Writing an Essay

By Megan N. Brink
 Writing is Not A Skill….
It Is An Art!
Painters need a brush, musicians need
notes, and writers need words. Carefully
selected words are the tools that a writer
uses to turn his average writing into
beautiful works of art.
 Types of Essays
There are three types of essays:
 Narrative
 Expository
 Persuasive

We will be focusing on the first two:

Narrative and Expository for Florida Writes
NARRATIVE ESSAYS
Telling a Story
 Narrative Essays
 A narrative essay is a STORY.
 The prompt, or writing topic, they give you
will most likely have this key word in it:
TELL.
 For example, “Tell about a time you went
on a special trip.”

This is a narrative, because of the word

TELL.
 The Writing Process
Before we write, we need to think about the
steps involved in writing.
1. Prewrite
2. Draft
3. Edit/Revise
4. Proofreed
5. Publish
Prewrite - Narrative
 Have you ever seen a cartoon movie?
 They use a Story Board to sketch their ideas
before they do the whole movie and include
each detail! This helps them get their ideas
flowing and keeps them on track.
 For a narrative essay, when you see the words
TELL on a prompt, sketch a STORY BOARD
Narrative Story Boards

1. Draw 5 or 6 boxes (you can do more,

but I would suggest at least 4).
2. In each box you will draw a picture of a
scene, in order, in your story.
3. Each box will then be used to help you
describe a paragraph on your essay.
Narrative Story Boards
 Let’s do one together! Remember that each square is a scene, or
an event that happens next. Try to add target skills to each box.
 Prompt: Tell about a time you did something scary.

Setting/Character Strong Verb Simile

1 2 3 I crept
as
Heard a quietly
as
clanking
nervous
mouse.

Conflict Onomatopoeia Take-Away

Metaphor
4 6
5
I’ll never forget
RATTLE, I became a that scary
RATTLE, relieved night!
RATTLE librarian when I
discovered it
was only a cat.
Prewrite - Expository
 For an expository essay we are asked to
EXPLAIN an idea or thought we have.
 For this, we use a Happy Alien!
 Draw one head and three legs. The head
holds the main topic and each leg is a
supporting detail.
 Happy Alien
 Let’s do one together!
 Prompt: Everyone has a favorite food.
Explain what your favorite food is and
why.
Each leg will
become one
supporting Favorite Food:
paragraph, so make Pizza
sure to think of lots
of target skills to add
when you write!
You may want to
write a grabber
above him and a It’s cheesy! I eat it when There are so
takeaway below I’m doing fun many varieties!
him. things.
 The Writing Process
Before we write, we need to think about the
steps involved in writing.
1. Prewrite
2. Draft
3. Edit/Revise
4. Proofread
5. Publish
Narrative Draft:
Writing Paragraphs
After you write your Story Board, it’s time to add
paragraphs. Remember, each paragraph is a
block on your story board.
When you write, you need to keep in mind that you
need these things:
You are ON TOPIC
It has a BEGINNING, MIDDLE, and END
You wrote CONTENT
You included CREATIVITY skills
Example Rubric The more creativity
skills, the higher
Your essay needs your score
Your essay needs
to at least be on (either 4, 5, 6).
to have at least a
topic and the beginning, middle,
correct type in order
and end in order to Self/Friend Score:______________
to get more than a
get a 3. Actual Sco re: _________________
0.
Writing Rubric
Yo ur essay sho uld have….

O n Topic Organization Creativity

Ideas Beginning Wo rd Choice
Every sentence fo cuses I have a beginning. Strong Verbs
on the to pic I used a GRABBER Sparkly Adjectives
Yo u have w ritten a Juicy Colors
unique/interesting Middle - Content Co ol Transitional Phrases
essay abo ut the to pic Grabber O nomato poeia
Answered Who, What, When, Where, Why, Alliteratio n
Conventions and How O ne sentence w ith
Proper punctuation Added informatio n to amplify my thoughts Dialo gue/Creative Tags
Proper use o f capitals or ideas
Co rrect spelling o f I used transitio ns Vo ice
fo urth grade w o rds If a narrative, it has a co nflict Similes
and below (especially If an expo sito ry, it has reasons/po ints w ith Metapho rs
tricky w ords) examples and details. Sensory Wo rds
Emo tio n Wo rds
End Feeling statements
I have an ending.
I used a TAKE-AWAY Sentence Fluency
Show ing NOT Telling

Please see my section on target skills

under revision for more information on the
specific items listed.
 The Writing Process
Before we write, we need to think about the
steps involved in writing.
1. Prewrite
2. Draft
3. Edit/Revise
4. Proofread
5. Publish
 Narrative- Edit/Revise
When you are done writing your 1st draft. Go
back and REVISE, REVISE, REVISE! Revise
until time is up.
Revise means to “see again.” Literally, look at
your paper as if you were someone else and
read it with a critical eye. What can you add and
change? THIS IS NOT JUST A ‘FIX THE
GRAMMAR/SPELLING’ TIME!
Make huge changes to your word choice,
organization, and sentence structure.
 The Writing Process
Before we write, we need to think about the
steps involved in writing.
1. Prewrite
2. Draft
3. Edit/Revise
4. Proofread
5. Publish
 Proofread
 After revising, go back and proofread your
essay for grammar and spelling errors. All
fourth grade level words should be spelled
correctly.
 Play close attention to tricky words! Click
on tricky words for a list.
 The Writing Process
Before we write, we need to think about the
steps involved in writing.
1. Prewrite
2. Draft
3. Edit/Revise
4. Proofread
5. Publish
 Publish
 In the classroom, stories and other writing
can be written into a final draft with
pictures!

 However, for Florida Writes, the students

are EXPECTED to turn in rough drafts.
They won’t look pretty! THEY
SHOULDN’T! Just make sure it is legible.
