CAHSEE WRITING REVIEW

On the California High School Exit Exam you will be expected to write one essay. The essay will be one of four types of writing.

4 TYPES OF WRITING

1.NARRATIVE2.EXPOSITORY3.LITERARY

RESPONSE4. PERSUASIVE

WHAT IS A WHAT IS A NARRATIVE?NARRATIVE?WHAT IS A WHAT IS A

NARRATIVE?NARRATIVE?

• A narrative is a STORY that tells about A narrative is a STORY that tells about ONE IMPORTANT event ONE IMPORTANT event • The narrative should have characters, The narrative should have characters, setting (time and place), and plotsetting (time and place), and plot• The event usually involves a conflict, or The event usually involves a conflict, or struggle, between a character and another struggle, between a character and another character or a force of nature, or between character or a force of nature, or between ideas ideas • The narrative should have a lesson The narrative should have a lesson learned that expresses the importance of learned that expresses the importance of the eventthe event• Be sure to answer the question “so Be sure to answer the question “so what?”what?”

IS A NARRATIVE TRUE OR CAN IT BE MADE UP?

A NARRATIVE MAY BE TRUE (NONFICTION) OR

IMAGINED (FICTION)

ARE THERE DIFFERENT TYPES OF NARRATIVES?

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF NARRATIVES:

1. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE

2. BIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE

WHAT IS AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE?

When you write about ONE important event IN YOUR OWN LIFE AND communicate the significance of the event to the audience.

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ELEMENTS

BASED ON FACT WRITTEN IN 1ST PERSON POINT OF VIEW USES THE WORDS: I, ME, MY, MINE

WHAT IS A BIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE?

When you write about ONE important event IN ANOTHER PERSON’S LIFE AND communicate the significance of the event to the audience.

WHO IS A BIOGRAPHICALNARRATIVE ABOUT?

1. Someone in history

2. Someone in literature

3. Someone in your life whom you know well

BIOGRAPHICAL ELEMENTS

BASED ON FACT WRITTEN IN 3RD PERSON POINT OF VIEW USES THE WORDS: SHE, HER, HE, HIM, THEY

TIPS FOR WRITING A NARRATIVE

WRITE ABOUT SOMETHING YOU CAN DESCRIBE IN DETAIL WRITE IN CHRONOLOGICAL (TIME) ORDER FOCUS ON ONE IMPORTANT EVENT AND TELL THE BEGINNING, MIDDLE, AND END OF THE STORY SHOW, DON’T TELL- USE SENSORY DETAILS DEVELOP CHARACTERS THOROUGHLY ADD DIALOGUE & USE FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE WRITE WITH EMOTION ANSWER THE QUESTION “SO WHAT?”

Figurative Language: Simile

• Definition- comparison of two seemingly unlike things using the word “like” or “as”

• Example- The girl’s blonde hair was as bright, shiny, and yellow as the sun.

Figurative Language: Metaphor• Definition- comparison of two seemingly

unlike things without using the word “like” or “as” (saying one thing is another thing)

• Example- The girl’s big, beautiful, blue eyes are sparkling diamonds.

Figurative Language: Personification

• Definition- describing something that is not human as if it was human

• Example- As the wind blew, the flowers danced back and forth in the meadow.

Figurative Language: Hyperbole• Definition- exaggeration for dramatic effect• Examples- You scared me to death!

I’ve told you a million times to clean your room!

Teachers give 100 hours of homework every night!

Figurative Language: Foreshadowing• Definition- giving hints or clues about something

that will happen later in the story, either by what someone says or by something that happens (usually refers to something bad that will happen)

• Sometimes bad weather (storm, lightning, thunder, rain) will foreshadow a tragic event

• Sometimes a bad dream can foreshadow a scary event

• In movies, the music and sound effects act as foreshadowing

Figurative Language: Imagery• Definition- describing something using vivid, descriptive language

and the five senses (sight, smell, taste, sound, touch) to “paint a picture” in the reader’s mind

• Example: As I walked into the kitchen, the smell of just-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies tickled my nose. My mouth watered as I could almost taste the chocolate melting on the tip of my tongue. I could no longer control myself and I grabbed a cookie off the tray. They were still hot and I burned my fingers as the cookie crumbled in my hand, but I didn’t care and stuffed the broken pieces into my mouth. Delicious! I washed down the melted chocolate with an ice-cold glass of milk. My tongue was a little numb from the heat of the chocolate morsels, but it was worth it. Now that’s what I call an after-school snack!

DIALOGUE

• What is it?– Dialogue is conversation or people talking in a story.

• Why use it?– Dialogue helps the story seem more realistic. It makes the characters

come to life. It makes the reader feel like he/she is actually “in the moment.”

• When should you use it? – Use dialogue for important events that you want to stand out. Use it for

important conversations between characters. Don’t use it just for characters to say, “Hi!”

• How should you use it?– Dialogue should be used to express strong EMOTIONS! Try not to use

the word said. – Examples:

• John softly whispered in Jennifer’s ear, “I love you.” • Rachel joyfully exclaimed, “I won the lottery!”

SUGGESTED ESSAY FORMAT

5 PARAGRAPHS=• INTRODUCTION

– HOOK– DESCRIBE PERSON YOU WILL TALK ABOUT– THESIS STATEMENT (important event based on prompt)

• BODY PARAGRAPH #1 (beginning of event)• BODY PARAGRAPH #2 (middle of event)• BODY PARAGRAPH #3 (end of event)• CONCLUSION

– RESTATE THESIS USING DIFFERENT WORDS– ANSWER THE QUESTION “SO WHAT?” WHAT LESSON DID THE

PERSON LEARN FROM THIS EVENT? HOW DID THIS EVENT AFFECT THIS PERSON’S LIFE? WHAT WAS THE SIGNIFICANCE?

GLENCOE SAMPLES OF NARRATIVE

WRITING

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE

• WRITING WORKSHOP PG. 346

• SAMPLE ESSAYS IN BLUE

SECTION IN BACK OF BOOK

–R 110 “THE ACCIDENT”

–R 112 “THE FIRST DAY”

BIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE

• WRITING WORKSHOP PG. 426

• SAMPLE ESSAYS IN BLUE

SECTION IN BACK OF BOOK

–R 113 “A STEP BEYOND”