Utah FWA

Help Documents

Frequently Asked Questions

Still having trouble after reading these frequently asked questions? Please, contact us.

Students:

How do I create a new user account?

  1. On the www.utahwrite.com home page, click Student Sign-up. Sign In
  2. Complete the Student Information form. Student information form.
    Note:
    An email address is only requested in case a new password is needed to access your account.
  3. Click I Accept if you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I Accept button.
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How do I sign in to access my account?

  1. On the www.utahwrite.com home page, enter your User Name and Password.
  2. Click Sign In. Sign In
    Note:
    The warning Sign In Unsuccessful will appear if the User Name and/or Password you enter is not valid. See "Forgot Your Password?" below for help.
  3. If you are registered for more than one course, the Select a Course page will appear. Click the course name to access the course home page.
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Forgot Your Password?

  1. Click Forgot your password? on the Utah FWA home page.
  2. Enter your email address.
  3. Click Submit. Forgot password form.
  4. Check your email inbox for a message from Utah FWA. This message will contain a new password you can use to access your account.
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How do I enroll in a course I was assigned to take?

  1. Sign in using your User Name and Password.  
  2. On the Select a Course page, enter the Course Code and click Register. You will be directed to the course home page. Course code form.
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How do I access the course home page?

Each course for which you are registered will have its own home page. You can access practice tests, lessons, and your records of test performances and improvement all from the course home page.

  1. Sign in using your User Name and Password.  
  2. If you are registered for more than one course, the Select a Course page will appear. Click a course. Course list.
  3. The home page will appear. Course home page.
Home Page Navigation Tabs
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How do I enroll in a different course from the course home page?

  1. From the course home page, click Add or Edit a Course in the Helpful Links section.  
  2. On the Course Enrollment page, enter the Course Code and click Register. You will be directed to the course home page. Course code form.
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How do I take a practice test?

  1. Sign in using your User Name and Password.  
  2. If you are registered for more than one course, the Select a Course page will appear. Click a course. Course list.
  3. The home page will appear. Click the Practice tab. Write tab.
  4. Select a writing topic from the Topic list.
  5. Read the topic prompt. Click Begin Writing when you are ready to start the test. Begin writing button.
  6. The Take a Test page will appear. Read the topic prompt and begin entering a response in the large scrollable field provided.
    Note:
    Students have a limited amount of time to submit a response. Watch the clock to monitor the time remaining. Responses will be submitted automatically for scoring after time has expired.
    Time remaining.
  7. When you have completed and proofread your response for errors, click Submit. Submit button.
  8. Click OK. Submit prompt.
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How do I interpret my scores?

After you submit your practice test essay for scoring, you will be directed to the Score Report page. This page contains a copy of your response, the scoring for your response, and a list of suggestions you can consider to improve your writing.

Skill Categories

Each essay response receives a score in each of six skill categories:

  • Ideas and Content
  • Organization
  • Voice
  • Word Choice
  • Sentence Fluency
  • Conventions

Scores in each category range from 1 (Inadequate) to 5 (Strong). The essay's total score is the sum of the six component scores.

Score report graph.
Interpreting Scores

You can always work to improve your writing no matter what the score. However, categories that receive a score of 4 (Adequate) or lower should be targeted for special attention. Read the suggestions listed below the Scores section of the page as prompts to think about how to improve. There will be a list of suggestions for each category.

Note:
You can access scores for all completed practice tests at any time from the course home page.

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How do I access scores from the course home page?

  1. Sign in using your User Name and Password.   
  2. If you are registered for more than one course, the Select a Course page will appear. Click a course. Course list.
  3. The course home page will appear. All practice tests that the student has taken will be listed. Click the date of the test that you want to view. Test list.
  4. The Score Report page for the test will appear.
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What is PEG?

Project Essay Grade™ (PEG™) software is an automated essay scoring solution based on more than 40 years of research by Dr. Ellis Batten Page, whose pioneering work in the field of computational linguistics has distinguished him as the father of computer-based essay scoring. Using advanced, proven statistical techniques, PEG analyzes written prose, calculates measures that reflect the intrinsic characteristics of writing (fluency, diction, grammar, construction, etc.), and models the decisions of professional readers to produce scores that deliver unparalleled accuracy and reliability. PEG's scoring results have been validated in more independent studies than all other essay scoring solutions combined.

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How do I use lessons?

  1. Sign in using your User Name and Password.  
  2. If you are registered for more than one course, the Select a Course page will appear. Click a course. Course list.
  3. The course home page will appear. Click the Learn tab. Learn tab.
  4. Select a lesson category. Lesson categories.
  5. Click the lesson that you want to run. For example: Choose a lesson
    Note:
    There are three levels of lessons: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced.
Note:
Flash 9 is required to run lessons.

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How do I send my teacher a message about a test?

Students and teachers can post messages to each other on the Score Report page for a test. Both can access the Score Report page after signing in to review and post messages at any time.

  1. Sign in using your User Name and Password.   
  2. If you are registered for more than one course, the Select a Course page will appear. Click a course. Course list.
  3. The course home page will appear. Click the date of the test that you want to view. Test list.
    Note:
    If there are new messages, a link will appear in the Messages column. Click links in the Messages column to jump to new messages in the score report.
  4. The Score Report page will appear. Scroll down to the Messages section to read and post messages. To post a new message, enter a message in the scrollable field and click Post Message. Write message
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How do I access my portfolio?

The portfolio contains the record of all practice tests a student has completed, monthly score averages, and a progress graph to show how scores have changed over time. Students can access their portfolios from the home page after registering for a course.

  1. Sign in using your User Name and Password.   
  2. If you are registered for more than one course, the Select a Course page will appear. Click a course. Course list.
  3. The course home page will appear. Click the Portfolio tab. Portfolio tab.
Portfolio Contents

The portfolio page contains four sections: Completed Essays, Monthly Averages, Progress, and Lesson Activity.

Completed Essays Lists each completed and scored essay. Click a date to review a score report for an essay.
Monthly Averages Reports monthly averages for number of tests taken, category scores, and total scores.
Progress Displays a graph depicting monthly total score averages.
Note: Graphs will only display after two months of test data has accumulated.
Lesson Activity Reports time spent on each of the categories of lessons offered by Utah FWA.
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How do I log out of Utah FWA?

  • Click Sign Out to close your Utah FWA account.

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How do I access the Utah FWA home page?

How do I get around Utah FWA?

Click the Navigation Tabs to jump to lessons, practice tests, portfolio, or back to the home page.

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How do I create a new teacher account?

  1. On the bottom of the www.utahwrite.com home page, click on the Teacher Sign-up button. Sign In
  2. Complete the Teacher Information form. Teacher information form.
  3. Click I Accept if you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I Accept button.
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How do I access the proctor home page for a course?

Teachers have a different home page for each course, from which they can manage student rosters, enroll students, view student portfolios, and view lessons.

  1. Sign in using your User Name and Password.   
  2. If you are registered for more than one course, the Select a Course page will appear. Click a course. Course list.
  3. The home page will appear.

    Proctor home page.

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How do I access the roster for a course?

  1. Sign in using your User Name and Password.   
  2. If you are registered for more than one course, the Select a Course page will appear. Click a course. Course list.
  3. The proctor home page will appear. Click the Students tab. Students Tab
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How do I view a student's test scores?

On the proctor home page, click the date of the test you want to view in the Student Writing History.

Student Writing History
Note:
On the Score Report page you can post messages about the test to the student using the Post Message feature. See "Posting a Message to a Student" below.

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How do I send a student a message about a test?

  1. On the proctor home page, click the date of the test you want to view in the Student Writing History. Test List
    Note:
    If there are new messages, a link will appear in the Messages column. Click links in the Messages column to jump to new messages in the score report.
  2. The Score Report page will appear. Scroll down to the Messages section to read and post messages. To post a new message, enter a message in the large scrollable field and click Post Message. Write message
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How do I view a student's portfolio?

  1. On the proctor home page, click the Reports tab. Reports Tab
  2. The Reports page will appear. The Student Portfolios section allows you to view the score history for one student.
  3. Select a student name and click View to see a given student's history. Choose a student.
 
 
 
 
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How do I view a class report?

  1. On the proctor home page, click the Reports tab. Reports Tab
  2. The Reports page will appear. The Student Averages and Demographic Averages sections allow you to view scores and statistics for the entire class.

The Student Averages pages display scores for every student in the class, based on the selected rubric dimension.

The Demographic Averages pages display aggregated scores for the selected rubric dimension broken down by all of the demographic categories in the class.

 
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How do I add an existing student to a new course?

  1. On the proctor home page, click the Students tab. Students Tab
  2. Click Add. Add Button
  3. Scroll down to the bottom of the Add Student page. Enter the student's User Name and Password. Enter student user name and password
  4. Click Import.
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How do I add a new student to a course?

  1. On the proctor home page, click the Students tab. Students Tab
  2. The Manage Student Roster page will appear. This page displays a list of students currently enrolled in the course along with the number of available seats remaining. Seats Remaining
    Note:
    If you do not see a display for seats remaining, the course has an unlimited number of seats available.
  3. Click Add. Add Button
  4. Complete the Student Information form, including the Demographic Information. Demographic Information Form
  5. Click Add Student. Add Student Button
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How do I remove a student from a course?

  1. On the proctor home page, click the Students tab. Students Tab
  2. Click the circle beside the student to select. Choose a student
  3. Click Remove. Remove Button
  4. Click OK.
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How do I edit student information?

  1. On the proctor home page, click the Students tab. Students Tab
  2. Click the circle beside the student to select. Choose a student
  3. Click Edit. Edit Student Button
  4. The Edit Student Information page will appear. Edit the information as necessary and click Save. Save Button
Note:
Click Cancel to return to the roster without making any changes.

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What computer settings are required to use Utah FWA?

Browser

Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, Firefox 1.5 or higher, Safari 2.0 or higher, Google Chrome

Note:

The Utah FWA site must be on your network administrator's approved sites list. Browser must be configured to accept cookies from the Utah FWA site.

Screen Resolution

800x600 or higher

Flash Player

Flash 9.0 is required to run lessons. Visit http://www.adobe.com/support/flashplayer/downloads.html for more information on downloading Flash Player.

Configuring Internet Explorer 6.0 to Allow Utah FWA Site Cookies
  1. Click Tools>Internet Options.
  2. Windows 2000: Click the Privacy tab.
    Windows XP: Click the Security tab.
  3. Windows 2000:Click Edit.
    Windows XP: Click Trusted Sites. Trusted sites image
  4. Windows 2000: Skip to step 5.
    Windows XP: Click Sites.
  5. Enter utahwrite.com in the Address of Web site field.
  6. Click Allow. Allow Site
  7. Click OK.
  8. Click OK.
  9. Click File>Close to exit the browser. Open Internet Explorer again to use the new settings.
Configuring Mozilla Firefox 1.5 to Allow Utah FWA Site Cookies
  1. Click Tools>Options.
  2. Click the Privacy tab. Privacy Tab
  3. Click the Cookies tab.
  4. Click Exceptions.
  5. Enter utahwrite.com in the Address of web site field.
  6. Click Allow.
  7. Click Close.
  8. Click OK.
  9. Click File>Close to exit the browser. Open Mozilla Firefox again to use the new settings.
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