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Essay Apprentice Written by Kristen Bowers for Secondary Solutions ISBN 10: 0 9816243 0 8 ISBN 13: 978 0 9816243 0 3 2008 Secondary Solutions. All rights reserved. A classroom teacher who has purchased this guide may photocopy the materials in this publication for his/her classroom use only. Use or reproduction by a part of or an entire school or school system, by for profit tutoring centers and like institutions, or for commercial sale, is strictly prohibited. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, translated or stored without the express written permission of the publisher. Created and printed in the United States of America. Secondary Solutions The First Solution for the Secondary Teacher www.4secondarysolutions.com 2008 Secondary Solutions Essay Apprentice TM

Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS... II FROM THE AUTHOR OF ESSAY APPRENTICE... V ABOUT ESSAY APPRENTICE... VI TEACHER GUIDE PART ONE: BUILDING CONFIDENCE... VII TEACHER GUIDE PART TWO: SENTENCE STRUCTURE... X TEACHER GUIDE PART THREE: PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE... XII TEACHER GUIDE PART FOUR:... XIII PREPARING FOR FORMAL WRITING... XIII TEACHER GUIDE PART FIVE: INDIVIDUAL WRITING... XV TEACHER GUIDE PART SIX: RESOURCES AND HINTS... XVI PART ONE: BUILDING CONFIDENCE... I Writing with a Purpose... 2 Writing to Entertain: Cartoon Strip... 3 Writing to Entertain: Horoscope... 5 Writing to Entertain: Anecdotes I... 7 Writing to Entertain: Anecdotes II... 10 Writing to Entertain: Poetry... 13 Writing to Inform: Recipe of Me... 15 Writing to Inform: Quick Messages and Notes... 18 Writing to Inform: Formal Letters... 21 Writing to Persuade: Personal Advertisement... 25 Writing to Persuade: Magazine Advertisement... 27 PART TWO: SENTENCE STRUCTURE... 29 Sentence Structure... 30 Fragments... 31 Complete Sentences... 32 Punctuating Sentences I... 33 Main and Subordinate Clauses... 35 Punctuating Sentences II... 38 Punctuating Sentences III... 40 Types of Sentences... 42 Sentence Structure: Simple and Compound Sentences... 44 Expanding Sentences: Are You Positive?... 46 Punctuating Sentences IV... 49 Gerund Phrases: Doing the ing... 50 Sentence Structure: Complex and Compound Complex Sentences... 52 Using Modifiers Correctly... 54 Punctuating Sentences V... 56 Sentence Combining I... 58 2008 Secondary Solutions ii Essay Apprentice TM

Sentence Combining II... 61 Sentence Combining III... 64 Varying Sentence Beginnings... 65 PART THREE: PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE... 68 Paragraph Structure... 69 Paragraph Formatting... 71 Developing Paragraph Details... 72 Elements of the Paragraph... 73 Types of Writing... 77 Writing Thesis Statements... 79 Types of Thesis Statements... 80 Is It a Thesis?... 83 Writing an Introductory Paragraph... 86 Writing Conclusions... 88 PART FOUR: PREPARING FOR FORMAL WRITING... 90 Structure of the Essay... 91 What Does a Good Essay Look Like?... 92 Evaluating Essays... 93 Peer Editing Checklist... 94 Example Essay for Evaluation... 95 Example Essay with Edits... 96 Example Essay Evaluation... 97 Example Essay Peer Editing Checklist... 98 Verbal Discussion of Ideas... 99 Writing Thesis Statements... 101 Organizing Ideas into Paragraphs... 103 Writing Group Essay Introductions... 106 Writing Group Essay Conclusions... 108 PART FIVE: INDIVIDUAL WRITING... 110 Verbal Discussion of Ideas... 111 Writing Thesis Statements... 113 Organizing Ideas into Paragraphs... 114 Writing Your Introduction... 119 Writing Your Conclusion... 121 PART SIX: RESOURCES AND HINTS... 123 Reading an Essay Prompt... 124 Reading an Essay Prompt Activity... 126 Expository Essay Template... 128 Persuasive Essay Template... 130 Cause/Effect Essay Template... 132 Show, Don t Tell!... 134 Using a Dictionary... 136 Using a Thesaurus... 138 Using Idioms... 140 Words that Enhance Writing... 143 2008 Secondary Solutions iii Essay Apprentice TM

Vivid Verbs... 146 Words to Avoid... 148 Word Choice... 149 Frequently Misspelled Words... 151 Commonly Confused Words and Phrases... 152 PART SEVEN: APPENDIX... 154 Sample Essay #1... 155 Sample Essay #2... 156 Sample Essay #3... 157 Sample Essay #4... 158 Sample Essay #5... 159 Sample Essay #6... 161 Sample Essay #7... 162 Sample Essay #8... 163 Sample Essay #9... 164 Sample Essay #10... 165 Sample Essay #11... 167 Sample Essay #12... 168 Sample Essay #13... 169 Sample Essay #14... 171 Sample Essay #15... 173 PART EIGHT: ANSWER KEY... 174 2008 Secondary Solutions iv Essay Apprentice TM

Name Writing with a Purpose Period Words to Know purpose audience entertain inform persuade There are many reasons people need to write. In order to communicate clearly, it is important that we know how to put words together to say what we really mean. If we are not able to communicate clearly, we may confuse the reader or write something we didn t mean to write. It is important to remember the purpose of your writing. Purpose is the reason for writing. When you write, it will be for different reasons: to entertain, to inform, or to persuade. Audience is the reader of your writing. Your audience can be different each time you write. For example, you would write a children s book for children to enjoy not necessarily for adults to read. Similarly, a letter to the President of the United States would sound very different from a letter you would write to your best friend. We can use writing to entertain. Some of the things that we read to entertain us are magazine articles, poetry, cartoon strips, horoscopes, songs, celebrity interviews, children s books, stories, movie reviews, plays, novels, blogs, and more. Entertaining writing often uses imagination and creativity. Writing can also be used to inform. Writing that is meant to inform gives the reader information. Newspaper articles, news magazine articles, biographies, autobiographies, research papers, photo captions, emails, letters, and instruction manuals are written to teach the reader something new. Informative writing helps the reader learn what he or she needs or wants to know. Writing can also persuade or convince the reader to think in a new way. Persuasive writing includes advertisements, movie reviews, book reviews, persuasive essays, political cartoons, and speeches. Persuasive writing includes reasons why you should or should not do something. 2008 Secondary Solutions 2 Essay Apprentice TM

Name Period Writing to Entertain: Cartoon Strip Cartoon strips can be funny, designed to entertain those who read the funny pages, or they can make a political statement, like those found in the business or editorial sections of newspapers. They can be a series of pictures that tell a story, or they can be one picture speaking a thousand words. Take a good look at a cartoon in a magazine or newspaper. What do the pictures show? What is written in the cartoon? Is it funny? Is it serious? Does it make a political statement or have to do with recent news? Who is the audience (the readers)? Pay attention to both the pictures and the writing of the cartoon to understand what the cartoon is saying. Notice that even though a cartoon is designed as entertainment, correct grammar and spelling are important. Read the cartoon carefully. In the space below, write two or three sentences explaining what is happening in the cartoon. Study the pictures in the cartoon. What if you removed the words? Do the pictures still tell the same story? Could they tell a different story? For this activity, you will use your imagination to come up with a new comic strip story using the pictures you have. To do this, you will want to be sure to add dialogue (talking) for the characters, and/or captions (short sentences) to explain what is happening in each of the pictures. Your cartoon does not need to be funny or make a political statement, but it does need to make sense for the pictures given in the cartoon. Use the chart on the next page to write your new, original cartoon. 1. First, cut your cartoon into separate boxes for each picture. 2. Paste each picture in the boxes on the chart. 3. Beside each picture in the box provided, write the dialogue (what the characters are saying) for each picture. Remember that even though it is a cartoon, it is still important to use correct grammar and spelling! If you need more room, use a separate sheet of paper. 2008 Secondary Solutions 3 Essay Apprentice TM

Name Period Paste each picture below. Write new dialogue for each picture below. Picture 4 Picture 3 Picture 2 Picture 1 2008 Secondary Solutions 4 Essay Apprentice TM

Name Period Writing to Entertain: Horoscope Each day, millions of people comb magazines and newspapers reading their horoscope in the hopes of a hint of new love, a promotion, or new wealth. For thousands of years, people have looked to the stars and other mystical inspiration to find out what may happen in their future. One of the modern representations of this quest is a horoscope. Horoscopes are written predictions of a person's future, based on the alignment of the planets and stars at a given moment. While many people still read and follow these predictions, they are little more than another form of entertainment. One of the keys to writing a good horoscope is to make it very unclear, but still able to be believed by anyone who reads it. Rather than saying you will win the lottery, say good fortune is headed your way. The idea of good fortune can be interpreted in many different ways! Be careful, however, not to be too vague. Rather than saying you will get some news today, say you will get some interesting news from a friend. Directions: Write a horoscope for a magazine or newspaper by filling in imaginative answers for each blank on the next page. Your audience is a group of your peers, so be sure to include ideas that someone your age would find fascinating. Be sure to include solid adjectives in order to make the reading more interesting. Remember although horoscopes are entertaining, make sure you are using correct grammar and spelling throughout. Be sure to check your spelling and grammar when you have finished. For help, read over the horoscope below to see how they are written, then imitate the style of writing. When you have finished, share with a classmate to see his or her reaction! Horoscope for Monday, July 13 One of your career wishes will soon come true. Be ready to go at a moment's notice. Even if your friends or family are having some personal troubles, you can't help but smile throughout the day. Something small keeps you optimistic and looking forward to even better times coming up. Keep your eyes open for a woman to give you some news. 2008 Secondary Solutions 5 Essay Apprentice TM

Name Period Horoscope for Today, (date) Things are really looking for you right now. Expect to be. But don t get too because you. The great part is that you will. Right now you feel, but that will end soon because of a new. Look for other areas of your life to. Try to become more, since there is someone out there who. Avoid,, and, as will be extra today. To improve your social life, try. Money will be due to your. Finally, be sure to as much as you can, since may happen unexpectedly! 2008 Secondary Solutions 6 Essay Apprentice TM