Texas Adult Education Standards and Benchmarks
for ABE ASE and ESL Learners

1.1 Write for a purpose as directed with minimal attention to audience.

Examples

* Plan a grocery list.

* To do list.

* Design a calling card/business card..

1.2 Write for a specified purpose and audience as directed. 

Examples

* Plan a note to boss about doctor appointment.

* Plan a note to landlord about repair.

1.3 Determine the purpose and audience for communicating in writing with prompting.

Examples

* Plan a note for a child’s hearing and vision test.  Decide to whom to write the note and what is on the note.

* Prepare fliers for advertising job skills such as house keeping, tree trimming, etc.

1.4 Determine the purpose and audience for communicating in writing with support.

Examples

* Plan a TAKS writing considering purpose and audience, using a prompt from the TEA website.

1.5  Determine the purpose and audience for communicating in writing with limited support.

Examples

* Plan a speech to a certain group – determine purpose, like an appeal to a school board.

* Plan a writing portion of the GED – use writing prompts.

1.6 Determine the purpose and audience for communicating in writing independently.

Examples

* Target several resumes for different jobs (multiple resumes based on job description).

* Target several cover letters for different jobs (multiple resumes based on job description).

2.1 Follow a highly structured, externally developed plan to

Use a text model and

Organize information (e.g. lists or responses to prompts for everyday information).

Examples

* Categorize grocery list.

* Fill out a check.

* Complete an online job application.

2.2 Follow a highly structured, externally developed plan to

Organize ideas around a single familiar topic to produce a short but legible and comprehensible draft.

Examples

* Plan to write a thank you note.

* Plan on how to complete a shipping return statement.

2.3 Use simple planning strategies to

Identify and organize a limited number of ideas to support a single purpose (e.g., to convey personal experience, meet a specific need, or respond to recent learning) to produce a legible and comprehensible draft.

Examples

* Plan to write a personal story with legislator (adult learner).

* Plan to write an e-mail to company (complaint/support).

2.4 Use multiple planning and pre-writing strategies such as outlining, using graphic organizers, and categorizing ideas in order to

Identify and organize a limited number of ideas to support a single purpose (e.g., writing to inform, get things done, express feelings and ideas, persuade others) to produce a legible and comprehensible draft.

Examples

* Plan a letter to editor.

* Plan memo to employees concerning customer satisfaction.

2.5 Plan and organize a more complex composition (multi-paragraph) using a variety of resources (e.g. websites, dictionary, and encyclopedia) and strategies to

Produce a legible and comprehensible draft.

Examples

* Organize a multi-paged paragraph themed paper, including introduction and conclusion.

* Organize a compare and contrast paper.

* Pre-write newsletter article.

* Pre-write letter of recommendation.

2.6 Independently plan and organize information using a variety of resources and strategies to

Produce a legible and comprehensible draft.

Examples

* Organize information for a college entrance essay.

* Organize information for a cover letter.

3.1 Convey information by writing all letters of the alphabet and numbers by

Appropriately using simple, everyday, highly familiar words (names, signatures, addresses) and

Appropriately using numbers (dates, phone numbers, addresses, prices).

Examples

* Filling out a job application.

* Filling out a credit card application.

3.2 Convey ideas, lists, and responses to prompts with minimal use of detail by

Appropriately using mostly everyday, familiar vocabulary (words with personal significance and commonly used adjectives, pronouns and prepositions) and

Appropriately using simple sentence structures (simple and compound sentences and questions).

Examples

* Use information to compose a thank you note, a letter to the landlord.

3.3 Convey ideas with several supporting details and/or examples by

Appropriately using mostly familiar vocabulary (based on personal experience and learning) and

Appropriately using basic text structure of simple steps/ instructions/
commands or a few short, well-linked paragraphs.

Examples

* Write a paragraph with a main idea and several supporting details.

* Write an entry in the problem book to alert a supervisor to a safety issue.

* Write a note to the teacher requesting information regarding a child’s screening for hearing and/or vision.

3.4 Convey ideas with several supporting facts, details, and examples reflecting judgment by

Appropriately using both everyday and specialized vocabulary with attention to the  suitable level of formality and

Appropriately using a limited variety of simple and complex sentence structures a few well-constructed and linked paragraphs.

Examples

* Respond in writing to a customer’s request.

* Write a narrative.

3.5 Convey ideas in medium-length, coherently-linked, and detailed text with appropriate tone, language, and levels of formality by

Appropriately using varied and descriptive word choices including abstract nouns and idioms and

Appropriately using a variety of sentence length, structure, and complexity.

Examples

* Compose a multi-paragraph essay in response to a GED prompt.

3.6 Convey ideas in medium length, well-sequenced, and detailed text with appropriate voice, tone, rhetorical forms and style, suitable for a variety of audiences by 

Appropriately using varied and descriptive word choices including colloquialisms, and cultural references and

Appropriately using a variety of sentence length, structure, and complexity (including those reflecting logical relations).

Examples

* Write an informational brochure about a community organization, such as Even Start program, school, Girl Scouts.

4.1 Make a few simple content changes to writing such as words and phrases that could be added to make thoughts clearer, or more expressive based on feedback from teachers, peers, and others.

4.2 Revise writing based on feedback from teachers, peers, and others to improve

* Word choice (with dictionaries and thesauruses),

* Level of detail, and

* Grammar (simple present and future tenses, subject/verb agreement)

4.3 Revise writing based on reviewing drafts (reading silently or aloud) and feedback from teachers, peers, and others to improve

* Level of detail,

* The coherence and progression of ideas by adding, deleting, combining, and rearranging sentences,

* Grammar (simple tense agreement), and

* Sentence structure (compound and some complex sentences).

Examples - Progression of ideas [Adobe® Acrobat® Reader]

4.4 Review drafts (reading silently or aloud), revise writing to improve

* Clarity and descriptiveness of ideas,

* Transitions between paragraphs, passages, and ideas,

* The appropriateness of text for the intended audience,

* Grammar, and

* Sentence structure (simple/compound/
complex).

Examples - Clarity and Descriptiveness of Ideas [Adobe® Acrobat® Reader]

4.5 Work through problems posed by the writing task, including revising to improve

* Shifts in voice or tone,

* Clarity and text organization,

* The development and logic of ideas,

* The appropriateness of text for the intended audience,

* Grammar, and,

* Sentence structure.

4.6 Seek out, describe, and work through problems posed by the writing task, including revising to improve

* Organization and precision of word choice,

* The logic and strength of arguments,

* Personal voice,

* The tone or style to address the audience, purpose, and formality of the context,

* Grammar, and

* Sentence structure.

5.1 Make simple edits of  handwriting, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.

5.2 Make simple edits of

* Grammar: present and future verb tenses, imperatives,

* Punctuation: sentence endings, commas in dates and greetings),

* Capitalization: sentence beginnings, pronoun “I,” and proper nouns,

* Language usage: basic subject-verb agreement, correct word order, complete sentences, correct verb tense, and

* Spelling: high frequency words.

Examples – Cell Phones [Adobe® Acrobat® Reader]

5.3 Use tools such as spelling word lists and simple editing checklists to make several simple edits of

* Grammar: present progressive, past and past  progressive, modal auxiliaries,

* Punctuation: commas in a series,

* Capitalization: titles, magazines, names of organizations, and

* Language usage: consistent verb tense, regular plurals, adverbs, adjectives, articles pronouns in the possessive, object and demonstrative forms, and prepositions.

5.4 Use tools such as simplified dictionaries, grammar checklists, and graphic organizers to make several simple edits of

* Grammar: verb tenses, including irregular past, present perfect, present perfect progressive, present real conditional, habitual past,

* Punctuation: quotation marks and apostrophes,

* Capitalization: first word in a quotation, special events,

* Language usage: simple/compound sentences, irregular plurals, pronoun/ antecedent agreement, and

* Spelling and capitalization.

5.5 Use appropriate tools such as dictionaries and grammar guides to undertake multiple re-readings of text in order to edits for

* Grammar: verb tenses including, past perfect, future perfect, future perfect progressive, present unreal conditional, three part phrasal verbs,

 * Internal punctuation: commas, colons, semi-colons  and hyphens,

* Language usage: simple, compound and complex sentences, and

* Spelling and capitalization.

5.6 Undertake multiple re-readings of text in order to make comprehensive edits for

* Grammar: verb tenses including past perfect progressive and future perfect progressive tenses, past unreal conditionals, modals in past tense,

* Varied sentence structures with phrases and clauses,

* The active voice,

* Parallel structures, and

* Spelling, punctuation, capitalization, language usage