HSPA Expository & Narrative Essays

What is Expository Writing?

·        Make a personal connection: use your life experiences to explain

·         Writing that is used to explain, describe, give information or inform.

·         Write as if the reader has NO CLUE of what you are writing about.  EXPLAIN AND JUSTIFY!

·         Use background knowledge

·         Be clear, use strong organization

For the HIGHEST HSPA SCORE…In the writing, students will need to:

·         Write 3 really good paragraphs: intro., body, conclusion / Intro. most important

·         Transitional Words: 3 or more different transitional words

·         Advanced Vocabulary:  6 or more high-level vocabulary

·         Guide the reader: your words need to guide the reader to a solid and clear answer

·         Use logical order

·         Use rhetorical questions

What is the HSPA Expository Essay?

·         http://www.state.nj.us/education/assessment/hs/ExpositoryWritingPrompt.pdf

·         http://www.thewritingsite.org/resources/genre/expository.asp

Expository Writing Tips:

·         http://www.sbac.edu/~idylwild/writingtips.html

Sample Expository Essay:

·         http://www2.asd.wednet.edu/pioneer/barnard/wri/essay_model.htm

Expository Writing Practice Tests:

·         http://www2.asd.wednet.edu/pioneer/barnard/wri/exp.htm

NARRATIVE WRITING:

·        Narrative = plot…a story

• Plot = Introduction (characters & setting), conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution
• Dialogue
• Literary Devices: Figurative Language (see Tuesday, December 7, 2010 in Ms. A ESL Blog)
• Theme = the message / what the author wants the reader to learn or understand

Tips for NARRATIVE writing:

• http://www.sbac.edu/~idylwild/narrativetips.html

Sample Narrative  Essay:

• http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/hacker/narrating.htm
• http://www.northland.cc.mn.us/owl/Doing%20the%20Narrative%20Essay.htm

Narrative Writing Activities:

• http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/storymap/ 

Narrative Writing Practice Test:

http://members.accessus.net/~bradley/narrativeprompts2.html