Expository Writing Ninth grade EOC writing test: expository essay + field test expository essay...

A word from the state…

Expository Writing

• Ninth grade EOC writing test: expository essay + field test expository essay

• Write expository (analytical) texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes. – The expository must have effective introductory and

concluding paragraphs, use a variety of sentence structures, rhetorical devices and transitions, as well as maintain a controlling idea or thesis, appropriately organized structure for the audience and the context, and it must use relevant information and make valid inferences.

-- Reporting Category 4: Composition 15A for Expository Texts

Expository Writing

• “We want students to explain the importance of something.” – Martha Scarborough, Pearson

• The charges are scaffold now: ReadThinkWrite.– READ: a stimulus will be given (The essay does not have to

be about the stimulus. It is all about the charge.)– THINK: teacher-talk question and the charge– WRITE: student explanation in written form following the

“helpful tips.” Students must explain the charge using either• Personal experiences to explain in anecdotal details• Philosophical responses to explain the importance of something

(“We LOVE this!”—Martha Scarborough, Pearson)• Information from what the student has learned in life or in school

Expository Writing

• Students must clearly state the thesis, organize ideas, and develop those ideas in their expository texts.

• No persuasion will be accepted; it’s all explanatory writing in this section.

• Students will only be held accountable for responding to the charge, not the stimulus.

Remember!

• The expository must have effective introductory and concluding paragraphs, use a variety of sentence structures, rhetorical devices and transitions, as well as maintain a controlling idea or thesis, appropriately organized structure for the audience and the context, and it must use relevant information and make valid inferences.

stimulus

think

promp

t

details, examples, universal truths26

lines

main idea

Create an outline for your essay.

Intro.

• Lead:• Thesis:• Example:

Example(body)

• (P)• (E)

• (Details)• (Details)• (Details)

• (L)

Concl.

• Re-word thesis• Leave reader with something to think about

Example:

*(E)

Intro.

• Lead: a personal scenario• Thesis: cell phone (positive effect on lives)• Example: driving safety

Example(body)

• (P) Need help because car is broken down on the side of the road• (E) Female (me--alone)

• (Details) Night (dark highway)• (Details) Unable to make repair

• (E) Calls for help using cell phone• (L) Concluding sentence

Concl.

• Re-word thesis• Universal truth• Leave reader with something to think about

Example:

How did you outline your

essay?

Prewriting is the roadmap that will help you to plan your “trip,” which is your written, score-point three essay!

1. Understand the prompt and stay on topic.

2. Understand what the prompt is asking.

3. Read the prompt carefully, and, often several times, circling key words.

4. Identify how many parts there are to the question.

5. Collect your thoughts.6. Keep track of time.7. Organize your ideas.8. Use specific details to

support your thesis statement.

9. Use appropriate transitions to connect ideas (guide your reader).

10. Stay focused on a consistent central idea while answering the prompt.

11. Leave time to revise.12. Believe in yourself!

12

Youis dead.

Boring Sentences

Exciting Sentences

OPTIONAL

topic

sentenceconclusion

sentence

detailsexperiencefacts

BODY PARAGRAPH(S)

“Connectors”

• Use the “Connectors” chart to help you accurately use transitions words in your writing.

• This chart will be placed in your folder for future use after today’s writing assignment.

Introduction Body #1

Body #2 Conclusion

(TRANSITIONS)

Expository Essay Outline(another form of pre-writing)

FIRST, NEXT,FINALLY,

IN CONCLUSION,

detailsdetailsdetails

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examples

Expository Essay Example 1

Findings suggest that watching too much TV is as detrimental to longevity as smoking and lack of exercise. Previous research has shown that smoking is associated with a four-year reduction in life expectancy after the age of fifty. That works out to an average eleven minutes of life lost for every cigarette smoked, which is the equivalent to thirty minutes of TV time.

Think carefully about how unhealthy habits can cause people to die at earlier ages than those who lead healthier lifestyles.

Write an essay explaining why living healthily is important.

Be sure to – • Clearly state your thesis• Organize and develop your ideas effectively• Choose your words carefully• Edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling

Read the information in the box below.

Example:Dissect this essay and score it.

Example:Dissect this essay and score it.

Universal truth

Lead/hook/attention-getter

Thesis statement (main idea)

Informative statement

Problems w/ examples

Solutions w/ details

Informative statement

Conclusion Clincher

Did the writer score a “3” or a “4”? make every word and line count (24-26 lines must be used) strong THESIS STATEMENT in the introductory paragraph good ORGANIZATION: beginning, middle, and end strong CONCLUSION that leaves the reader saying, “I agree,” or “I want to know more” varied SENTENCE STRUCTURE (use very few simple sentences) use CONNECTORS/TRANSITIONAL words and phrases body should contain a SPECIFIC EXAMPLE(S) or ANTEDOTE(S) that you develop and tell

many DETAILS about it and relate it back to prompt (this is what will make your paper UNIQUE)

every sentence should TELL MORE about your thesis/specific example(s) but should NEVER REPEAT (do not say the same thing over and over again)

use STRONG VERBS and DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE the essay must be FOCUSED and STAYS ON TOPIC (every idea relates to your thesis

statement) Easy to UNDERSTAND and to FOLLOW mature handwriting (no chicken scratch) include QUOTES or truisms (truisms are UNIVERSAL TRUTHS that most everyone agrees

with– like on motivational posters)

Score Point 4

Expository Essay Example 2

“Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.”--A.A. Milne

First impressions can sometimes be misleading. Think carefully about this statement.

Write an essay explaining the importance of getting to know people before forming an opinion about them.

Be sure to – • Clearly state your thesis• Organize and develop your ideas effectively• Choose your words carefully• Edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling

Read the information in the box below.

Example:Dissect this essay and score it.

Example:Lead/hook/attention-getter

Thesis statement (main idea)

Point #1 w/ examples

Point #2 w/ examples

Point #3 w/ exampleor is it the conclusion?

Universal truth

Did the writer score a “3” or a “4”? NO. Why? make every word and line count (24-26 lines must be used) strong THESIS STATEMENT in the introductory paragraph good ORGANIZATION: beginning, middle, and end strong CONCLUSION that leaves the reader saying, “I agree,” or “I want to know more” varied SENTENCE STRUCTURE (use very few simple sentences) use CONNECTORS/TRANSITIONAL words and phrases body should contain a SPECIFIC EXAMPLE(S) or ANTEDOTE(S) that you develop and tell

many DETAILS about it and relate it back to prompt (this is what will make your paper UNIQUE)

every sentence should TELL MORE about your thesis/specific example(s) but should NEVER REPEAT (do not say the same thing over and over again)

use STRONG VERBS and DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE the essay must be FOCUSED and STAYS ON TOPIC (every idea relates to your thesis

statement) Easy to UNDERSTAND and to FOLLOW mature handwriting (no chicken scratch) include QUOTES or truisms (truisms are UNIVERSAL TRUTHS that most everyone agrees

with– like on motivational posters)

Expository Essay Example 3

“A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship.” ― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.”-- Elbert Hubbard

Think about the important people in your life and the traits that they possess which make them real friends.

Write an essay explaining the qualities of a true friend.

Be sure to – • Clearly state your thesis• Organize and develop your ideas effectively• Choose your words carefully• Edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling

Read the information in the box below.

make EVERY WORD AND LINE COUNT

strong THESIS STATEMENT good ORGANIZATION strong CONCLUSION varied SENTENCE STRUCTURE Use CONNECTORS/TRANSITIONAL

words and phrases body should contain a SPECIFIC

EXAMPLE(S) and tell many DETAILS every sentence should TELL MORE

about your thesis/specific example(s) but should NEVER REPEAT

use STRONG VERBS and DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE

STAYS ON TOPIC Easy to UNDERSTAND and to

FOLLOW MATURE HANDWRITING include QUOTES or UNIVERSAL

TRUTHS

??

?

Score Point 3, maybe…“Maybe?”

What do you mean maybe?

Expository Essay Example 4

In wartime, conventional notions of morality and legality are continually tested. Throughout The Book Thief, the main characters must make decisions about how to behave, and these decisions usually prove fateful.

How do you think you would act if the laws of the U.S.A. dictated that you had to treat others who are unlike you unfairly? (people with handicaps, or the homeless, or people of different races, political beliefs, or religious backgrounds)

Write an essay explaining why is it important to treat people fairly.

Be sure to – • Clearly state your thesis• Organize and develop your ideas effectively• Choose your words carefully• Edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling

Read the information in the box below.

Score the Essay: make every word and line count (24-26 lines must be used) strong THESIS STATEMENT in the introductory paragraph good ORGANIZATION: beginning, middle, and end strong CONCLUSION that leaves the reader saying, “I agree,” or “I want to know more” varied SENTENCE STRUCTURE (use very few simple sentences) use CONNECTORS/TRANSITIONAL words and phrases body should contain a SPECIFIC EXAMPLE(S) or ANTEDOTE(S) that you develop and tell

many DETAILS about it and relate it back to prompt (this is what will make your paper UNIQUE)

every sentence should TELL MORE about your thesis/specific example(s) but should NEVER REPEAT (do not say the same thing over and over again)

use STRONG VERBS and DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE the essay must be FOCUSED and STAYS ON TOPIC (every idea relates to your thesis

statement) East to UNDERSTAND and to FOLLOW mature handwriting (no chicken scratch) include QUOTES or truisms (truisms are UNIVERSAL TRUTHS that most everyone agrees

with– like on motivational posters)

Score Point 1

recall

Expository Writing

• Ninth grade EOC writing test: expository essay + field test expository essay

• Write expository (analytical) texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes. – The expository must have effective introductory and

concluding paragraphs, use a variety of sentence structures, rhetorical devices and transitions, as well as maintain a controlling idea or thesis, appropriately organized structure for the audience and the context, and it must use relevant information and make valid inferences.

-- Reporting Category 4: Composition 15A for Expository Texts

Expository Writing

• “We want students to explain the importance of something.” – Martha Scarborough, Pearson

• The charges are scaffold now: ReadThinkWrite.– READ: a stimulus will be given (The essay does not have to

be about the stimulus. It is all about the charge.)– THINK: teacher-talk question and the charge– WRITE: student explanation in written form following the

“helpful tips.” Students must explain the charge using either• Personal experiences to explain in anecdotal details• Philosophical responses to explain the importance of something

(“We LOVE this!”—Martha Scarborough, Pearson)• Information from what the student has learned in life or in school

Expository Writing

• Students must clearly state the thesis, organize ideas, and develop those ideas in their expository texts.

• No persuasion will be accepted; it’s all explanatory writing in this section.

• Students will only be held accountable for responding to the charge, not the stimulus.

Remember!

• The expository must have effective introductory and concluding paragraphs, use a variety of sentence structures, rhetorical devices and transitions, as well as maintain a controlling idea or thesis, appropriately organized structure for the audience and the context, and it must use relevant information and make valid inferences.

Prewriting is the roadmap that will help you to plan your “trip,” which is your written, score-point three essay!

1. Understand the prompt and stay on topic.

2. Understand what the prompt is asking.

3. Read the prompt carefully, and, often several times, circling key words.

4. Identify how many parts there are to the question.

5. Collect your thoughts.6. Keep track of time.7. Organize your ideas.8. Use specific details to

support your thesis statement.

9. Use appropriate transitions to connect ideas (guide your reader).

10. Stay focused on a consistent central idea while answering the prompt.

11. Leave time to revise.12. Believe in yourself!

12

Youis dead.

Boring Sentences

Exciting Sentences

OPTIONAL

topic

sentenceconclusion

sentence

detailsexperiencefacts

BODY PARAGRAPH(S)

“Connectors”

• Use the “Connectors” chart to help you accurately use transitions words in your writing.

• This chart will be placed in your folder for future use after today’s writing assignment.

Introduction Body #1

Body #2 Conclusion

(TRANSITIONS)

Expository Essay Outline(another form of pre-writing)

FIRST, NEXT,FINALLY,

IN CONCLUSION,

detailsdetailsdetails

Wor

d ch

oice

is v

ery

impo

rtan

t. D

on’t

repe

at.

merrily

practices

You have _________ minutes to write the

essay.

Expository Essay 1

“Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down…”--Mary Poppins

Sometimes in life, we realize that it’s the “sweeter things,” the more uncomplicated and less stressful things, that make the world that we live in a simpler place and easier to enjoy. What do you think about or what do you do in order to make your circumstances more bearable when life gets a little tough?

Write an essay explaining why it is important to have a hobby.

Be sure to – • Clearly state your thesis• Organize and develop your ideas effectively• Choose your words carefully• Edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling

Read the information in the box below.

Expository Essay 1

“Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down…”--Mary Poppins

Sometimes in life, we realize that it’s the “sweeter things,” the more uncomplicated and less stressful things, that make the world that we live in a simpler place and easier to enjoy. What do you think about or what do you do in order to make your circumstances more bearable when life gets a little tough?

Write an essay explaining why it is important to have a hobby.

Be sure to – • Clearly state your thesis• Organize and develop your ideas effectively• Choose your words carefully• Edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling

Read the information in the box below.

stim

ulus

think

promp

t

details, examples, universal truths26

lines

main idea

Expository Essay 2

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.

--John Quincy Adams

There are many qualities that make someone a good leader. Think about people who you know that have a talent for leadership. What qualities and/or behaviors make them effective leaders?

Write an essay explaining what makes a person a good leader.

Be sure to – • Clearly state your thesis• Organize and develop your ideas effectively• Choose your words carefully• Edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling

Read the information in the box below.

Expository Essay 2

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.

--John Quincy Adams

There are many qualities that make someone a good leader. Think about people who you know that have a talent for leadership. What qualities and/or behaviors make them effective leaders?

Write an essay explaining what makes a person a good leader.

Be sure to – • Clearly state your thesis• Organize and develop your ideas effectively• Choose your words carefully• Edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling

Read the information in the box below.

stim

ulus

think

promp

t

details, examples, and explanationsyou only have 26 lines—make every

word count

main idea

Expository Essay 3

Edgar Allan Poe, author of many famous works like “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Raven,” and “Annabel Lee,” is considered a great American writer. His works continue to sell, and they are widely read and studied in schools everywhere. However, Poe never received much recognition for his accomplished writing while he was alive.

Should people do things only to be recognized? Think carefully about this question.

Write an essay explaining whether a person must always be acknowledged in order to have “accomplished” something.

Be sure to – • Clearly state your thesis• Organize and develop your ideas effectively• Choose your words carefully• Edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling

Read the information in the box below.

Expository Essay 3

Edgar Allan Poe, author of many famous works like “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Raven,” and “Annabel Lee,” is considered a great American writer. His works continue to sell, and they are widely read and studied in schools everywhere. However, Poe never received much recognition for his accomplished writing while he was alive.

Should people do things only to be recognized? Think carefully about this question.

Write an essay explaining whether a person must always be acknowledged in order to have “accomplished” something. "The Secret Auden" (an example)

Be sure to – • Clearly state your thesis• Organize and develop your ideas effectively• Choose your words carefully• Edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling

Read the information in the box below.

stim

ulus

think

promp

t

details, examples, and explanationsyou only have 26 lines—make every

word count

main idea