4 T YPES OF W RITING Expository Persuasive Descriptive Narrative

W HAT IS AN EXPOSITORY ESSAY ? It… Gives facts. Explains. Gives steps in a process. Presents ideas in logical order or correct sequence.

T YPES OF E XPOSITORY W RITING Essay Research Paper Report Manual

W HAT ARE THE KEY WORDS THAT SHOW IT IS AN EXPOSITORY PROMPT ? 1. Most people enjoy some type of music. Think about your favorite type of music and explain why you like that particular type of music. 2. Sometimes even the best drivers can get lost at times. Explain how you would direct a lost man to get back to the interstate highway from your neighborhood. 3. Tell how to make a hamburger. YOU WILL FIND THESE WORDS IN THE PROMPT: EXPLAIN or TELL HOW.

W HAT IS A DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY ? Sensory images are used to describe what the writer sees, hears, smells, touches, and tastes. It paints a clear description of people, places, objects, or events.

T YPES OF D ESCRIPTIVE W RITING Menu Travel Brochure Poster

W HAT ARE THE KEY WORDS THAT SHOW IT IS A DESCRIPTIVE PROMPT ? 1. Describe your bedroom. Imagine telling someone who has never visited you. 2. There are many tourist spots to visit in Birmingham. Describe your favorite place to take visitors. You may want to tell what you will see, hear, smell and how you feel when you are there. 3. Tell us what you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel on Christmas morning. YOU MUST DESCRIBE OR TELL what a person can SEE, HEAR, SMELL, TASTE or FEEL.

W HAT IS A PERSUASIVE ESSAY ? You are asked to prove something. Give reasons why. Present arguments against your reasons. Show them to be false. Take a stand Ask or call for an action. 8

T YPES OF P ERSUASIVE W RITING Movie Review Restaurant Critique Letter to a newspaper editor Essay

W HAT ARE THE KEY WORDS THAT SHOW IT ’ S A PERSUASIVE PROMPT ? 1. Persuade a close friend to donate blood as part of a blood drive that your school is sponsoring for the Red Cross. 2. Some of your kid brothers friends have taken up smoking and want him to start too. Write a convincing letter to your kid brother to not take up this habit. 3. Write a letter to the editor of the newspaper telling why citizens in Birmingham should support a tax increase benefiting the local public schools. YOU WILL NOTICE THE WORDS PERSUADE, CONVINCE OR TELL WHY SOMEONE SHOULD DO SOMETHING.

What is a narrative? Tells a story. Has chronological order and sequence of events. Has action. Has conflicts or problems. Has dialogue. Has characters. Has a definite beginning, middle and end.

T YPES OF N ARRATIVE W RITING Short Story Novel Narrative Poem Journal

W HAT ARE THE KEY WORDS THAT SHOW THAT THESE ARE NARRATIVE PROMPTS ? You and your friend find a big box that is labeled “Do Not Open.” Your friend wants to open the box. Write a story about what happens next. Tell about a time when you made a serious mistake. Two little girls found a wallet on the sidewalk. Tell what happened next. NOTE THE WORDS: WRITE A STORY TELL ABOUT A TIME TELL WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.

Expository--explain, tell how Descriptive--describe Persuasive---persuade or convince Narrative-- tell about a time when, tell a story Ready to Write? First determine what type prompt you have. You should read your prompt at least “three” times.

B RAINSTORM -PACO P - What is your P urpose? A - Who is your A udience? C - C ontent - What are your ideas for details, facts, or reasons? O - O rganization –Think how you want to structure your paper.

First Paragraph Second ParagraphThirdFourth Fifth Paragraph

I NTRODUCTIONS FOR EXPOSITORY, DESCRIPTIVE AND PERSUASIVE ESSAYS SHOULD …. Grab the reader’s attention. or Let the reader know what you’re going to talk about. or Show a plan for what you’re going to be talking about in the three body paragraphs. or State what the audience will learn in this essay.

U SE THIS TYPE OF WEB FOR A N ARRATIVE CLIMAX of the Story

S OME TYPICAL STORY TRANSITION WORDS One day Suddenly During Until Yesterday Meanwhile Afterwards While Typically transitions are about time: After, before, since, later

H OW TO GET YOUR STORY ROLLING Begin by describing a character. LaDarius Smith, a star on our school basketball team, is very lucky.

G ET THE STORY ROLLING WITH DIALOGUE “What’s that smell?” the seventh graders complained. “Finish your experiment and we’ll head outside to get away from it,” said their teacher. What punctuation goes with the words said?

G ET THE STORY ROLLING Provide a “where” with prepositional phrases: Near the park Below the surface of the water In Chicago Throughout the crowded room Inside the lunchroom

H ERE ’ S AN EXCELLENT BEGINNING TO A STORY … It was an early Tuesday morning in Tokyo Japan. The sun started to rise over Juan Lee’s house. Boom! Juan Lee and his friend Jen went to see what was with all of the commotion. Then the door came crashing down. It turned out that Juan’s Aunt Lee kicked the door down. How does he start his story? How does he grab interest?

WHICH PASSAGE IS A NARRATIVE AND WHICH IS EXPOSITORY ? Marty and I jumped to our feet. “Ohhhh.” I heard Marty let out a frightened moan. I started to back away. I thought maybe I could scramble out the other side of the car. But the snarling, growling monsters came at us from both sides. “L- leave us alone,” I stammered. A monster covered in tangled brown fur opened his mouth. After Christopher Columbus’s voyages to the New World, many Spaniards came to this continent to explore. One Spanish explorer was Ponce De Leon. He traveled through present-day Florida to find the Fountain of Youth. A second explorer, Coronado searched for the Seven Cities of Gold.

S AMPLE P ROMPTS Which prompt is which? Think of a real experience you have had that would be hard to forget. Tell what happened. Explain three changes you could make in your school lunchroom. Write an essay that will convince your classmates that education is important. Describe the view you see outside of your window at home.

S UMMARY Identify your prompt Plan your work with an outline. Give your work a title with an action word. Grab interest in the beginning Build your paragraph with explanations, examples, & evidence following the topic statement or key statement. Use strong action words, vivid adjectives, and metaphors Finished? Reread & reread to improve and clarify.

Q UICK WRITE Answer the following questions on a sheet of paper: Which type of writing would you or do you enjoy writing? Which type of writing is the most difficult for you to write?

C HOOSE ONE OF THE PROMPTS BELOW OR COME UP WITH YOUR OWN Think of a real experience you have had that would be hard to forget. Tell what happened. Explain three changes you could make in your school lunchroom. Write an essay that will convince your classmates that education is important. Describe the view you see outside of your window at home.