“TAP” the Prompt

What does the prompt want you to write about?

REMEMBER HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO DISCUSS WHAT THE PROMPT WANTS YOU TO DISCUSS!

 

T- Task-

• Read the prompt and determine what the prompt is asking you to do. – Make notes on your prompt to guide you.– What key words do you see? (Compare/

Contrast, analyze, summarize, synthesis, idea development, etc…)

A-Audience-

• Your audience will always be academic so make sure not to use slang or contractions. Do not use First or Second POV unless specified.

P-Purpose-decide the purpose (or reason) of your writing:

– Analysis: writing informative and explanatory texts to examine and convey ideas and information clearly

– Persuasive: writing opinions on topics or texts and supporting a point of view with reasons and information

– Synthesis: The main purpose of a synthesis essay is to make insightful connections. Those connections can show the relationship(s) between parts of a work or even between two or more works. It is your job to explain why those relationships are important.

– Summary: Summarizes the main ideas of the stimulus.

Assignment:

• For each of the following writing prompts, write down what is the Task, the Audience, and the Purpose.

• You do not need to actually read or write anything yet, the first step is making sure you fully understand what the prompt is saying.

Phase 1

• Please read “The Secret to Raising Smart Kids” by Carol S. Dweck. Dweck is a professor of psychology at Stanford University. In this text, she develops several central ideas.

• After you have read, determine two central ideas from the text and write an essay that both summarizes and analyzes how these central ideas are developed, including how they interact and build on one another over the course of the text.

• Cite strong and thorough evidence from the text to support your analysis. Follow the conventions of standard written English. Write your essay in the space provided on the next pages.

Phase 2

• Please read “It’s Not You, It’s Me” by Annie Murphy Paul. Paul is a journalist and author who writes about the biological and social sciences.

• After you have read the text, write an essay that analyzes how Dweck and Paul each use and refine the meaning of the term intelligence over the course of their articles. Be sure to also discuss the similarities and differences between their definitions.

• Cite strong and thorough evidence from both texts to support your analysis. Follow the conventions of standard written English. Write your essay in the space provided in the next pages.

Phase 1

Please read “Ingenious Coralbots May Help Restore Coral Reefs” by Meera Dolasia.In this text, the writer develops several central ideas.

After you have read, determine one central idea from the text and write an essay that both summarizes and analyzes how that central idea is developed over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details. Cite strong and thorough evidence from the text to support your analysis. Follow the conventions of standard written English. Write your essay in the space provided on the next pages.

Phase 2

• Please read “Sunken Steel Cages Could Save Coral Reefs” by Gaia Vince.In this text, the writer describes another solution to repair damaged coral reefs.

• After you have read, write an essay that argues which of these two texts presents the more effective argument based on the given reasoning and evidence. Include an explanation of the specific claim(s) of both texts. Cite strong and thorough evidence from both texts to support your argument. Follow the conventions of standard written English. Write your essay in the space provided on the next pages.

Phase 1

• Please read “The Woman Called Moses”by Walter Oleksy and Meg Mims. In this text, the authors develop several central ideas.

• After you have read, determine one central idea from the text and write an essay that both summarizes and analyzes how that central idea is conveyed through particular details. Cite evidence from the text to support your analysis. Follow the conventions of standard written English. Write your essay in the space provided on the next pages.

Phase 2

• Please read “Leaders of the Civil War Era:Harriet Tubman” by Ann Malaspina.You have now read two texts about Harriet Tubman.

• Write an essay that compares and contrasts the authors’ purposes and how their purposes are conveyed in the two texts. Be sure to cite evidence from both texts to support your analysis. Follow the conventions of standard written English. Write your essay in the space provided on the next pages.

Phase 1

• Please read “Stonehenge” by Marjorie Frank. In this text, the author develops several main ideas.

• After you have read, determine one main idea from the text and write an essay that both summarizes and explains how that main idea is supported by key details. Be sure to refer to details and examples from the text to support your explanation. Follow the conventions of standard written English. Write your essay in the space provided on the next pages.

Phase 2

• Please read “Stonehenge” by John Hudson Tiner.

• You have now read two texts about Stonehenge. Write an opinion essay about which of the two authors best uses reasons and evidence to support ideas about the mystery of Stonehenge. Be sure to develop your point of view with reasons that are supported by facts and details from both texts. Follow the conventions of standard written English. Write your essay in the space provided on the next pages.

Phase 1

• Please read “The Fastest Woman in the World” by Pat Parker.

• After you have read, determine the main idea of the text. Write an essay that recounts the key details and explains how those details support the main idea. Be sure to state the main idea in your essay. Follow the conventions of standard written English. Write your essay in the space provided in the next pages.

Phase 2

• You have read “The Fastest Woman in the World.” Now, please read “Jackie Robinson” from Kids InfoBits.

• You have read two articles about successful athletes who overcame problems.

• Write an essay that compares and contrasts the problems Wilma Rudolph and Jackie Robinson faced and how they overcame them. Be sure to explain the sequence of events in each athlete’s life. Use key details from both texts to support your explanation. Remember to follow the conventions ofstandard written English.

• Write your essay in the space provided on the next pages.