Final MCAS ESSAY Review

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Final MCAS ESSAY Review

• Remember our Class Intention
• 100 of students in Humanities 10 will pass the
  ELA portion of the MCAS!

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A few final questions to think about

• 1. In literature as in life, people often
  struggle to know the truth.
• Choose a work of literature that you have read
  in or out of school in which a character
  struggles to know the truth. In a well-developed
  composition identify the character who struggles
  to know the truth, describe his or her struggle,
  and explain how this struggle is importatnt to
  the work of literature.

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• 2. In literature as in life, teacher-student
  relationships are an essential way in which
  wisdom is passed down through generations.
• Using a work of literature you have read in or
  out of school, write a well-developed Composition
  in which you identify a teacher-student
  relationship and explain how it allows wisdom to
  be passed down through generations.

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• 3. Many works of literature involve a
  significant relationship between two individuals.
• Choose a work of literature you have read in or
  out of school in which there is a significant
  relationship between two individuals. In a
  well-developed composition identify the two
  characters, explain why their relationship is
  significant, and describe how this relationship
  is important to the work of literature.

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OUR MANDATORY WRITING PROCESS

• SESSION 1
• 1. Write Thesis
• 2. Check Thesis
• -Make sure it answers all parts of the question
  and is grammatically perfect.
• 3. Write 3 Supporting Idea Statements
• 4. Check 3 Supporting Idea Statements
• -Make sure they explicitly relate back to the
  thesis and prove part of the thesis.
• 5. Outline
• (Including notes on details, and a draft of the
  lead.)
• 6. Draft
• 7. Revise
• 8. Edit

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Writing Process Continued

• Session 2
• 7. REVISE AGAIN!!
• 8. EDIT AGAIN!!
• 9. Final Draft
• 10. Final Read Over/Minor Edits
• 11. Celebrate!

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REVIEWING THE BASIC STRUCTURE

• 5 Basic Paragraphs
• Introduction
• Supporting Idea 1
• Supporting Idea 2
• Supporting Idea 3
• (For some studentsCounter Argument Paragraph
  goes hereyou know who you are.)
• Conclusion

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The Introduction Paragraph

• LEAD Restate (or repeat) the top part of the
  question. (1 Sentence)
• Provide a general SUMMARY of the book which give
  important background information and glides into
  the thesis. (2-4 sentences)
• Thesis
• Preview of the Supporting Idea Statements
• (Optional)-Preview of the Final Conclusion
  Reflections.

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Notes on the Introduction Paragraph

• Dont be afraid to just fully restate, word for
  word, the top part of the question in your
  leadit would be MUCH better to do this than to
  have grammar mistakes in the first sentence.
  Unless you are very confident in your lead, just
  restate the phrasing used in the question and
  then enter into your summary.
• Make SURE your Thesis answers all parts of the
  question.
• Be sure your Thesis is not a run-onit would be
  better to have a two sentence thesis than a
  run-on thesis.
• Check to be sure your Preview of the Supporting
  Idea Statements isnt repetitive

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The Supporting Idea Paragraphs

• Supporting Idea Statement
• -Proves part of the thesis.
• -Explicitly relates back to the thesis
• 2. Evidence
• -Use at least two distinct details from the
  text to prove your supporting Idea Statement.
  Make sure you clearly explain how the details
  prove your supporting Idea Statement.
• 3. Clincher
• -Summarizes the central points from the
  paragraph.

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Notes on Supporting Idea Paragraphs

• -Make it very clear that you are introducing an
  example by using transition phrases
• For your first piece of evidence some possible
  transition phrases
• For example For instance
• Indeed In particular, First of all,
• The event in which illustrates this idea
  well.
• demonstrates this when
• This idea is illuminated by Achebe (author) when
  
• Achebe (author) portrays when
• For your second piece of evidence some possible
  transition phrases
• Further, Furthermore,
• In addition Moreover
• Equally important is the moment when
• Another example of occurs when

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(more) Notes on Supporting Idea Paragraphs

• If you use a quotation remember to introduce
  it with a comma and end it with a period...
  (Hamlet said, To be or not to bethat is the
  question.)
• Your clinchers can begin with the following
  phrases
• Thus,
• So,
• And so,
• Therefore,
• In summary,
• It is clear then that,
• In other words,

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The Conclusion

• Restate the thesis (In conclusion, )
• Review the 3 Supporting Ideas
• Add Final Reflections which build thoughtfully on
  some aspect of the thesis. (approximately 3
  sentences)
• Note Make sure that your final sentences are
  very simple, straightforward, and clear.

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Additional Notes

• RELENTLESSLY REVISE AND EDIT!!!!!
• Remember to underline the title of the book.
• Remember the apostrophe is August Wilsonsor
  Shakespeares or Chinua Achebes
• Watch for
• their, there, and theyre
• s for possession Hamlets rapier.
• Spelling of author and characters
• RUN-ONs
• Fragmentsmake sure you are writing in complete
  sentences.
• Commas after transitional phrases In conclusion,
  For example, For instance,
• Awkward Sentences
• Use the dictionaries if you are unclear about
  spelling

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Final Notes

• Take your time.
• Take personal breaks as needed but dont let
  yourself space out for long periods at a timeuse
  the power of your brain while it is fresh.
• If you get a hard question, dont panic. Read it
  again and again and try to make sense of it.
  Trust your own ability to do a strong job. Look
  up words you dont understand. Take your time.
• If you are getting very frustrated or anxious or
  antsy, try your hardest to relax and remember the
  skills you have. Dont let the test beat you.

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• And most importantly, remember this
• Each and every one of you know how to do this.
  You have grown tremendously as writers this year.
  Each and every one of you can and will succeed
  on this exam. Many of you will achieve advanced
  scores. We have been practicing as a team for 7
  months. Have faith, have confidence... together,
  we can do it.
• I am very proud of you.