THE ESSAY

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THE ESSAY

• Mrs. Melody Melvin

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How to Do Your Best on the FCAT

• Study
• Practice Test
• Pacing and Timing
• Making an Educated Guess
• Feel Confident
• Think Positively
• Stay Focused

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About the Writing Section

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The Essay

• Your essay will show how well you can develop,
  support, and present your point of view.
• Good writing is marked by the strong development
  of ideas, the ability to connect to an audience,
  precise use of language, effective organization,
  and appropriate choices of evidence.

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What is required on the Essay?

• Understand the nature of the position taken in
  the prompt
• Take a specific stand (point of view) expository
  or persuasive style of writing
• Clearly and logically support your claim
• Handwriting must be legible

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Time Management

• 45 Minutes from start to finish
• 1-5 minutes reading and working the prompt
• 1-5 minutes deciding on a position (planning)
• 20-30 minutes writing the essay
• 2-5 minutes proofreading

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How the Essays Are Scored

• Rubric

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Approaching the Essay

• Working the prompt
• Read, reread, and deconstruct the prompt
• Underline or circle the essential elements of the
  prompt
• Write a thesis statement
• Refer specifically to the prompt (topic)
• Clearly state your position on the given issue
• Placement of the thesis is in the Introductory
  Paragraph, last sentence

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Develop the Body of the Essay

• Body Paragraphs
• First sentence, purpose is to state your first
  point to support your thesis (point 1/main
  idea/topic sentence)
• All following sentences should support the first
  sentence of that paragraph
• Examples
• Observations
• Anecdotes

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Conclusion

• Make it memorable
• Call to action
• Final plea
• Ask for action
• Bold statement

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Avoid Passive Language

• Be
• Being
• Been
• Am
• Is
• Are
• Were
• Was

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Forbidden words

• Very
• Really
• A lot
• Things
• Good
• Nice
• Pretty
• Fine
• Bad
• Beautiful
• Terrible
• Wonderful

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Use of Language

• Clear, precise, and appropriate vocabulary
• Action verbs
• Sensory Language
• Sight
• Sound
• Touch
• Smell
• Taste
• SHOW, DONT TELL