1. Discussion & Retest Information
TAKS ESSAY
Discussion &
Retest Information

2. Areas Done Well
Some good choices for topics: interesting, engaging, reader wants to keep reading
Most of you had good hooks to grab the reader’s attention—very few clichés!
Most of you write clearly and smoothly enough to score a “2”

3. Areas that Need Work: Content
PLEASE write a story (personal narrative)
If you write about a specific event that is connected to the topic, you will get at least a 2
Plus it’s easier to get a 3 or higher with a specific story
GIVE DETAILS! (“We had fun times…” isn’t enough—what WERE those fun times??)

4. Areas that Need Work: Content
Hypothetical discussions aren’t as effective as REAL examples (“What if…?”)
Generalities hurt you (“Friends,” “people” … NAME specific people, places and events.)
Test : if you don’t have capitalized names, you’ve been WAY too general!
Make stories about YOU, not your friend, not your family member…it’s more effective.
Avoid using “you” – it gets preachy (“Have you ever thought…” or “You should…”)
No sermons, please!

5. Areas that Need Work: Content
Avoid boyfriend/girlfriend stories – these seem trite and juvenille
Avoid stories about death
Avoid topics like drugs, alcohol or sex – CONSIDER YOUR AUDIENCE

6. Areas that Need Work: Content
Follow this pattern if you need help:
INCIDENT:
Describe one incident in detail. Tell what your feet were walking on.
Ex: “The gritty sand sluiced between my toes as my feet walked that last fifty yards down the beach.”
Describe the sounds that you hear.
Describe what you smell, then describe what you see.

7. Areas that Need Work: Content
Continue to describe the incident with as much imagery as you can imagine/remember. Do more “showing” than “telling.”
RESPONSE – This is your chance to tell! Tell how you felt during the incident. What were you thinking? What were you feeling at the time of the incident?

8. Areas that Need Work: Content
Finally, REFLECTION –
This is where you look back on the incident and your response at the time.
Find meaning in the incident and connect it to the TAKS prompt.

9. Areas that Need Work: Construction
Edit for mechanical problems
Capitalize the first letter of every sentence.
Paragraph where appropriate. Your entire paper should NOT be one paragraph!
They’re, Their & There are different words with different meanings. LEARN THEM.

10. Areas that Need Work: Construction
COULD’VE is a contraction for could have. “Could of” is NOT correct. (This also goes for would’ve, should’ve, etc.)
Keep verb tense consistent – usually past tense (story has already happened)
Try not to use multiple scenarios—tell ONE story, and describe it completely, not many different stories!
LOTS of buildup, then fast ending—be sure to wrap it up completely and ANSWER THE PROMPT/Question!!

11. Areas that Need Work: Construction
Its vs. It’s
Write “I” not “i”
Passed vs. Past
Always put a comma before the fanboy in a compound sentence.
Provide some type of lead into dialogue in your paper.

12. *Grade will not go down even if you score lower on rewrite
Retest Information Not available for 4s, Optional for 3s, Required for 2s & 1s
Grade for 1st Writing
4 = 98
___________________________
3 = 85
2 = 75
1 = 65
Grade for Retest
N/A
______________________
3 to a 4 = 95
3 to a 3 = 89
2 to a 4 = 95
2 to a 3 = 85
2 to a 2 = 79
1 to a 4 = 95
1 to a 3 = 85
1 to a 2 = 75
1 to a 1 = 69
*Grade will not go down even if you score lower on rewrite