctly?'
- 'Is your handwriting neat enough to read?'
Correct answer: 'Does your paragraph have a clear main idea, and does every sentence support it?'
Revision focuses on content, organization, and clarity — not surface-level mechanics. Asking about a main idea and supporting sentences targets the revision stage directly. Spelling and punctuation are addressed during editing.
Question 3: A student writes: 'Their going to there house over they're.' A paraprofessional identifies three homophones used incorrectly. Which correction is accurate?
- 'They're going to their house over there.' (Correct answer)
- 'Their going to they're house over there.'
- 'There going to their house over they're.'
- 'They're going to there house over their.'
Correct answer: 'They're going to their house over there.'
'They're' = they are (contraction); 'their' = belonging to them (possessive); 'there' = a place. The corrected sentence properly uses all three.
Question 4: When helping a student develop a paragraph, a paraprofessional should explain that the role of supporting sentences is to:
- Introduce a new topic for the next paragraph
- Restate the topic sentence using different words
- Provide details, examples, or evidence that develop the main idea (Correct answer)
- Summarize everything the student knows about the subject
Correct answer: Provide details, examples, or evidence that develop the main idea
Supporting sentences expand and develop the main idea presented in the topic sentence by adding details, examples, facts, or explanations. They do not introduce new topics, merely restate the topic, or summarize general knowledge.
Question 5: A student is writing a persuasive paragraph but only states opinions without evidence. Which guidance should a paraprofessional offer?
- 'Add more adjectives to make your writing more exciting.'
- 'Include at least one fact, statistic, or example to support each opinion.' (Correct answer)
- 'Use the word "I" less often to sound more formal.'
- 'Write a longer conclusion to make your argument stronger.'
Correct answer: 'Include at least one fact, statistic, or example to support each opinion.'
Persuasive writing requires evidence — facts, data, or examples — to support claims. Without evidence, arguments are unsupported opinions. The other suggestions address style or length, not the core gap.
Question 6: Which stage of the writing process should a paraprofessional encourage students to focus on generating ideas WITHOUT worrying about correctness?
- Editing
- Publishing
- Prewriting/Brainstorming (Correct answer)
- Revising
Correct answer: Prewriting/Brainstorming
During prewriting and brainstorming, the goal is to generate as many ideas as possible freely. Evaluating correctness at this stage inhibits creativity. Editing addresses correctness; revising addresses content quality; publishing is the final sharing step.
ParaPro Assessment Test Classroom Application of Writing Skills
A student's draft reads: 'I went to the store.
I bought milk.
I went home.' A paraprofessional wants to help the student improve sentence variety.
Which revision is most helpful?