Contents. Forms of Nonfiction Writing Writing a Summary Writing a Descriptive Essay Writing a How-to Essay...

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1 Contents How to Use This Book Forms of Nonfiction Writing Expository Writing Writing a Writing a Topic Sentence, Marking Up an Article, Paraphrasing,. Organizing a Writing a Descriptive Essay Using Sensory Details, Using Figurative Language, Using Precise Language,. Writing Topic Sentences Writing a How-to Essay Writing an Introduction, Giving Clear and Specific Directions,. Organizing Instructions Writing a Cause-and-Effect Essay Writing to Show Cause and Effect, Organizing a Cause-and-Effect Essay,. Adding Details Writing a Compare-and-Contrast Essay Writing to Compare and Contrast, Writing Topic Sentences,. Organizing Details, Balancing Details Writing a Biography Including Biographical Details, Organizing Details, Writing Topic Sentences,. Removing Unnecessary Details Writing a News Article Answering the 5Ws and H, Writing Good Leads, Organizing a News Article,. Using Precise Language Writing a Response to Literature Summarizing the Story, Answering the Prompt, Marking Up the Story,. Using Details from the Story Writing a Research Report Writing Topic Sentences, Asking Research Questions, Taking Notes,. Writing an Outline, Using an Outline to Write, Paraphrasing, Quoting,. Writing Introductions and Conclusions, Listing Sources indb 2

2 Persuasive Writing Writing a Persuasive Letter Forming Opinion Statements, Including Reasons and Details,. Choosing Your Tone Writing a Persuasive Essay Writing an Opinion Statement, Including Reasons and Examples,. Writing Good Leads, Writing Conclusions Writing a Review Including Important Information, Supporting Your Opinion,. Using Your Own Voice Writing an Editorial Stating the Issue, Addressing Other People s Arguments,. Writing a Call to Action Writing a Problem-Solution Essay Stating the Problem, Choosing the Best Solution,. Supporting the Solution Narrative Writing Writing a Personal Narrative Evaluating a Topic, Including Details About the Topic, Writing Sensory Details,. Writing Transition Sentences Writing Creative Nonfiction Writing a Creative Topic Sentence, Using Figurative Language,. Including Strong Verbs and Adjectives, Creating a Mood Evan-Moor Corp. EMC 6014 Nonfiction Writing indb 3

3 Introducing a Read this example of a summary. Writing Model Are Snakes Fascinating or Frightening? tells where snakes live, how they move, and how they get their food. Snakes can live almost anywhere. Most live where it is warm, but some snakes can live where it gets cold. Snakes move by using their strong muscles and their scales. Scales also protect the snake s body. Snakes swallow their prey whole. Some snakes use venom, while others squeeze their prey. Although some people think snakes are scary, these reptiles are important to the environment. Writer s Purpose: 12 EXpOsitOrY WritinG 6014.indb 12

4 Writing a Topic Sentence 1. Read this summary of an article called Service Dogs. Underline the topic sentence. Then revise the topic sentence by removing the author s opinion. Service Dogs is an interesting article about wonderful dogs that help people with disabilities. Service dogs are trained to help people with their daily tasks. A trainer works with a dog until that dog is ready to help its human companion. The animal can provide many years of service. 2. Read this summary for an article called The Animals of Galápagos. The summary is missing a topic sentence. Write a topic sentence for the summary. Reptiles include the giant tortoise and different kinds of iguanas. Seals and sea lions are some of the mammals found on the islands. The Galápagos Islands also have birds, such as finches. Wildlife is plentiful on the islands. 3. Read this summary for an article called Hudson Hero. Underline the topic sentence. Then revise the topic sentence to make it more specific. The article Hudson Hero is about an airplane pilot. Captain Sullenberger was flying a large plane when it had engine trouble. The people on the airplane were nervous. Captain Sullenberger landed the plane on the Hudson River, and no one was hurt. Captain Sullenberger has been called a national hero. Evan-Moor Corp. EMC 6014 Nonfiction Writing EXpOsitOrY WritinG indb 13

5 Marking Up an Article A. Mark up this science article about Earth. Do the following: Draw a box around the title. Double-underline the article s main idea. Underline the main idea in each paragraph. Beneath Our Feet Have you ever wondered how scientists know what lies beneath the surface of Earth? No one has ever gone deeper than Earth s crust. But believe it or not, scientists know quite a bit about all of Earth s layers the crust, the mantle, and the core. The crust is the top layer, which is made up of rocks, dirt, and some metals. It s the layer that all living things on Earth inhabit. It is the coldest and thinnest of all Earth s layers. Yet it is still many miles thick. The layer directly beneath the crust is the mantle. The mantle is the thickest layer and is much hotter than Earth s crust. It is about 1,800 miles thick, and it is made of very hot rock called magma. Sometimes magma from the mantle reaches Earth s surface by traveling through cracks in the crust. The layer below the mantle is Earth s core, the hottest part of the planet. Most scientists believe that the outer core, which is more than 3,000 miles below the crust, is made entirely of liquid rock. They believe that the inner core, at the very center of Earth, is made mostly of iron, along with a few other metals. The inner core is so hot that it should be a liquid. But the other layers above it are so heavy that they squeeze the inner core and keep it solid. There are still many questions about the layers of our planet, but we are learning more all the time. Perhaps one day it will be possible to see below the crust and into the mantle and core. Until then, scientists will continue to work on the mystery of what s beneath our feet. B. How could annotating an article help you write a summary? 14 EXpOsitOrY WritinG 6014.indb 14

6 Paraphrasing Read each paragraph. Then rewrite it in your own words. 1. When snow falls in places that are always cold, such as the tops of mountains, the snow usually stays frozen. Over the years, the frozen layers pile up. The snow turns to ice, which eventually forms a glacier. 2. In the future, farms might look like small cities. Farmers could grow food in buildings that are several stories tall. This would allow farmers to grow more food using smaller amounts of land to feed the growing number of people in the world. 3. The Komodo dragon is the world s largest lizard and one of the most deadly. This giant lizard has special pouches inside its mouth that are filled with venom. When the lizard bites, the deadly venom sinks into its prey. 4. The first bicycles were similar to modern ones with one big difference. Old bicycles had no pedals! Riders sat in a low seat and moved the bicycle by first walking or running before lifting their feet. It was similar to the way you ride a scooter. Evan-Moor Corp. EMC 6014 Nonfiction Writing EXpOsitOrY WritinG indb 15

7 Organizing a A. Organize the information from the model summary of Are Snakes Fascinating or Frightening? Write the topic sentence, some important details, and the concluding sentence. Topic sentence: Detail sentences: Concluding sentence: B. Rewrite this summary of an article called Four Great Seasons by putting the topic sentence, detail sentences, and concluding sentence in logical order. Spring is when people fly kites. Every season gives people something new to do outside. In the winter, many people like to ski. A favorite summer activity is swimming. Four Great Seasons tells about outdoor activities that people do in the winter, spring, summer, and fall. Fall is a good time to go hiking. 16 EXpOsitOrY WritinG 6014.indb 16