MCAS Writing/Grammar Practice!

Essay Structure

100

Your introduction should be HOT! What does the acronym HOT stand for? 

Hook, Overview, Thesis 

200

What is a thesis statement? 

It answers the writing prompt & explains what your essay will be about. 

300

You should always TAG your introduction.  What does TAG stand for? 

Title, Author, Genre 

400

You should use TIDE to write your body paragraph.  What does TIDE stand for? 

Topic, Important Evidence, Detailed Examination, End 

500

Your conclusion paragraph should include 3 things, what are they? 

Transition

Restatement of your thesis 

Summary of your main points 

Writing Tips

100

You should include an overview of each excerpt in your introduction.  What is an overview? 

It is a brief summary. 

200

You should _________  the beginning of each paragraph.  

indent

300

In your introduction, you should TTQA.  What does TTQA mean?

Turn the Question Around 

400

Use ________ to begin each new paragraph or idea.  For example, The first example of, In addition, In conclusion, etc.

Transitions 

500

When writing an analysis, synthesis, or compare/contrast essay, you should avoid using ____ statements. 

I Statements

Grammar

100

Ur, gonna, and cuz are all examples of slang that are not grammatically correct.  Replace each example of slang with the correct spelling. 

Ur = Your or You're 

Gonna = Going to 

Cuz = Because

200

Author's names, character's names, and article titles are all examples of proper nouns that need to be _________. 

capitalized 

300

What should we do with the title of a poem, excerpt, or article? 

use quotation marks or italicize 

400

You should use a single tense throughout your essay.  What are the two tenses commonly used in writing?  

Past or Present

500

How many points on the MCAS rubric can be earned for spelling and grammar? 

3 Points 

Test Taking Strategies

100

What should you do before you begin reading the MCAS excerpts? 

Read the questions first so you know what information to be looking for. 

200

True or False: You should answer EVERY multiple choice question, even if you are not 100% sure of the answer. 

TRUE!

300

Before you move on from your essay, you should _________ to check for spelling and grammar mistakes. 

 proof-read

400

If a multiple choice question asks you to read a paragraph, you should also read the paragraph __________ and the paragraph _______ after it. 

Before AND After

500

List two of the tools that you can use on the MCAS test

Highlighter 

Question eliminator 

Bookmark

Miscellaneous

100

Define compare and contrast

Compare means to analyze similarities.

Contrast means to analyze differences. 

200

How many total points can you score on each essay? 

8 points 

5 - for ideas 

3 - for grammar and spelling

300

What does it mean to synthesize? 

Use evidence from all the passages to answer the question.

400

Explain what a persuasive essay is. 

The purpose of a persuasive essay is to convince your audience or argue your side of an issue.  

500

An essay where you pretend you are the character or write a new chapter, etc., is called a _________ essay. 

Narrative essay