7th - 8th Writing, January 9

I was pleased to resume classes with these students after our long vacation. They were more confident in their most recent writing, and we are ready to move on. I intend to start literary analysis with this class soon, which most of them are eager to begin, as well. First, however, we need to address academic essay questions and then persuasive writing.

Lesson:
I showed the class an easy formula for answering simple essay questions such as those which may be found in textbook chapter reviews or quizzes.
Subject: Turn the question around to make it a statement beginning with what or who is the subject.
Sort: What sort (category, classification) of person/place/thing is the subject?
Specifics: What specifically is important about this subject in this context?

For example, suppose the question asks Who was Louisa May Alcott?
Subject: Louisa May Alcott was
Sort: a nineteenth-century American author
Specifics: who wrote Little Women and other novels.

In another example, if the question asks What is photosynthesis?
Subject: Photosynthesis is
Sort: a biochemical process
Specifics: whereby plants use produce food energy from sunlight.

This basic pattern provides easy answers which are appropriate for simple questions that can be answered in one sentence. In addition, these answers can serve handily as topic sentences when paragraph-length responses are needed. With a slight expansion of specifics, these answers become thesis statements for longer essay answers.

Of course, most questions at this grade level are not so simple, so we also discussed how to answer more complex questions. I stressed that students should be careful to read the question accurately, being certain that they fully understand all that is being asked. In fact, it often helps to underline key words which call for a particular type of response. We discussed many of these, such as:
classify
compare
contrast
define
describe
discuss
evaluate
explain
identify
list
outline
prove
relate
review
state
trace
etc.

Students should pay special attention to any question with more than one part, to be sure to answer completely. For example, an essay question might ask What was humankind's greatest invention, and why? A response that only names or describes a significant invention without discussing its valuable impact on human culture misses the point completely.

Assignment:
Write a five-paragraph essay in response to a question from your other schoolwork this week. (This can be from history, science, literature, etc. Many students are taking the Starting Points course, so that would coordinate well.) Be sure to include the question being answered.