Grade 10 B.E.S.T. Writing Sample Test Materials

Grade 10

B.E.S.T. Writing

Sample Test Materials

The purpose of these sample test materials is to orient teachers and students

to the appearance of passages and prompts on paper-based accommodated

B.E.S.T. Writing tests. Each spring, students in grades 4–10 are administered

one text-based writing prompt for the B.E.S.T. Writing test. Students will

respond to either an expository prompt or to an argumentative prompt. An

example of a text-based writing prompt for each grade is available for

practice. To familiarize students with the response formats, teachers may

encourage students to practice with each type of prompt within a grade band.

The following B.E.S.T. Writing sample test materials are available on the

Florida Statewide Assessments Portal as shown below:

Elementary Grade Band

Grade 4 - Expository

Grade 5 - Argumentative

Middle Grade Band

Grade 6 - Expository

Grade 7 - Argumentative

Grade 8 - Expository

High School Grade Band

Grade 9 - Argumentative

Grade 10 - Expository

The sample test materials are not intended to guide classroom instruction.

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To offer students a variety of texts on the B.E.S.T. Writing tests, authentic

and copyrighted stories, poems, and articles appear as they were originally

published, as requested by the publisher and/or author. While these

real-world examples do not always adhere to strict style conventions and/or

grammar rules, inconsistencies among sources should not detract from

students’ ability to understand and answer questions about the texts.

All trademarks and trade names found in this publication are the property

of their respective owners and are not associated with the publishers of this

publication.

Every effort has been made to trace the ownership of all copyrighted

material and to secure the necessary permissions to reprint selections.

Some items are reproduced with permission from Cambium Assessment, Inc.,

as copyright holder or under license from third parties.

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B.E.S.T. Writing Sample Items

Writing Prompt

Write an expository essay about the benefits people receive when they

push beyond their comfort zones.

Your expository essay must be based on this prompt and topic, and it

must incorporate ideas and information found in the sources provided.

Use your best writing to complete an essay that

• is focused on your central idea;

• combines evidence from multiple sources with your own

elaboration to develop your ideas;

• is organized and includes transitions within and among ideas;

• provides citations for quoted material and source ideas; and

• demonstrates correct use of grammar and language

appropriate to the task.

Write your multiparagraph essay to an academic audience in the space

provided.

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Read the “Comfort Zone” sources.

Comfort Zone

Source 1: Tiptoeing Out of One’s Comfort

Zone (and Of Course, Back In)

by Alina Tugend

1 Last week, I moved out of my comfort zone, psychologically and

literally. And it didn’t feel so good.

2 First, I spoke to a group of middle-school students about journalism.

It was a day when parents were supposed to come and talk about their

work and discuss why what you learned in middle school was actually

important in real life.

3 I am fairly self-confident about talking to a roomful of adults.

But 12- and 13-year-old children made me sweat. Some looked at

me intently, but others stared out the window, played with their

pencils or poked their neighbors. Suddenly, I was pulled back to my

middle-school years, trying to entertain the “popular” kids. I was most

uncomfortable.

4 A few days later, we had some workers in to paint a few rooms in

the house. No big deal, I thought. Except that as more rooms were

draped in drop cloths and living room furniture crowded the dining

room, our entire family—and two befuddled cats—retreated upstairs.

5 No one could find anything. Everyone was out of sorts. We were

feeling decidedly uncomfortable.

6 Moving out of our comfort zones is supposed to be a good thing. We

challenge ourselves, we grow and take on new risks. But is this always

true? . . .

7 [A]s Judith M. Bardwick, author of “Danger in the Comfort Zone”

(American Management Association, 1991), writes, “The comfort

zone is a behavioral state within which a person operates in an

anxiety-neutral position. . . .”

8 “We need a place of productive discomfort,” said Daniel H. Pink,

author of “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us”

(Riverhead, 2009). “If you’re too comfortable, you’re not productive.

B.E.S.T. Writing Sample Items

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B.E.S.T. Writing Sample Items

And if you’re too uncomfortable, you’re not productive. Like Goldilocks,

we can’t be too hot or too cold.”

9 The objective is to reach that optimal level so that our skills

increase and we become comfortable with that new level of anxiety—

then we’re in an expanded comfort zone. And ideally, we will get more

used to those feelings of “productive discomfort” and won’t be so

scared to try new things in the future. . . .

10 Choosing to leave our comfort zones is hard enough. But being

forced out is even more difficult. . . . How do we cope with that?

A. J. Schuler, a business consultant who has written about resistance to

change, advised finding a core group of people—just two or three was

enough—who would listen and understand how difficult this was.

11 “I call that a personal life board, like a board of directors,” he said.

“You need to obtain prior permission to just talk.”

12 The advice on accepting change is pretty obvious, but difficult to

carry out, he said, so “you can get down on yourself because you see

yourself as stagnant. You need people who won’t get frustrated with

that.” . . .

13 As parents, we can help our children grow into adults who feel more

secure about leaving their comfort zones, Mr. Pink said, by resisting the

urge to always shield them from uncertainty and discomfort. “If we do

that, they can’t be productive,” he said. . . .

14 So being slightly uncomfortable, whether or not by choice, can push

us to achieve goals we never thought we could. But it’s important to

remember that we don’t need to challenge ourselves and be productive

all the time. It’s good to step out of our comfort zone. But it’s also

good to be able to go back in.

Excerpt from “Tiptoeing Out of One’s Comfort Zone (and Of Course, Back In)” by Alina Tugend. Copyright

Center.

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B.E.S.T. Writing Sample Items

Source 2: Why Feeling Uncomfortable Is the

Key to Success

by Sujan Patel

15 While it may not feel like it in the moment, a little bit of discomfort

goes a long way in terms of personal development. Sure, no one likes

feeling uncomfortable, but it’s a big part of improving your performance,

creativity and learning in the long run.

16 Routines may make you feel at ease and in control, but what a

constant routine really does is dull your sensitivities. Think about the

times in your life when you’ve driven the same route repeatedly: after

a certain number of trips, you start tuning out most of it. Have you

ever had a trip . . . where you barely remember what happened after

you got in the car?

17 If you don’t get out of your comfort zone, you might find yourself

tuning out much of your life on a daily basis.

18 But when you go out of your way to experience new things, or

when you let new things happen to you, your body creates brand

new neural pathways that fuel your creative spark and enhance your

memory.

19 In one study, researchers tested the memory of participants by

showing them images which were rated as novel, familiar, and very

familiar. The best results came when people were shown a novel

image, followed by a familiar one. So, while repetition helps with

memory, mixing in new information is important as well.

20 That’s why being uncomfortable is something you should embrace.

Putting yourself in new and unfamiliar situations triggers a unique

part of the brain that releases dopamine, nature’s make-you-happy

chemical. Here’s the mind-blower; that unique region of the brain is

only activated when you see or experience completely new things.

21 Few people actually enjoy the feeling of being uncomfortable. The

challenge is to get past that initial feeling of wanting to return to the

norm, so you can grow and benefit from that discomfort. . . .

22 It might be completely evident to you what the source of your

discomfort is. What you may not be able to immediately recognize is

why you’re feeling the way you are. What is it about the situation that’s

triggering the feelings? Are you terrified of rejection . . . ? Are you

embarrassed about being on camera . . . ? [A]re [you] suffering from

imposter syndrome?

1

23 In his book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable, Seth Godin wrote,

“Discomfort brings engagement and change. Discomfort means you’re

doing something that others were unlikely to do, because they’re

hiding out in the comfortable zone. . . .”

24 Think about another time when something you did brought up

similar feelings of discomfort. How did that play out for you? This is

your opportunity to celebrate the small wins you previously had, and

remind yourself of the growth that came from a previously

uncomfortable situation.

25 At the same time, think about those situations where similar

feelings and actions led to what you might deem as a failure. As

Dr. Martin Seligman, founder of Positive Psychology, once said, “It’s not

our failures that determine our future success, but how we explain it to

ourselves.”

26 “I’ve never heard a millionaire entrepreneur say they hit it right the

first time out,” says Steve Siebold, whose book How Rich People Think,

is a culmination of 30 years of interviews. “The bigger they are, the

more they’ve typically failed.”

27 And they use what they learn from those failures to counter

discomfort, move forward, and finally take the plunge, despite feelings

of uncertainty and doubt. Failure is an asset—and you should learn to

see it that way. . . . As long as you’re learning from your mistakes,

then you become more valuable with each and every misstep. . . .

28 Of course, not all discomfort serves a positive purpose or will

contribute to your growth. . . . You have to be selective about how,

when, and why you’re embracing the discomfort of a given situation

and how it can benefit you. Ultimately, you have to find the courage,

awareness, and understanding that allow you to see problems and

hurdles for what they really are: opportunities to grow and learn.

1

imposter syndrome: a situation in which people with legitimate achievements doubt

their accomplishments

Forbes. Reprinted by permission of Forbes via Copyright Clearance Center.

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B.E.S.T. Writing Sample Items

Source 3: Expanding the Comfort Zone

by Kelly West

29 When I was in high school, I came home and told my parents some

startling news.

30 I was going to perform a slam poem at the student talent show.

31 My mom and dad looked up from their work with bemusement.

They wanted to know if I was OK.

32 I’d always been active. I lived to play sports. But despite my

success with playing competitive sports, I never thought the stage was

a place for me.

33 It definitely would be outside of my comfort zone to share my

creative work in front of my peers. But something inside me said why

not try it out.

34 For years, researchers and scientists have studied what happens

when people venture beyond their area of comfort and have found

some interesting results. A simple decision to try something as new as

performing a slam poem could have significant benefits.

35 In fact, research suggests that switching things up by either dealing

with a little uncertainty or facing a new challenge can promote

learning. One experiment with primates actually showed that when

animals could predict the kinds of treats scientists would offer them,

the part of their brain that is involved with learning was deactivated.

This result could be similar in humans. For example, if you studied your

multiplication tables year after year in school, you’d probably feel quite

comfortable with that skill and stop needing to exhaust the parts of

your brain that help you incorporate new knowledge every time

multiplication is necessary to complete a problem.

36 A certain amount of unpredictability allows the regions of the brain

that promote new learning to stay active. We can promote this learning

and stay out of our comfort zone in simple ways: i.e., changing up a

daily routine, having conversations with new and different people,

engaging with a new project, or reading about new ideas. All of these

things keep things new enough to promote learning and keep us from

falling into the trap of sameness.

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B.E.S.T. Writing Sample Items

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B.E.S.T. Writing Sample Items

37 In addition to learning, scientists say that stepping outside of your

comfort zone gives you a prime opportunity to see how you respond to

new challenges. It may also uncover a new skill or a new interest. For

example, after practicing my slam poem in front of parents, friends,

and the mirror, I learned that I was a natural at connecting to an

audience. I also realized that when I found it hard to remember lines

of my poem, all I wanted to do was text my friends . . .

38 With all this talk of comfort, one might think that growth has to be

painful. In fact, some people like to say “no pain, no gain,” which is the

idea that you cannot grow without experiencing a lot of discomfort.

However, psychologists and researchers actually say that having

“manageable challenges” helps you to grow more effectively. For me,

dealing with my stage fright was a manageable challenge because I

already had established a lot of the skills I would need to perform. (For

example, presentation skills and the ability to accept criticism.)

39 However, this does not negate the fact that, sometimes, facing new

challenges may be a little uncomfortable. Thankfully, research shows

that the side effect of encountering discomfort is that individuals are

more likely to seek help and social support. In addition, venturing away

from what we are used to teaches us how to cope with stressful

situations, increases empathy, and prompts us to strengthen close

relationships.

40 Although we need to expand our comfort zones in order to grow,

it’s important to note that many scientists say that our comfort zones

are there for a reason. We wouldn’t be able to get some of our basic,

everyday tasks done if we were always uncomfortable. Our comfort

zones also give us a set of skills we can work with, ways we can cope

with stress, and ways to regain confidence when we are struggling.

When preparing to perform my poem felt overwhelming, I was glad to

have the distraction of scoring points with my teammates on the field

to reinforce my confidence.

41 Our comfort zones are places where we can relax and recharge,

and where we live most of our lives. But as we face and overcome new

challenges, those zones of comfort get larger, our personal toolkits get

more advanced, and we can do more.

42 It can be easy to fall into a daily pattern—a zone of comfort—but

after performing my poem, I could tell that my comfort zone had

gotten much larger.

“Expanding the Comfort Zone” by Kelly West. Written for educational purposes.

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Write an expository essay about the benefits people receive when they

push beyond their comfort zones.

Your expository essay must be based on this prompt and topic, and it

must incorporate ideas and information found in the sources provided.

Use your best writing to complete an essay that

• is focused on your central idea;

• combines evidence from multiple sources with your own

elaboration to develop your ideas;

• is organized and includes transitions within and among ideas;

• provides citations for quoted material and source ideas; and

• demonstrates correct use of grammar and language

appropriate to the task.

Write your multiparagraph essay to an academic audience in the space

provided.

15488

Writing Prompt

B.E.S.T. Writing Sample Items

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Office of Assessment

Florida Department of Education, Tallahassee, Florida