English 8



English 8 Name: ________________________

SOL Boot Camp Period: _____________

I. Reading Prompts

The first step is to look at the actual prompt. A prompt means ___________

_________________________________________________. Reading these carefully will help you when you start to write your essay. You will have a good idea of what to write about, while making it engaging and interesting.

The first step to “reading a prompt” is to take out the cushion, or fluff. Every prompt has a sentence or two that is unnecessary, and that may have the potential to confuse you. For instance, read the following prompt:

“Think about how daily life, from reading to playing games to communicating with others, has changed over the past hundred years because of technology. Using specific details and examples, explain how these advancements in technology have changed daily life.”

Out of these sentences, which one does not tell you what to write about?

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The first sentence introduces the topic, but does not give you the assignment. Read the following prompt, then cross out everything except what you are supposed to write about:

“People often credit their successes to having good attitudes. Explain the benefits of having a good attitude, even during a difficult time. Provide examples from your own experience or from having witnessed this in others.”

The trick is to keep reading the prompt! Don’t stop after the first sentence, and don’t skip to the last sentence. Read the whole thing carefully in order to decipher your material. The next step to reading the prompt is to look for the key word. The key word will point you in the right direction as far as what you are supposed to write about. Look at the sentence below:

“Explain how you feel about public speaking.”

What is the topic of the essay? _________________________________________

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What do you think was the key word in the sentence? ____________________

Other examples of a key word are “write” or “show.” Can you think of other words that might mean the same thing?

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Once you find the key word in the prompt, you can start looking for what you need to write about.

Read the following prompt. Cross out the fluff, then circle the key word. Finally, write the topic of your essay in the space below.

“Competition is a constant presence in today’s schools, where students not only compete with one another in the classroom but also in sports and in various extracurricular activities. Explain how competition can improve life or make it more difficult for students. Use specific details and examples in your response.”

II. Types of Essays

The next thing we are going to learn about is the different ways in which you can respond to a prompt. Let’s start by brainstorming different types of writing:

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Now, cross out those that you think would not be appropriate for an SOL-style essay.

For an SOL-style prompt, your response boils down to one of two choices:

1) ______________________________________

2) ______________________________________

It depends on the type of prompt as to what type of response you’ll be crafting.

Prompts will often point you in certain directions. For instance, what type of essay might you use for the following prompt?

“Community parks, state parks, and national parks provide a wide variety of interesting activities. Write about an enjoyable way to spend time outdoors. Using specific details and examples, explain why someone might find that activity enjoyable.” _______________________________________________

|“The school board plans to add one and a half hours to school each day. Do you agree or disagree with extending the school day? Use |

|specific details and examples to convince the school board to accept your position.”________________________ |

|“Is it better to take risks and perhaps make some mistakes or remain cautious and risk nothing? Explain using specific details|

|and examples in your response.” ____________________________________________________ |

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|III. Pre-write |

|Now that we’ve identified what type of response prompts want, we need to know how to pre-write specifically for this type of |

|prompt. |

| |

|What are our options for prewriting? _____________________________ |

| |

|___________________________________________________________ |

| |

|For a 5 paragraph essay, one of the best ways to pre-write is with a specific map called a cluster (see next page). The |

|cluster allows you to concentrate on the 3 main points you want to make. |

| |

|It is true that this SOL will be on-line; however, you will still be given scratch paper, on which you can pre-write. |

For the cluster, you skip thinking about your introduction, and you skip thinking about your conclusion, and you just focus on your 3 main points. Take the following prompt for example:

|“The school board plans to add one and a half hours to school each day. Do you agree or disagree with extending the school day? Use |

|specific details and examples to convince the school board to accept your position.” |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

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|First, what type of essay is it? ______________________________ Second, do you agree or disagree? __________________________ Third, |

|what are your 3 main points? |

| |

|________________________________________________________ |

|_________________________________________________________ |

|_________________________________________________________ |

| |

|Here’s another prompt example: “Everyone has a talent or skill. Identify a talent or skill you have, and explain how you develop and use |

|it. Use specific details and examples in your response.” |

First, what type of essay is it? ______________________________ Second, do you agree or disagree? __________________________ Third, what are your 3 main points?

1) ________________________________________________________

2) _________________________________________________________

3) _________________________________________________________

Now, let’s work on using the cluster to fill in the rest of our information!

IV. Prompt Openings

What is the purpose of an opening?

1) ___________________________________________________________

2) ___________________________________________________________

What should an opening consist of?

1) ___________________________________________________________

2) ___________________________________________________________

What should you NOT do for an effective opening?

1) __________________________________________________________

2) ___________________________________________________________

Strategies for creating an effective opening:

1) ____________________________________________________________

2) ____________________________________________________________

3) ____________________________________________________________

4) ____________________________________________________________

Let’s look at an example! Read the three sentences below. They are all responses to the prompt “What is the best gift you have ever received?”

• The best birthday gift I ever received was my new red bike.

• I can think of many birthday gifts I have been given, but my favorite was my new red bike.

• It was a bright morning and I can remember the way the sun sparkled off the new paint of my red bike. I walked toward it in a daze, hardly believing that this was a gift for me.

Now circle the one you think is the best opening for that prompt. Which one catches your attention the most, yet still tells you what it is about?

|Let’s try this out! In the space below, write an effective opening for the following prompt: What makes someone a success? Explain how |

|you define success, using specific details and examples in your response. |

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Openings can get tricky. For example, one of the prompts on the SOL writing test dealt with a quote from Cicero. Although I say that one strategy to openings is to start with a quote, that shouldn’t be done with Cicero’s quote in this essay. Why?

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|Here is a prompt that starts with a quote. What are some openings that you could write for it? “Scientist Albert Einstein said, |

|‘Imagination is more important than knowledge.’ Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Include specific details and examples to |

|convince others to support your position.” |

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