Presentational writing, as defined by ACTFL, is a mode of communication where the writer produces written language without direct interaction with the audience. Here are the key characteristics of presentational writing:

• One-Way Communication

Presentational writing involves creating written content without the ability to receive immediate feedback or clarification from the audience.

• Audience Consideration

Writers must consider their audience and adapt their language and content accordingly, even without direct interaction.

• Time Frames and Structures

  • • Novice: Writers primarily use present tense and simple sentences.

    • Intermediate: Can narrate and describe in major time frames (past, present, future).

    • Advanced: Able to write in paragraph-length discourse across various time frames.

• Content and Context

  • • Novice: Focuses on highly familiar topics and basic personal information

    • Intermediate: Covers routine informal and some formal correspondence

    • Advanced: Addresses factual narratives, descriptions, and summaries

• Text Types

  • • Novice: Produces words, lists, and formulaic phrases or sentences 

    • Intermediate: Creates simple paragraphs and connected sentences 

    • Advanced: Develops connected discourse of paragraph length and structure

• Language Control

  • • Novice: May have basic errors in grammar, word choice, and spelling

    • Intermediate: Shows good control of frequently used structures 

    • Advanced: Demonstrates control with occasional errors in low-frequency structures 

• Organizational Patterns

  • • Novice: Often uses repetitive structures

    • Intermediate: Begins to develop topics in short paragraphs

    • Advanced: Uses paraphrasing and elaboration for clarity 

References:

• https://www.languagetesting.com/pub/media/wysiwyg/PDF/ACTFL-WPT-Familiarization-Guide.pdf

• https://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Ohios-Learning-Standards/Foreign-Language/World-Languages-Model-Curriculum/World-Languages-Model-Curriculum-Framework/Instructional-Strategies/Scoring-Guidelines-for-World-Languages/2-Presentational-Writing-Rubric_unit_Jan2017.pdf.aspx

• https://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Learning-in-Ohio/Foreign-Language/World-Languages-Model-Curriculum/World-Languages-Model-Curriculum-Framework/Instructional-Strategies/Scoring-Guidelines-for-World-Languages/Intermediate_Mid_Holistic_Rubric_Presentational_feb2018.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US

• https://www.actfl.org/uploads/files/general/Resources-Publications/ACTFL_Proficiency_Guidelines_2024.pdf

• Focus on Purpose and Audience: Identify why you are writing and who your audience is. Tailor your tone and content accordingly.

• Organize Your Thoughts: Use a clear structure: introduction, body, and conclusion. Connect ideas with transitions and conjunctions.

• Use Clear and Concise Language: Avoid unnecessary words and phrases. Use precise vocabulary and vivid verbs.

• Engage Your Audience: Start with an interesting lead or hook. Use storytelling elements or descriptive details.

• Practice and Reflect: Use Can-Do Statements to evaluate your progress. Revise your work based on feedback and self-assessment.

• Leverage Technology: Use digital tools to enhance your writing (e.g., Google Docs, multimedia). Create e-portfolios to track your progress.

• Collaborate and Share: Participate in group writing activities like "CollaboStories.” Share your work with peers for feedback and discussion.

• List new words that you want to include in your piece

• Practice writing the alphabet, characters and new words

• Plan out in advanced how to write in a particular genre

• Try writing different types of texts

• Create an outline or storyboard before you begin

Courtesy of Stephanie Knight, Assistant Director of CASLS (Center for Applied Second Language Studies) Reference: 2002, Cohen, Oxford, and Chi Language Strategy Use Survey

• Try to use idiomatic expressions

• Find a different way to express an idea when you don’t know the correct expression (circumlocution)

• Review what you have written before continuing to write more

• Use reference materials like a glossary, dictionary, and thesaurus

Courtesy of Stephanie Knight, Assistant Director of CASLS (Center for Applied Second Language Studies) Reference: 2002, Cohen, Oxford, and Chi Language Strategy Use Survey

• Once all your ideas are down on paper, edit your work

• Revise several times to improve both language and content

• Get feedback from others, especially experts in the target language

• Ask someone to summarize your work for you to ensure you got your main point across

• Read as much as possible related to topics you are interested in to gain more practice

• Read what you didn’t understand again

• Summarize what you understood and consider what might be causing your misunderstandings

• Reread your notes and/or highlighted portions to evaluate how well you have understood

Courtesy of Stephanie Knight, Assistant Director of CASLS (Center for Applied Second Language Studies) Reference: 2002, Cohen, Oxford, and Chi Language Strategy Use Survey

1. Open ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot and use the following prompts to get help: 

2. I am a [your proficiency level & language , e.g., I am a novice Italian] learner and I would like feedback on the following writing task. Please highlight my grammatical errors (you can choose specific elements also, like verb conjugations, sentence structures, use of prepositions, conjunctions, etc.) and help me analyze them. Instead of giving me the corrections right away give me clues to make my own corrections: PASTE your text. 

3. After you receive the clues try to make your own corrections say “How about now”: Type or paste your text.

4. On your third round you can ask it to make the corrections for you or try again.

5. To go a little further with your language proficiency development and make your writing flow better, you can ask ChatGPT to give you some clues about how to connect sentences. Try the suggestions you receive and check back.