Melbourne High

Students prepare for FAST Writing Over Spring Break by Matthew Trazzera

9th graders Maddyx Hill and Samayah Severin both used their spring break to get ready for the FAST writing assessment, each finding their own ways to prepare. Hill said she practiced writing paragraphs every day, explaining that “it wasn’t too much, just a little each day,” She focused mostly on argumentative essays and even looked back at old assignments to improve. Hill also explained “We are working on a argumentative essay in my ELA class, so it definitely helped me for the FAST writing,” Hill worked on coming up with ideas faster, which she said was the hardest part. Overall Hill used her time wisely and feels good about the FAST assessment. After following up with Hill she explained “I believe that i did okay, but the topic I had to write about was hard to understand.” 

Severin also did some preparation but took a more of a relaxed approach to the test. She said she practiced writing at school during her ELA class because her class was also completing a true love essay, but didnt stress much about it. “I just wanted to get better at coming up with what to write for the 3 body paragraphs,” Severin said. After following up with Severin, she explained “I felt pretty normal while going through the test, but i didnt like the topic at all.”

The two students showed different views towards the test. Hill focused on practicing often and building confidence, while Samayah kept things simple and didnt put too much pressure on herself. Both approaches show that students can prepare in different ways, whether they take it seriously or more relaxed about it.