CAHSEE WRITING REVIEW On the California High School Exit Exam you will be expected to write one essay. The essay will be one of four types of writing.

4 TYPES OF WRITING 1.NARRATIVE 2.EXPOSITORY 3.PERSUASIVE 4.LITERARY RESPONSE

NARRATIVE WRITING A narrative is a story- containing characters, setting, plot- that relates a sequence of events. These events usually involve a conflict/struggle between characters or an outside force such as nature. FACT (REAL) FICTION (MADE UP)

BIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE (FACT)- 3RD PERSON P.O.V. When you write about a sequence of events in another person’s life AND communicate the significance of the events to the audience. 1.Someone in history 2.Someone in literature 3.Someone in your life whom you know well

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE (FACT)- 1ST PERSON P.O.V. When you write about a sequence of events in your own life AND communicate the significance of the events to the audience.

PREWRITING Make a cluster of as many significant events in your life that you can remember. Only list the events that significantly changed/affected you. Moving to a new city, state, country The death of a loved one A time that you overcame an obstacle/fear Experiencing something new and exciting for the first time

Autobiographical Narrative Traveling abroad My parents getting a divorce Graduating from college My own divorce The day my sister died Deciding to be a teacher

ROUGH DRAFT Look at your list and choose the one event that you can remember the most details for and that means the most to you. Then write about the event in about 1/2 page. Try to include as many details that you can remember, including setting, names of people involved. Also include how the event changed you.

SAMPLE On a cold, dreary winter day almost ten years ago, my life was changed forever. On December 31, 1994 my only sister, Jennifer, passed on from this world to the next, leaving me behind, distraught and angry, in a world I no longer wanted to be a part of. I never imagined that someone so young, vibrant, and full of life could die at the age of twenty-one. The nightmare began in September the beginning of my second year of college. In a weekend’s time she went from not knowing who I was to slipping into a coma that would last an agonizing four months. The doctors could not explain the cause, but said that a virus has infiltrated her brain and started eating away. The first part to go was her memory, which explained why she didn’t recognize me. The most unbearable part of the four months that she lay like a vegetable in the hospital bed unfeeling to the world was not having to watch her deteriorate before my eyes or even watching her body twist because of the seizures, the worst part was not being able to look into her eyes and tell her how much I loved her. On the day that I got the call from the hospital telling me that her heart had stopped a gloom wrapped around my heart that will never go away. The following semester I changed my major from nursing to English. I could not bear to remain in a career that to me smelled of sorrow and death. Memories of my sister serve as a reminder to me to never give up on what I want in life, never to settle for less than I deserve, and never forget to tell those you love how you feel.

REVISION ORGANIZATION TOPIC SENTENCE CONCRETE DETAILS COMMENTARY/ ANALYSIS CONCLUDING SENTENCE CONTENT & MECHANICS SEQUENTIAL ORDER SHOW NOT TELL SENSORY DETAILS SENTENCE VARIETY SPELLING, GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, VERB TENSE