Expository Essay Techniques F.E.E.D. your R.O.S.E.s!!! “Roses are the reason, We pass the STAAR season!”

Today’s objectives We will review the STAAR rubric and score. We will discuss the purpose of a persuasive essay. We will review how to read a STAAR prompt.

Rate the triangle paper Ideas/content Organization Voice Sentence fluency Word choice Conventions Presentation OVERALL SCORE

Wait, what, why? Despite having some minor grammatical issues, this paper excelled in voice, ideas, sentence fluency, and word choice. It will stick with you. What do you remember about the circle and square prompts? “Friend” x 100000000

Pop quiz What does expository mean? Use your resources.

To explain Not to tell a story. Not to persuade. Not to list reasons. It is the truth as you see it, and you just explain it to the reader.

Keep your eye on the ball http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/videos.html

What does this prove? Your brain focuses on what it thinks it needs. This means shutting out extraneous information. Sometimes, however, your brain focuses on the wrong thing. This is how students can read a prompt and write on something else entirely (0 or 1)

Where to start-- When you get your prompt, mark out the boxed statement (it may be a quote) Mark out the “think about” statement Circle the prompt! This is the part that actually tells you what to write about! Underline the key words in your prompt, boxing words that really stand out as well. Look those up in the dictionary/thesaurus. Write an expository essay explaining the effect of one new technology on people’s lives.

Expository Prompts Similarly students may need to read some text prior to writing their response to a prompt. For example, an expository prompt might look like this: READ the following quotation. A famous businessman once said, “Players win games; teams win championships.” THINK carefully about the following statement. Sometimes you can accomplish good things by yourself but better things with other people. WRITE an essay explaining whether it is better to work by yourself or with a group.

Practice Look up words in dictionary/thesaurus. “better, work, alone, group”? Construct BASIC thesis statement. _________ is _________ because REASON 1 and REASON 2. Now you try

Examples It is better to work in groups because it promotes team-work and divides the load. It is better to work alone because people can focus and students don’t have to depend on others.

Now make it pretty Take your list of words and construct a new thesis. As every child forced into a group project can attest, it is advantageous to work independently because people can focus and students don’t have to depend on others.

Expository Example READ the following quote. Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. ~Will Rogers THINK carefully about the following statement. Success comes from hard work. If you are not willing to work for what you want, then you will probably never achieve it. WRITE an essay explaining why hard work is necessary to be successful. Look up in dictionary/thesaurus. Now your write a BASIC thesis statement.

What’d you get? Words you looked up hard work necessary successful Your BASIC thesis statement _________ is _________ because REASON 1 and REASON 2. Hard work is necessary to be successful because important things take effort and it makes people appreciate them more.

Expository Example READ the following quote. "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.“ ~ Mark Twain THINK carefully about the following statement. Reading is the most important skill a person can learn. People who are able to read well are much more likely to be successful than people who can not. WRITE an essay explaining why reading is such an important skill to develop. Now your write a BASIC thesis statement.

What’d you get? Words you looked up reading important skill develop Your BASIC thesis statement _________ is _________ because REASON 1 and REASON 2. Reading is an important skill to develop because everything else comes from it and it allows people to be independent.

Before we get started. . . There are words to avoid when writing any formal essay. We’ll call them the “never evers”. After finishing the rough draft, go back and look for “never evers” and edit any sentences which contain them. So what are the “never evers”? Glad you asked!

Never ever use. . . like, so, very, many, and a lot contractions, for example: don’t, can’t, won’t, wouldn’t, didn’t—write out the words instead! Baby words (you have a thesaurus) Slang (“gonna”, “ain’t”, etc.) Texting shortcuts—write out words like “and” Write out numbers under 100

Never evers continued. . . I believe. . . I think. . . This essay is going to explain. . . I’m going to write about. . . In conclusion, . . . This essay has explained . . . You get the idea. Now let’s get on with what you CAN do!

What you need in your essay Introductory paragraph Body Paragraph Conclusion So how do you get started? Glad you asked!

Thesis Statements Once you have your key words from your essay prompt underlined, start writing your thesis statement. Use the key words to start the sentence, then add two reasons. Use R.O.S.E. to help you develop your reasons. The more you really know about the reasons you choose, the better your essay will be, so select something you really know!

R.O.S.E. Read—think about what you’ve read Observations—what have you observed in history, etc. Seen—what have you seen (live, in movies) Experiences—personal experiences

Hook Now you’re ready to write your “hook” The hook gets the reader’s attention. How do you write a hook? Try writing a TRUISM.

What is a truism? Truisms are a truth about life. It is a truth that is shared by humans all over the world no matter what culture or generation. It is a statement that everyone can relate to.

What do I Write? The goal with Truisms is that you make a connection to your life experiences. MAKE A CONNECTION and WRITE ABOUT IT!!

Examples of truisms. Our families help make us who we are.   A new friend can change a person's life. Watch this Prezi: http://prezi.com/i_6yqetk62v4/new-and-improved-truisms-kernel-3/

Kernel Now you have the kernel of your essay! I. Hook II. Thesis Statement A. Reason 1 B. Reason 2

F.E.E.D. Now it’s time to feed your body paragraphs! You have to provide examples, facts, and details. Use F.E.E.D. to help you brainstorm! Facts Examples Experiences Details

Put it all together! Now it’s time to put your essay together! Remember the order it all goes in: Introductory paragraph A. Hook B. Thesis statement with reason 1 and reason 2 Body Paragraph Conclusion—this is where you’ll use your restated thesis statement.

Now what? Now it’s time to read your rough draft. You need to look for errors such as repetition of the same word, fragments, too many short sentences, misspelled words. Use a thesaurus to improve the vocabulary used in your essay. Try reading your essay backwards to find spelling errors. Make sure you don’t have unnecessary information in your essay. Look for any “never evers”! Mark all of your corrections!

Write your final draft!! Now write your final draft on the composition lined box provided. Your goal is to use all or most of the lines, but not to have unimportant information in your paper. Your paper must have substance!

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