CLAST

CLAST Essay Skills

In addition to the following, all of the skills assessed on the English language skills subtest are also assessed on the essay subtest.

Select a subject that lends itself to development
Determine the purpose and audience for writing
Limit a subject to requirements of time, purpose, and audience
Formulate a thesis or main idea statement
Provide adequate supporting details
Arrange ideas and details in a logical pattern appropriate to the purpose and focus
Write unified prose with relevant supporting material
Write coherent prose with effective transitions between parts
Avoid slang, jargon, cliches, and pretentious expressions
Use a variety of sentence patterns
Avoid overuse of passive construction
Maintain consistent point of view
Revise, edit, and proofread for clarity, consistency, and conformity to standard American English

CLAST English Language Skills

Word Choice Skills

Use words which convey the meaning required by content
Avoid wordiness

Sentence Structure Skills

Place modifiers correctly
Coordinate and subordinate sentence elements
Use parallel expressions for parallel ideas
Avoid fragments, comma splices, and fused sentences

Grammar, Spelling, Capitalization, and Punctuation Skills

Use standard verb forms
Maintain agreement between subject and verb, pronoun and antecedent
Use proper case forms
Use adjectives and adverbs correctly
Avoid inappropriate shifts in verb tenses
Make logical comparisons
Use standard spelling, punctuation, and capitalization

CLAST Reading Skills

Literal Comprehension Skills

Recognize main ideas
Identify supporting details
Determine meaning of words

Critical Comprehension Skills

Recognize author’s purpose
Identify author's overall organizational pattern
Distinguish between fact and opinion
Detect bias
Recognize author’s tone
Recognize relationships within sentences
Recognize relationships between sentences
Recognize valid arguments
Draw logical inferences and conclusions