Timed Writing

1
Timed Writing

• Understanding the Prompts, Tips, and Scoring
• Adapted from Laying the Foundation

2
Writing Essay Prompts

• There are two types of prompts
• Literary analysis questions which test the
  ability to use concrete evidence (e.g. DIDLS) to
  analyze an abstract idea or concept
• Open-ended prompts require you to write a
  persuasive paper in response to a quote or idea
  drawing knowledge from readings, observations,
  studies, and experience to defend, challenge, or
  qualify an assertion.

3
Writing Essay Prompts

• Sample AP Language Prompt
• Read carefully the following autobiographical
  narrative by Gary Soto. Then, in a well-written
  essay, analyze some of the ways in which Soto
  recreates the experience of his guilty
  six-year-old self. You might consider such
  devices as contrast, repetition, pacing, diction,
  and imagery.

4
Writing Essay Prompt

• Sample AP Literature Prompts
• Read the following poem carefully. Then, in a
  well organized essay, analyze how the speaker
  uses the varied imagery of the poem to reveal his
  attitude toward the nature of love.
• Read the following passage carefully. Then, in a
  well-developed essay, explain how the word choice
  creates a somber mood.

5
Writing Essay Prompts

• Sample Open-Ended Essay Prompt
• In The Most Dangerous Game, Rainford says, The
  world is made up of two classes - the hunters and
  the huntees. In a carefully reasoned essay,
  analyze this assertion and then defend,
  challenge, or qualify this statement. Use
  evidence from your observations, experience, or
  reading to develop your position.

6
Writing Essay Format

• The stages for putting it all together
• Assertion
• Introduction to the quotation
• Quotation that proves or backs up the assertion
• Transitional phrase to next quotation (if
  necessary)
• Second quotation (if necessary)
• Documentation of quotation
• Commentary on the quotation

7
Writing Essay Format

• Meg has a tendency to jump to conclusions and
  to assume the worst about anything that happens.
  When she realizes that her father has resued her
  from It, the giant evil brain, but that he is
  powerless to retrieve her brother, Charles
  Wallace, from the planet of Camazotz, she lashes
  out at him in despair, complaining bitterly, You
  dont even know where we are! She continues,
  Well never see mother or the twins again! We
  dont even know where earth is! Or even where
  Camazotz is! Were lost out in space! (LEngle
  172). With this statement, Meg acknowledges her
  beloved fathers imperfections and takes a step
  toward adulthood by realizing that in some
  situations, even parents are not all powerful.

8
Writing Essay Format

• Include in the introduction
• A clear thesis
• A personal reflection
• An explanation of the thesis
• A startling statement
• A rhetorical question
• A quotation related to the topic
• An idea to be refuted
• An anecdote

9
Writing Essay Format

• Include in the conclusion
• A call for action
• A quotation illustrating the main point
• A question
• A statement of the subjects overall significance
• A useful analogy or comparison
• A speculation about what the thesis implies for
  the future

10
Writing Essay Tips

• Note the start and end time at the top of the
  page, then spend half of the time analyzing the
  prompt, reading the passage, and planning the
  essay.
• Read the passage for understanding, asking the
  who, what, when, where, and why questions and
  keeping the prompt in mind at all times.

11
Writing Essay Tips

• Read the prompt carefully
• For literary analysis questions identify the
  abstract concept and the concrete devices the
  prompt specifies you use
• For open-ended persuasive questions identify the
  topic, brainstorm the pros and cons, support with
  links to literature and history where possible

12
Writing Essay Tips

• Reread and mark the passage focusing on concrete
  devices that create the abstract concept.
• Jot notes in the margins as you read. You may
  forget some of the points you want to make if you
  dont.
• Follow the format introduction, body paragraphs
  with clear assertions/evidence/commentary, and a
  conclusion.

13
Writing Essay Tips

• Write a concise introduction that answers the
  question
• ATTT - include the author, title, type of
  selection, and time period information
• AQA - Answer the question asked. Dont just
  restate the prompt.

14
Writing Essay Tips

• Focus on your commentary
• Your insight and understanding of the literature,
  as well as how you make the connections called
  for in the prompt, are what the author will
  evaluate.
• You do not have to follow the 11-sentence five
  paragraph essay structure, but be sure to balance
  evidence with interpretation, and develop the
  body fully.
• Make sure you answer the question! Focus on the
  prompt!

15
Writing Essay Tips

• Your conclusion must be worth reading
• Do not merely repeat what has already been stated
  in the essay.
• Your conclusion should reflect an understanding
  of the passage, the question, and the authors
  craft.
• Be sure to address the theme, or meaning, in your
  conclusion. Try to find the universal element or
  truth that relates to the passage or prompt and
  ties it all together.