Essay Writing
What is the EXPECTATION for before you write your MCAS essay?
That you will make a graphic organizer
What does “narrative” mean?
A story
What does “cause and effect” mean?
Cause = why something happens
Effect = what happens
You use ____________________ to figure out the meaning of a word you don’t know in a sentence.
context clues
What is the comparative and superlative form of “quick”?
quicker
quickest
What is the minimum number of paragraphs that your final essay should be?
MINIMUM of 3
What does “perspective” or “point of view” mean?
Which character is telling the story (ex. Write this from the Mom's point of view)
OR
What point the story is written from (ex. 1st person, 3rd person, 3rd person omniscient)
In a nonfiction piece of writing, what text features can help you understand the reading?
Section headings, subheadings, pictures, captions, graphs
When you see a little number next to a word, that means you should look _____________ for the definition.
In the footnotes/ at the bottom of the page
Connotation is the _________ or ___________ feeling you get from a word.
positive or negative
If an essay asks you to contrast - what are you doing?
Telling the differences
List 3 components that a narrative must have.
Any of these: characters, setting, plot events, climax, conclusion
_____________ + ______________ = an inference
When answering multiple choice, what should you do with answers you KNOW are incorrect?
cross them out / eliminate them
List 5 adverbs.
There are many. Some examples include:
quickly, slowly, well, loudly, sharply
What part of the paragraph plan would these sentences be?
In this part of the story, Melody is hurt that Rose acted differently in front of Claire and Molly. The evidence shows how Melody feels, because she is second-guessing whether Rose had fun with her or not.
Explaining evidence
Correctly format this piece of dialogue on your white board:
well mom said maybe you shouldn’t be trying to hurt your brother every day
"Well," mom said, "maybe you shouldn't be trying to hurt your brother every day!"
What are the 3 types of connections you could make to a piece of writing?
text to text
text to self
text to world
How do you know when to write an essay or write a narrative?
The directions (i.e. write a NARRATIVE from the mom's point of view)
The "hints" (include character, setting, events OR "use evidence from both texts to support your answer")
How are poems organized?
In stanzas
Sometimes in rhyme patterns
List the components of the paragraph plan in order.
TTQA, Answer, Evidence, Explain evidence, Conclusion
Why would the MCAS ask you to write a narrative from a different perspective?
To make sure you understand the story on a deeper level, and can rewrite it with another character's thoughts and feelings in mind.
What is theme? Give 3 examples.
The message of a text
Examples: acceptance, courage, perseverance, cooperation, importance of family, betrayal, etc.
What should you do if you have no idea how to answer an open response question?
reread question
look at directions and HINTS - figure out essay or narrative
reread passage
pick out words do you know and use those to try to work out the meaning of the question
start a graphic organizer
Correct this sentence:
won day mrs Walker decyded to by another puppy but mr walker was appalled by the idea
One day, Mrs. Walker decided to buy another puppy, but Mr. Walker was appalled by the idea.