Cayman Islands Writing Exemplar

The Leveling Process

The exemplars provided should assist teachers in making sound and informed leveling decisions when moderating  

student work. The exemplars should be used as reference points and guides in an effort to help teachers and  

administrators promote fair, consistent, and objective assessment of student writing within and across year levels and 

schools. Writing moderations should be completed every four to six weeks to ensure ongoing student improvement.

What is a Text-type Study? 

A text-type writing study is a structured framework for teaching students how to write a particular type of text. The  

writing sessions of text-type studies follow the gradual release of responsibility model. First, a “mentor” models one 

of the text-types for students through a Write Aloud and/or Shared Writing. During modeled writing, shared writing or 

interactive writing sessions, the class creates a collaborative piece of writing. Students then apply the knowledge they 

have acquired in the teacher-led class writing and complete their own texts using the same text-type. As students write 

independently, further support can be given through guided writing groups or individual teacher conferences.