When you come in… Bellringer: You will need your composition notebooks. Add to

yesterday’s bellringer response or create an outline using the format that I showed you in yesterday’s notes. Prompt: Explain the importance of decisions.

Today we are… Reviewing the guidelines for the expository essay and taking

our first step toward improving our score by learning how to better tackle the prompt

Activities… Expository writing review lesson – tips of the trade Outline your expository essay. Combining sentences # 2 WS

When you leave you should be able to… Target the important information in a STAAR Expository

prompt. Choose examples for the Expository Essay that are unique and

insightful Quickly outline my Expository Essay to improve organization

The expository essay is the ESSAY.

You will have 26 lines, or 1750 characters with spaces. You may not double up on the lines and you may not write outside of the box.

Your goal is to get a 3 or a 4 on both of your essays. If you are aiming for one of the more prestigious graduation plans, you should definitely go for a 4!

Clear organizational structure

Consistent focus on developing thesis

Ideas easy to follow Clear & effective

connections and transitions

Lapses in focus Weak thesis Inconsistent or weak

connections between ideas/details

Serious disruptions with repetition or wordiness

SCORE 4 POSSIBLE SCORE LIMITATIONS

Ideas developed with specific, well-chosen details & examples

Writing is thoughtful, engaging, authentic

Ideas & examples reflect your unique experiences or view of the world

Ideas connected in interesting ways

Details & examples may not be appropriate or are too briefly or partially presented

Details and examples may be vague, or insufficient

Writing may be formulaic rather than thoughtful

SCORE 4 POSSIBLE SCORE LIMITATIONS

Purposeful, precise word choice

Effective tone for task Controlled sentences Consistent command

of sentence boundaries, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and usage conventions

Imprecise or vague word choice

Awkward or uncontrolled sentences

Simplistic sentences Errors (“command”)

interfere with fluency or meaning

SCORE 4 POSSIBLE SCORE LIMITATIONS

We will address the following:

How do I read the actual prompt? What’s important? What should I focus on?

How do I choose examples to use in my essay? What are the best examples? How do I know if my examples are unique or cliché? How many examples do I need?

How do I create an outline for my essay in a short amount of time? How can I get the most out of my outline?

READ the information in the box below.

It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.

- Roy Disney

THINK carefully about these statements.

The ability to make effective decisions is a fundamental life skill. In a critical situation, the decisions one makes can be the difference between success and failure, or even life and death.

WRITE an essay explaining the importance of making good decisions.

Many students find the READ, THINK, WRITE format to be very overwhelming and confusing.

Students tend to focus on the quote (Roy Disney) rather than what they are actually supposed to be writing about.

IF YOU ARE EVER OVERWHELMED OR CONFUSED, I recommend…

READ the information in the box below.

It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.

- Roy Disney

THINK carefully about these statements.

The ability to make effective decisions is a fundamental life skill. In a critical situation, the decisions one makes can be the difference between success and failure, or even life and death.

WRITE an essay explaining the importance of making good decisions. (Note: read the prompt several times to make sure you understand it)

WRITE an essay explaining the importance of making good decisions.

First, I would focus on making a list of examples that you could use to answer this prompt.

Remember, though, that some of the examples you come up with FIRST will also be the examples everyone else comes up with!

Also remember that you MUST EXPLAIN your examples in detail. DO NOT JUST LIST A BUNCH OF EXAMPLES.

Because you need to explain them, you probably only need 2 or 3 insightful examples. (Get “Expository examples” handout/also posted under file manager on my staff profile)

Making bad decisions involving drugs and alcohol can affect your life negatively, and even kill you or the people around you.

Making the good decision to study for school or do your homework can ensure that you get good grades and get into the college of your choice.

That’s not true!

You are a unique person with a unique world view! You are not cliché! You are full of interesting, 4 level examples!

facts and examples reasonssteps in a processanalogies incidentsdefinitionssimilaritiesdifferencescauses and effects

Unique examples from my life (think about difficult decisions you have had to make that others may not have!)

Important examples from history

Interesting examples from the news

Under each category, try to list at least three examples that you feel comfortable talking about. You can reuse examples from your original essay (bellringer response) if they are good ones. You have 5 minutes to come up with these 9 examples. Use the “Expository Examples” handout if needed.

Cross off any examples that you think are overused, or that you are simply not educated enough to write about successfully.

Circle two or three examples that you feel like you can write about with a lot of explanation and detail, and that you feel very knowledgeable about.

These examples will be the ones you use for your actual essay!

The most important of these is your THESIS STATEMENT.

Look at your examples. What do they say about the importance of making good decisions? The answer to that question is your thesis statement.

It is important to make good decisions because…

THIS MUST BE THE LAST SENTENCE IN YOUR INTRO.

Now that you have a thesis statement and some insightful examples, you need to think of how those ideas should be organized. You have some choices with expository writing!

Introduction Gives general background

information, or context, for your reader

Ends with a thesis statement that clearly explains what your essay will discuss

Body Paragraphs Begin with a topic sentence that

links back to your thesis Include examples that support

that topic sentence Conclusion

Begins with a restatement of your thesis in different words

Ends by answering the question, “So what?” or making a connection to a bigger picture

THESIS STATEMENT

TOPIC SENTENCE-Example with explanation- Example with explanation- Example with explanation

BACKGROUND INFO

THESIS STATEMENT

SO WHAT?

Quickly jot up an outline for this essay on the back of the same piece of notebook paper where you listed your examples and copied down the prompt. You can use this format if you like:

Introduction Hook/Background Info: __________________________________________ THESIS STATEMENT: ___________________________________________

Body Paragraph(s) Topic Sentence: ________________________________________________

▪ Example: ___________________________________________________________________▪ Example: ___________________________________________________________________▪ Example: ___________________________________________________________________

Conclusion Repeat thesis in original words:

___________________________________ Make a connection to the world at large!

___________________________________________________________________________________________

IT IS NOT YOUR ACTUAL ESSAY

The MEAT of your essay sandwich is your examples.

YOU MUST ACTUALLY EXPLAIN THEM IN DEPTH. Never just list them like they are on your outline.

When you come in… Bellringer: Combining Sentences WS is on the podium

Today we are… Writing an expository essay about the importance of making good

decisions Revising the expository essay making it more concise and precise

Activities… Organize the outline for your expository essay. (1st & 2nd period go

over Side # 2 of the Expository Examples handout) Combining sentences #s 1 or 2 WS(#s 1 & 2 for 6th & 7th periods)

When you leave you should be able to… Write an expository essay for the EOC test Combine sentences for revision Revise to make your writing more concise and precise

Remember to make sure your outline is complete and organized

Do not double up on the linesDo not write outside of the boxGet a concise and precise handout to

keep in mind as your are writing your essay. Make sure your revise your essay before turning it in! (you can find this handout on my staff profile under file manager)