1. How to stay on track and create a SMOOTH ride
Writing STAAR Essays
Hooks
Transitions
Conclusions
How to stay on track and create a SMOOTH ride

2. When writing a STAAR essay, imagine it being like a train ride
When writing a STAAR essay, imagine it being like a train ride. In order for it to be an enjoyable trip, you must include the necessary parts to make it feel like a smooth ride!
You need to include cohesive devices to link your sentences and paragraphs together smoothly so that there are no abrupt jumps or breaks between ideas. You don’t want your essay to jump off the tracks!!!!
Cohesive words and phrases are used to
link sentences and paragraphs, to show which direction your thought patterns are going, to help the reader accurately follow your train of thought.

3. Three cohesive devices you MUST
use for a SMOOTH ride: 1.
Hooks 2.
Transitions 3.
Conclusions

4. HOOKS The lead (beginning or introduction) establishes
the direction your writing will take. A good lead grabs your reader's attention and refuses to let
go. In other words, it hooks the reader.
Hooking a reader when you are writing an essay is just as important as a movie trailer is to the success of the movie. You want to give “a little bit” of the content, but you really want them to “buy the ticket.”
The following slides will give you several types of hooks that you can use when writing your essays.

5. Create a picture (snapshot) in the reader’s mind
Hook examples:
In Media Res
(Action Lead)
Jump into the middle of the action and leave readers wanting more
Uncle Donald dropped his teeth in the chicken and rice soup, and there they were grinning stupidly up at us, like they were about to start yammering about how salty the soup was.
Snapshot Lead
(Imagery)
Create a picture (snapshot) in the reader’s mind
Abe Lincoln wasn’t the sort of man who could lose himself in a crowd. After all, he stood 6 foot 4 inches tall, and to top it off, he wore a stovepipe hat. His height was mostly in his long bony legs, and when he sat in a chair, he seemed no taller than anyone else.

6. Dialogue / Quotation Misleading Lead
Start with a line or two of dialogue
John F. Kennedy once said, "Ask not what your country can do
for you, ask what you can do for your country." I think today's Americans have forgotten Kennedy's message. We expect our country to take care of us, but we are not taking care of our country.
Misleading Lead
Set up expectations, then surprise the reader
I would like to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, not terrified and screaming like the other people in the car he was driving.

7. Figurative Language Command the Reader
Use figurative language to create interest.
Tardies have overtaken our schools like cancer. (simile)
Tardies have become the pimple on our school’s otherwise clear complexion. (metaphor)
The bell screams for the students to return to class but his calls are left unanswered. (personification)
Command
the Reader
Tell reader what to do; make a command statement.
Never try to outsmart a skunk.
Don’t talk to strangers, unless they happen to be your parents.

8. Flaunt research Theme Lead
Start with a startling fact
A dog's nose print is as unique as a human's fingerprint and can be used to accurately identify him.
A shrimp’s heart is in its head.
Theme Lead
Start with a common theme that a reader can identify with
It was a battle with nature, and nature won.
True friends are hard to find.

9. TRANSITIONS
There are several types of transitions, and each category leads your reader to make certain connections or assumptions about the areas you are connecting.
Some lead your reader forward and imply the "building" of an idea or thought,
while others make your reader compare ideas or draw conclusions from the preceding thoughts.

10. To signal relation in time:
Before, meanwhile, later, soon, at last, earlier, thereafter, afterward, by that time, from then on, first, next, now, presently, shortly, immediately, finally

11. Likewise, similarly, once again, once more
To signal similarity:
Likewise, similarly, once again, once more
To signal difference:
But, yet, however, although, whereas, though, even so, nonetheless, still, on the other hand, on the contrary

12. To signal consequences:
As a result, consequently, therefore, hence, for this reason
Example:
I knew my dieting had gotten out of hand, but when I could actually see the movement of my heart beating beneath my clothes, I knew that I was in trouble. At first, the family doctor reassured my parents that my rapid weight loss was a “temporary phase among teenage girls.” However, when I, at fourteen years old and five feet tall, weighed in at 63 pounds, my doctor…

13. Paragraph Transitions
Transition words or phrases are audience cues that help the reader shift from one paragraph to the next.
These connections between paragraphs help the reader see the relationships of the various parts.
Transition words or phrases at the beginning of a new paragraph—such as first, next, another, finally, on the other hand, however—show the reader where the essay is going next.

14. CONCLUSIONS A conclusion should:
Conclusions are often the most difficult part of an essay to write, and many writers feel that they have nothing left to say after having written the bulk of an essay. A writer needs to keep in mind that the conclusion is often what a reader remembers best. Your conclusion must be strong.
A conclusion should:
1. Stress the importance of the thesis statement.
2. Give the essay a sense of completeness.
3. Leave a final impression on the reader.

15. Conclusion Suggestions
Answer the question "So What?" Show your readers why this paper was important. Show them that your paper was meaningful and useful.
Synthesize, don't summarize
Don't simply repeat things that were in your paper. They have read it. Show them how the points you made and the support and examples you used were not random, but fit together.
Redirect your readers
Give your reader something to think about, perhaps a way to use your paper in the "real" world. If your introduction went from general to specific, make your conclusion go from specific to general. Think globally.
Create a new meaning
You don't have to give new information to create a new meaning. By demonstrating how your ideas work together, you can create a new picture. Often the sum of the paper is worth more than its parts.

16. Strategies
Echoing the introduction: Echoing your introduction can be a good strategy if it is meant to bring the reader full-circle. If you begin by describing a scenario, you can end with the same scenario as proof that your essay was helpful in creating a new understanding.
Example:
Introduction
From the parking lot, I could see the towers of the castle of the Magic Kingdom standing stately against the blue sky. To the right, the tall peak of The Matterhorn rose even higher. From the left, I could hear the jungle sounds of Adventureland. As I entered the gate, Main Street stretched before me with its quaint shops evoking an old-fashioned small town so charming it could never have existed. I was entranced. Disneyland may have been built for children, but it brings out the child in adults.
Conclusion
I thought I would spend a few hours at Disneyland, but here I was at 1:00 A.M., closing time, leaving the front gates with the now dark towers of the Magic Kingdom behind me. I could see tired children, toddling along and struggling to keep their eyes open as best they could. Others slept in their parents' arms as we waited for the parking lot tram that would take us to our cars. My forty-year-old feet ached, and I felt a bit sad to think that in a couple of days I would be leaving California, my vacation over, to go back to my desk. But then I smiled to think that for at least a day I felt ten years old again.

17. Challenging the reader:
By issuing a challenge to your readers, you are helping them to redirect the information in the paper, and they may apply it to their own lives.
Example:
Though serving on a jury is not only a civic responsibility but also an interesting experience, many people still view jury duty as a chore that interrupts their jobs and the routine of their daily lives. However, juries are part of America's attempt to be a free and just society. Therefore, jury duty challenges us to be interested and responsible citizens.

18. Looking to the future:
Looking to the future can emphasize the importance of your paper or redirect the readers' thought process. It may help them apply the new information to their lives or see things more globally.
Example:
Without well-qualified teachers, schools are little more than buildings and equipment. If higher-paying careers continue to attract the best and the brightest students, there will not only be a shortage of teachers, but the teachers available may not have the best qualifications. Our youth will suffer. And when youth suffers, the future suffers.

19. Posing questions:
Posing questions, either to your readers or in general, may help your readers gain a new perspective on the topic, which they may not have held before reading your conclusion. It may also bring your main ideas together to create a new meaning.
Example:
Campaign advertisements should help us understand the candidate's qualifications and positions on the issues. Instead, most tell us what a boob or knave the opposing candidate is, or they present general images of the candidate as a family person or God-fearing American. Do such advertisements contribute to creating an informed electorate or a people who choose political leaders the same way they choose soft drinks and soap?

20. Hooks Hopefully you can now see how using effective hooks, transitions
and conclusions will keep your essay on the right track and create a SMOOTH ride all the way to an exceptional essay!
Hooks
Transitions
Conclusions