Breaking Down the Prompt

1. Breaking Down the Prompt How to evaluate the essay topic and begin writing.

2. How to attack the prompt • Read it twice. • The first time just read it through. • The second time, you note (circle) all the points you want to hit on in your essay.

3. If the prompt has a tremendous amount of expository information (or information that tells you examples about what you are going to write about)… CUT OUT THE FLUFFY STUFF! • Circle the question being asked. • Brainstorm! Cut out the fluffy stuff Don’t rewrite the prompt!!! This is a big “No-No!” that falls under “Ideas and Content” You want a 6! “Focuses and develops ideas. Shows creativity and insight. Main idea is clear.

4. Let’s look at a Prompt: • You are serving on a committee that will design a new high school for your community. Choose one feature for the new high school that you will suggest to the design committee. Write a report to the committee, explaining what this feature is and why it is beneficial. • Which words would you circle or mark in the above prompt that will ensure you stay on point, and receive a high mark under Ideas and Content?

5. Get rid of Fluffy Stuff and mark important words • You are serving on a committee that will design a new high school for your community. Choose one feature for the new high school that you will suggest to the design committee. Write a report to the committee, explaining what this feature is and why it is beneficial. • The fluffy stuff has a strike through it. Why? Because you do not need to rewrite the fluffy stuff. • The key words are highlighted in red.

6. The Umbrella Strategy • Draw an Umbrella. • Place the main word you wish to expand upon in your essay inside the umbrella. • Under the covered part of the umbrella, brainstorm your ideas to WHY you are covering the one point in the umbrella.

7. It does not have to be pretty

8. Use your Lists! • Pool Good for school *extra-curricular *team sports Good for community *swimming lessons *community involvement…

9. Now use your intros!Don’t Just pray! • To Whom It May Concern: • Fellow committee members, • My proposal is… • I propose… To the Committee for High School Design: I propose that the school design include an Olympic size pool and dive center for not only the extra-curricular activities of the students, but also the enjoyment and use of the surrounding community. This will serve as a hub for both school and community team sports, offer a place for after-school activities, and serve as a genuine benefit for the community at large. A pool as part of the new high school’s design is a natural extension to the surrounding community.

10. Now extend on your initial Thoughts & wrap that baby up! • Extend on why a pool and dive center is important. • Tell the committee how it is an extension to the community. • Expand on the benefits of having after-school activities for all ages at the pool. • When you finish your body paragraph…wrap it up in your conclusion paragraph. • Use: In conclusion, All in all, Finally, these will help you transition for a closing paragraph. • Do not forget your six traits to hit!

11. Ideas and Content—write a compound-complex sentence that states the main idea of your essay! • Organization—make sure your framework is sound with a beginning, middle, and end! • Voice—add your unique sound and rhythm to the piece. Make it pop! You are graded on a six-trait writing rubric. Know it!

12. Word Choice—make solid word choices when each word is specific and appropriate. Avoid clichés, jargon, and inappropriate language (text writing/swear words). • Sentence Fluency—use compound sentences, complex sentences and compound-complex sentences. • Conventions—use correct capitalization and punctuation!

13. RAMEN NOODLES