1. Practicing the use of the R.A.P. Strategy

2. A pirate’s favorite holiday is Aarrrrr bor Day. Seriously, when you are asked a question, in language arts, science, math or social studies, you must restate the question as part of your answer.

3. R EAD the prompt or question, all the way through. A NNOTATE the prompt or question. P RODUCE a restatement of the question.

4. Read the prompt once to get an idea of what you are being asked to do. Look for key words that tell you what you are writing about. Decide if this is an essay question or a one- or two- word answer question.

5. Find the action verb in the prompt. Put a box around the action verb. -explain -describe -define -discuss -analyze -etc. These words tell how to approach the subject. Underline the key words These words tell you what you are writing about. Circle the product you are to produce. -essay -speech -paragraph -short story

6. Using your annotation, turn the prompt into a thesis sentence for longer essays or a topic sentence for one paragraph responses. Do not begin your sentence with the following: -Yes -No -I think -I believe -Because Make a claim or assertion Use the key words from the prompt and few of your own assure that the reader of your essay can see how it will address the question.

7. In a brief essay, describe the social structure of the children in the story “All Summer in a Day.” The social structure of the children in the story “All Summer in a Day” is complex. CLAIM This writer will need to go on to describe the complexity of the social structure.

8. In the story “All Summer in a Day,” Margot’s voice is described as being ghost-like. Write a paragraph explaining how Margot herself is or is not ghost-like. Use at least two examples from the text to explain. The character Margot, in the story “All Summer in a Day,” is ghost-like in at least two ways. (CLAIM)

9. The setting of “All Summer in a Day” is an important element of the story. In a three paragraph essay, analyze how the setting shapes the characters. The setting of “All Summer in a Day” shapes the characters in three ways.

10. Now it is your turn. Use the paper provided to practice the RAP strategy for writing perfect topic sentence or thesis statements that restate the question every time.