Writing an Explanatory essay-Quote by Miss D. Valente School No. 14 On the state test 6th -8th graders may be given an Explanatory Essay about a quote or adage. You will have to read a famous quote or adage and explain what it means. You will have 30 minutes. Below is a formula which will help you organize your ideas and support your explanation.

9/16/2015 Do Now: Review Vocabulary Quiz  9/11 Events Video- Take notes 9/11 Events Video  Quick Write: What do you think the following quote means and how does it relate to the marking period theme and novel? How does it relate to the events that occurred on September 11, 2001? Vocabulary: Persevere – to keep going; not give up  “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”  Nelson Mandela

Let’s get ready to write!  Step 1: Introduction  Attention Grabber  Introduce Subject (quote, author, what does it mean?)  Write your three main ideas  Closing sentence  Step 2: Body Paragraphs  Take each main idea and turn each into its own paragraph using supporting details  Step 3: Conclusion  Summarize main points  Offer a life lesson learned by the quote

Answering an Explanatory Quote 1 st paragraph- Explain what the QUOTE means to you. Introduce all the ideas of the essay. 2 nd paragraph- Give an example about how the quote is true for Others. (Famous Failures Video People) 3 rd paragraph- Give an example about how the quote is true for History/World/Media. (9/11 Firemen,Police Military-fight for freedom) 4 th paragraph- Give an example about how the quote is true for Text/Author. (Scholastic Article: “Are You a Loser?”) 5 th paragraph- Retell what the whole essay was about. Explain what can be TAUGHT from this quote.

Introduction  (indent—–>) (Insert Attention Grabber) (Restate Quote and author) This quote means______________ (explain what you think this quote means to you). Another way to say this quote is __________________ (put the quote in your own words). I will prove how this quote is true not only for others but to History and a book I recently read titled, “…”. Finally, I will conclude with what we can be taught by this quote.

Start with an Attention Grabber  An attention grabber is a technique that writers use to interest their readers to read what they wrote. Three types of Attention Grabbers 1. Start with a scenario 2. Start with a question 3. Start with a fact or opinion

Option 1. Start with a Scenario Picture this: You overhear your best friend bad-mouthing you in front of a group. She doesn’t know you overheard the conversation. Just five minutes ago, this same friend was sweet-talking you to your face! Now what do you do? Most people my age (13) would tell her off or hit her! But I’m not like most people my age. I would confront her when she’s by herself and calmly share how I feel. Some people would say this is the proactive thing to do. Abraham Lincoln once stated, “People are just about as happy as they make up their mind to be.” This quote means if someone proactively seeks to be happy and do things that make him/her happy then they will be content with themselves. Another way to say this quote is __________________ (put the quote in your own words). I will prove how this quote is true not only for myself but to everyone and a book I recently read. Finally, I will conclude with what we can be taught by this quote.

Option 2. Start with a Question What would you do if you overheard a close friend of yours talking about you? Most people my age would tell him or her off or throw punches!But I’m not like most people my age. I would confront her when she’s by herself and calmly share how I feel. Some people would say this is the proactive thing to do. Abraham Lincoln once stated, “People are just about as happy as they make up their mind to be.”This quote means if someone proactively seeks to be happy and do things that make him/her happy then they will be content with themselves. Another way to say this quote is __________________ (put the quote in your own words). I will prove how this quote is true not only for myself but to everyone and a book I recently read. Finally, I will conclude with what we can be taught by this quote.

Option 3. Start with a Fact or Opinion There are two types of people in this world: proactive or reactive. Proactive people think before they act. Reactive people make choices based on impulse. Abraham Lincoln once stated, “People are just about as happy as they make up their mind to be.” This quote means if someone proactively seeks to be happy and do things that make him/her happy then they will be content with themselves. Another way to say this quote is __________________ (put the quote in your own words). I will prove how this quote is true not only for myself but to everyone and a book I recently read. Finally, I will conclude with what we can be taught by this quote.

Your Turn  Review your first paragraph  Pick one of the attention grabbing techniques I just showed you  Practice writing your own.  HINT: Its okay to model your writing after my examples. It’s a great way to learn how to do it until you get the hang of it!

Writing Effective Paragraphs Main Ideas and Topic Sentences

What is a Topic Sentence?  Most paragraphs have a main idea. The main idea is DIRECTLY stated in a single sentence called a TOPIC SENTENCE.  The rest of the sentences in the paragraph support or explain the topic sentence, through facts and details.

Two types of topic sentences 1. Stated 2. Implied

Example: In this passage, the stated topic sentence is shown in Blue Change comes hard in America, but it comes constantly. The butcher whose old shop is now an antiques store sits day after day outside the pizzeria here like a lost child. The old people across the street cluster together and discuss what kind of money they might be offered if the person who bought their building wants to turn it into condominiums. The greengrocer stocks yellow peppers and fresh rosemary for the gourmands, plum tomatoes and broadleaf parsley for older Italians, mangoes for the Indians. He doesn’t carry plantains, he says, because you can buy them in the bodega. From: Melting Pot by Anna Quindlen

Example: In this passage, all the sentences work together to illustrate the implied main idea of the paragraph: Margot is the a delicate, unhappy loner who is different from the others. Margot stood alone. She was a very frail girl who looked as if she had been lost in the rain for years and the rain had washed out the blue from her eyes and the red from her mouth and the yellow from her hair. She was an old photograph dusted from an album, whitened away, and if she spoke at all her voice would be a ghost. Now she stood, separate, staring at the rain and the loud wet world beyond the huge glass. From: All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury

Let’s try to find them together!  Identify the following stated topic sentence:  The first house I remember was kind of boxy and looked pretty much like its neighbors. However, because it was the house I grew up in, it seemed unique t o me. I can still see the blue door with our house number on it, the lilac bushes my sister and I raided for bouquets each spring, and the driveway where we played hopscotch.

Answer: The second sentence is the topic sentence.

Let’s try to find them together!  Identify the following implied Main idea:  English is the first or official language of over sixty countries. In fact, one out of every seven people in the world understands or speaks English. Schoolchildren who live in countries where English is not the official language are often required to study it. More than half of the world’s newspapers, books, magazines, radio programs, and mail are communicated in English.

Answer: English is the most widely spoken language in the world.

Writing a Topic sentence  When you outline a topic or plan an essay, you identify the main points you want to address.  Each point is a topic sentence.  A good topic sentence tells readers what the paragraph is about-what point are you making?

You Try  Write a topic sentence for a paragraph about the following topic:  Why the last movie you saw was or was not a good one  Your paragraph should be at least 5-8 sentences long.  SHARE WHAT YOU WROTE WITH A PARTNER

Supporting sentences  The rest of the sentences in the paragraph will either develop, explain, or support that topic sentence.  Use Facts-a statement that can be proved  Topic Sentence: Our football team is tough to beat.  Supporting Fact: It wins almost all of the its games  Use Statistics- is a fact using numbers  Topic sentence: Our football team is tough to beat.  Supporting Statistic: The football team’s record is  Use Example, Illustrations, or Instances- a specific thing, person, or event that proves a point you make.  Topic sentence: Our football team is tough to beat.  Illustration: Last week, the team beat the previously undefeated Tigers in an exciting upset game.  Use Details- are the specifics—the parts of the whole. They show how the pieces fit together.  Topic sentence: Our football team is tough to beat.  Detail: There were only seconds left in the last week’s game when the quarterback threw the winning pass.

You Try  Write two supporting sentences for the following topic sentence:  Doing well in school requires effort and a good attitude.  SHARE WHAT YOU WROTE WITH A PARTNER

Where to put a topic sentence?  The topic sentence appears at the beginning of a paragraph.  Place it at the beginning of a paragraph to focus readers’ attention.

©Prentice Hall Writing and Grammar Bronze Level

Let’s get ready to write!  Step 1: Introduction  Attention Grabber  Introduce Subject (quote, author, what does it mean?)  Write your three main ideas  Closing sentence  Step 2: Body Paragraphs  Take each main idea and turn each into its own paragraph using supporting details  Step 3: Conclusion  Summarize main points  Offer a life lesson learned by the quote

Paragraph 2  (indent—–>) An example that demonstrates this quote is true for others is __________________________. (Insert a Specific Example Add two or three Concrete Details (CD’s) that tell a story that happened in YOUR life, or make one up, that proves the quote is true). This confirms that the quote is true because ________________________. (Connect back to the quote)

Paragraph 3  (indent—–>) Not only is this quote true for me, but it’s also true for everyone. An example that establishes this quote is universal is __________________.(Insert a Specific Example Add two or three Concrete Details (CD’s) that tell a famous story, or make one up, that proves the quote is true for EVERYONE). This confirms that the quote is true because ______________. (Connect back to the quote)

Paragraph 4  (indent—–>) This quote also reminds me of a book/article I recently read titled, ___________ by ____________. (Insert a Specific Example Add two or three Concrete Details (CD’s) that tell about the text, or make one up, that proves the quote is true for the text). This confirms that the quote is true because ______________. (Connect back to the quote)

The conclusion  Is the final paragraph in the essay.  Restates the thesis (quote)  Sums up the support  Includes the writer’s reflection or observation on the topic.  An AMAZING conclusion ends with a lesson learned, a call to action, a quote (different), or a forceful statement.

Conclusion  (indent—–>) To conclude, ________ (name of person who said quote) once stated, “________”. It’s obvious this quote is universal. We have seen a multitude of ways that prove this quote is true. (Sum up the support) (Write ONE sentence about your opinion or observation of the quote) A lesson we should all take away from it is _________________.(Insert Lesson)