The Keys to FCAT Writing When you open

The Keys to FCAT Writing

When you open your test booklet, read the prompt to determine the kind of prompt you have -- Expository? Persuasive? Don’t take more than a minute to decide--it’s not rocket science.

Once you have understood the topic and the directions for writing, you MUST plan what you are going to write. There will be a Planning Sheet on which you can list all of your ideas. Spend some time thinking about the possibilities.

When you don’t plan your essay, you may run into problems:

Don’t write yourself into a corner. If after 20 minutes of writing, you change your mind, you won’t have time to erase and rewrite.

You only need to have a couple good ideas on your planning sheet; just because you wrote an idea on the sheet doesn’t mean you have to use it. Use only the good ones to elaborate. Full elaboration is your goal!

What is elaboration? ? Elaboration is how you make your ideas clear to the reader. You can make your ideas clear in many ways: additional details, anecdotes, illustrations, examples, and mature word choice. Elaboration answers the question “What do you mean? ”

Elaboration answers the reader’s questions. Volunteering helps teenagers. How does it help teenagers?

Ex. Volunteering helps teenagers. One way it helps teenagers is by building their self-esteem. How does volunteering build self-esteem? OR Why is self-esteem important?

Let’s answer the first question: Volunteering helps teenagers. One way it helps teenagers is by building their self-esteem. How does volunteering build self-esteem?

Ex. Volunteering helps teenagers. One way it helps teenagers is by building their self-esteem. When teenagers volunteer to make someone else’s life better or easier, the teenagers start to feel better about themselves because they have accomplished something important. Can you give me a specific example of how volunteering helped someone’s self-esteem?

For example, I had a friend Michelle who would shoplift to get attention and be liked. When the court sentenced her to do volunteer work, her whole personality changed. She started to see that she didn’t have to do anything bad or illegal to be liked. The patients at the nursing home really liked her and looked forward to her visits. (from) (to)

The content of your elaboration really depends upon the questions you are trying to answer. After you have written a topic sentence, think of the questions a reader might have. Your answers to the questions are the key to scoring high on FCAT Writing--ELABORATION! Jump for joy when you score a 6!