Intro and Thesis
This acronym tells you the three essential things you must include in the very first sentence of your essay introduction.
What is TAG? (Title, Author, Genre)
These are the two precise transition words you must use to kick off Body Paragraph 1 and Body Paragraph 2.
What are "First" and "Second"?
This legendary Mexican boxer is considered one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the world today.
Who is Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez?
The ultimate app for sending quick pictures, keeping up "streaks" with friends, and checking the map to see who is hanging out around town.
What is Snapchat?
This beautifully animated Pixar film features Miguel traveling to the Land of the Dead on Día de los Muertos to find his great-great-grandfather.
What is Coco?
This is the most important sentence in your entire essay, and without it, your essay cannot pass.
What is the thesis statement?
This is what a student must physically put around any direct text evidence they copy word-for-word onto their paper.
What are quotation marks?
Making global history, this scientist and politician became the very first female President of Mexico.
Who is Claudia Sheinbaum?
The absolute king of short-form video where students scroll for hours watching viral dances, edits, and trends.
What is TikTok?
In the highest-grossing Marvel movie of all time, the remaining Avengers use time travel to undo the snap of Thanos and save the universe.
What is Avengers: Endgame?
This is the exact math-like formula used to construct a perfect STAAR informational thesis statement.
What is Restate the Prompt + Reason 1 + Reason 2?
This is the part of a body paragraph citation that tells the STAAR reader exactly where the evidence was located in the text.
What is the paragraph number?
Known as "El Divo de Juárez," this iconic singer and songwriter wrote legendary anthems like "Amor Eterno" and "Querida."
Who is Juan Gabriel?
The #1 app used by communities. For example in Roma to text and call relatives across the river in Miguel Alemán without using international cell data.
What is WhatsApp?
This hilarious, nostalgic 2000s parody film stars Marlon and Shawn Wayans and completely makes fun of popular horror films like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer.
What is Scary Movie?
If a STAAR informational article does not list a person's name as the writer, this is what you should do in your TAG sentence.
What is drop the author and just state the title and genre?
To get a high score on your explanation sentences, you must use synonyms for this specifc type of word found inside the prompt box
What is the focus word?
Widely regarded as the greatest Mexican soccer player of all time, this legendary forward starred for Real Madrid in the 1980s and was famous for his spectacular bicycle kicks.
Who is Hugo Sánchez?
This app is a favorite for students trying to buy or sell used trucks, trade, or look up local side-hustles without paying listing fees.
What is Facebook Marketplace?
Directed by Christopher Nolan, this mind-bending sci-fi blockbuster features Matthew McConaughey traveling through a wormhole near Saturn to save humanity while a giant tidal-wave planet tracks time exponentially faster than Earth.
What is Interstellar?
This 5-part reading strategy helps EBS students gather the information they need to write a perfect 2-to-3 sentence introductory text summary
What are the 5 Ws? (Who, Did What, Where, When, Why)
Instead of copying a massive three-line chunk of text, students should use this specific technique to grab only the heart of the quote.
What is shortening or trimming the quote?
This iconic Mexican painter is famous for her colorful self-portraits, traditional indigenous dresses, and her distinct unibrow.
Who is Frida Kahlo?
This app is used when you don't want to type a long paragraph for a reminder. You can simply listen to it back.
What is Voice Memos?
This legendary 1999 sci-fi movie features Keanu Reeves as Neo, a computer programmer who discovers that the entire human race is trapped inside a simulated reality run by machines, forcing him to choose between a red pill or a blue pill.
What is The Matrix?