TAKS Essays

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TAKS Essays

• NOT scary!

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Grading Scale/Rubric

• TAKS essays are scored from 1 to 4.
• Passing score is a 2.

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How long are they?

• No more than one page, front and back.
• The average length on higher-scoring essays is
  almost the full space given.

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What do you write about?

• The prompt is always very general. For example
• Write an essay discussing the importance of hope.
• Write a composition discussing the importance of
  accepting responsibility.

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Never Generalize

• Always write about a situation specific to YOU.
• Rule of thumb if everyone already knows it
  (Accepting responsibility is very important
  Its important to have hope) THEN DONT WRITE
  IT.

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Brainstorming Charts

• First step brainstorm
• Second step write the essay, making sure you
  dont include any unnecessary fluff (i.e.,
  generalizations)

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To make it pleasing

• Youre not just going to tell your story youre
  going to SHOW the reader what happened through
  the use of imagery.
• i.e., instead of saying The betrayal of my best
  friend made me mad, SHOW us she made you mad
  When she betrayed me, my blood ran hot, and I
  saw red spots. I couldnt stop shaking, and I
  felt battered.

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Imagery Topics

• 1. Sight describe specific sights associated
  with the situation
• 2. Sound describe specific sounds associated
  with the situation
• 3. Touch describe specific sensations
  associated with the situation
• 4. Taste you get it by now
• 5. Smell yup.

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Example

• Topic favorite place
• There were red rollercoasters, and I always had
  a good time.
• As I stood by the towering red rollercoaster, I
  could hear the sharp squeak of its wheels and the
  muffled screams of the people on it. My friends
  and I laughed, but we were scared, too.

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Remember

• Always take the topic and write about a specific
  situation pertaining to YOU.
• Make sure you end the essay with WHAT YOU LEARNED
  about the topic.
• Include imagery to make the essay interesting!

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Start out with a BANG!

• Jump RIGHT into the story!
• Include dialogue (speech)
• Make it fun and interesting.

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Samples

• The essay question (we will do this one, too)
• Write an essay about the impact another person
  can have on your life.

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A small section of an essay

• Weather you know it or not, people impact other
  peoples lives. People can help people. People
  can hurt people. But either way its an impact.
  A person can help you in a time of need.
• Whats WRONG with this?

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Student Sample

• I am going to tell you how other people can
  affect your life.
• There is many ways people can do this. Just like
  in the stories previously read.
• Whats WRONG with this?

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Student Sample

• It was Friday night. The sky was lit in a bright
  haze of yellow. I remember it was raining. It
  was kind of chilly, the type that makes your
  teeth chatter. Hut, hut, Danny! the all-state
  quarterback called out. I grabbed the ball and
  took it up the middlethe last play of the
  yearOne yard, two yards, I stumble, as a last
  attempt I dive, sliding through the muddy earth
  just inches from the line.
• (Goes on to talk about how a drunk driver hit his
  car that night and he became wheelchair-bound)

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• Youre writing about what you know bestYOU!
• So be a TAKS Essay Super Star ?