Unpacking PARCC Prompts

English Language Arts

3 Types of Writing Tasks

Narrative

Literary Analysis

Research Simulation

NARRATIVE

Hint: Think about what the word MEANS!

(narrator, narration, narrative)

Asks you to do one of the following:

write a story

detail a scientific process

write a historical account of important figures

describe an account of event, scenes or objects

might be FICTION or NONFICTION

LITERARY ANALYSIS

Think about what ANALYZE means……

STUDY!

What is LITERATURE?....

Literary Analysis = study something written (fiction or nonfiction)

Asks you to carefully consider literary elements

Asks you to compose an analytical essay

Research Simulation

Think about what SIMULATION means.

You are PRETENDING to do a research project.

You will be given a topic and sources.

Asks you to analyze an informational topic presented through several articles.

Asks you to synthesize (put together) information from multiple sources in order to write an analytical essay.

First Things First

Before you can write your essay, you have to be able to: Identify the task type

Flip the prompt into a question so that you can use I.R.A.P.P

If you don’t have a clear understanding of what you’re supposed to do, you won’t score well.

Example Test

Sample Practice Tests are available on the Pearson website:

http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/english/

(Use Firefox, not Internet Explorer!)

PRACTICE

Take a look at your worksheet.

The three types of tasks on at the top.

A sample prompt is given for grades 3-9.

Some are done for you.

At the bottom of the back of the sheet is the website for sample tasks.

GOAL

REMEMBER, YOUR GOAL IS TO

flip the prompts into questions

to help you clearly see WHAT YOUR ESSAY WILL BE ABOUT

and

so that you can use R.A.C.E. in your essay response

PRACTICE

STEP 1:

Highlight clues in the intro to help you determine what type of task it is.

Box what you will be reading: article novel, play, story, passage, poem, letter, video

When looking for clues to help you determine what type of task it is, look for words such as:

story, characters, plot, novel, events, essay, research, information, analyze, sources

(Be careful! ANALYZE could be used in all three types of tasks!)

PRACTICE

STEP 2:

Identify the task type.

PRACTICE

STEP 3:

Underline the part in the prompt that tells

you what to write.

PRACTICE

STEP 4:

Reword what you underlined into a question(s). (Research/Lit.Analysis)

OR

Simplify the prompt into your own words. (Narrative Task)

Note: Do NOT use the word “you”.

6th Grade Task

Today you will read a passage from a story titled Magic Elizabeth. As you read and answer the questions, pay close attention to the characters to help prepare you to write a narrative story…

ESSAY PROMPT: In the passage from Magic Elizabeth, the author creates a vivid setting and two distinct characters, Mrs. Chipley and Sally. Think about the details the author uses to establish the setting and the characters. Write an original story about what happens when Sally arrives at Aunt Sarah’s house. In your story, be sure to use what you have learned about the setting and the characters as you tell what happens next.

6th Grade: Unpacked Prompt

Narrative

What happens when Sally arrives at Aunt Sarah’s house?

Be careful! ANALYZE could be used in all three types of tasks!

Be careful! Don’t get confused when you see the word NARRATOR. It doesn’t always mean that it is a narrative task!

Ex: Write an essay describing how each narrator’s point of view influenced how…