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8. Students at universities often have a choice of places to live. They may choose to live in university dormitories, or they may choose to live in apartments in the community. Compare the advantages of living in university housing with the advantages of living in an apartment in the community. Where would you prefer to live? Give reasons for your preference.

To score a "6," the essay will be a well organized one that accomplishes the three requirements of the assignment. First, the writer must compare (i.e., show similarities) the advantages of living in university housing with the advantages of living in an apartment in the community. Second, not waffling on the issue, the writer should take a position by choosing which place he prefers to live. The argument should be logical and plausible and cause the reader to reconsider his point of view if he is in disagreement or cause the reader to further bolster his position if he is in agreement. Third, the writer should give two or more reasons to support his argument. The essay will have a high degree of grammatical correctness and syntactic variety but may have slight flaws in writing, consistent with timed, first draft prose.

If I had the financial capabilities of living in either of theses locations, which I do not, I would prefer to live in an apartment in the community. I most admit that I do not know the comparable costs of living in either of these locations, so I must base my decision on criteria that does not include this factor (which may be the most important one). Both options provide advantages, but it is the disadvantages that have made me select an apartment.

The advantages of living in a university dormitory may actually be more numerous than those of an apartment. When you live right on the campus, you are provided with the convenience of short walks to the library, or other such facilities. Your housing is under the protection of a 24-hour university police service, which is a plus. You will not have to spend money on gas for the purpose of driving to school. And best of all, you have priority status for registering for classes!

The advantages of living in an apartment are fewer, but are more significant, I believe. When living in an apartment, you have the choice of who your roommate is, or whether you even have a roommate at all. This would be a great bonus to me personally because I need very quiet conditions for studying, and I would only live with a roommate who could meet this demand. You also have the privilege of more privacy when living in an apartment, and probably a little bit more freedom.

The advantages of living in an apartment are not as many as living in a university dormitory, but I value them to a higher degree. Of course it is important to remember that the cost of living in each location would probably be the largest determining factor in actually selecting a location to live in while being a college student.

8. Comments on how this essay meets ETS criteria for a "6:"

This essay demonstrates clear competence in writing on both the rhetorical and syntactic levels

•Using an explicit thesis (i.e., Both options provide advantages, but it is the disadvantages that have made me select an apartment), the writer is able to frame the introduction around the TWE prompt, and at the same time, forecast the essay's overall plan. In the developmental parts of the essay, the writer logically restates the key points in the thesis (i.e., the advantages of living in a university dormitory; the advantages of living in an apartment; and I value them (i.e., the advantages of living in an apartment) to a higher degree. There are specific reasons and examples to support those points.

•Paragraphs one, two and three use appropriate details to support the thesis. For instance, in paragraph two, the writer mentions the convenience of being close to campus facilities, being under the protection of campus police, saving money on gas, and having priority status for registration as supporting examples of advantages of living in a dormitory. The writer includes these examples even though he prefers living in an apartment, thus showing that he is able to OBJECTIVELY discuss both positions before taking a side, the result of which adds credibility to his argument.

Displaying consistent facility in the use of punctuation and syntactic variety, the essay uses a variety of sentence structures: simple sentences (i.e., You will not have to spend money on gas for the purpose of driving to school.), compound sentences (i.e., Both options provide advantages, but it is the disadvantages that have made me select an apartment.), and complex sentences (i.e., Your housing is under the protection of a 24-hour university police service, which is a plus). Furthermore, there are no significant sentence structure or mechanical errors in the essay; consequently, the essay has a high level of polish.

The writer has a good command of vocabulary (i.e., capabilities, criteria, facilities, and determining) to demonstrate appropriate word choice.