CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.2.E

By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Writing a Character Analysis

After you've gathered evidence and written a working thesis statement about your character, you are ready to write an initial draft of your analysis. Start by writing an interesting lead sentence and using it to introduce a beginning paragraph. Or you can develop the middle paragraphs first and return to write the beginning and ending. If you need inspiration along the way, look at the end of this lesson to find an analysis of another character from Jason Reynolds's Track Series.

Writing the Beginning Paragraph

Start your essay with a lead that gets readers' attention and orients them to the piece of literature you will analyze. Then provide background information that leads to your thesis statement.

Write a lead sentence.

Try out each lead strategy below. Let the examples inspire you as you write similar leads for your own topic.

Name the work and author and summarize its importance.
Ghost by Jason Reynolds tells the story of a middle-schooler running toward a better future.
Ask a compelling question about the character or theme.
Have you ever tried running away from a problem?

By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Revising Classification Essays

Finishing the first draft of an essay is an important milestone, but a first draft isn't a final draft. Next, you need to revise, making improvements to the ideas, organization, and voice of your work. These activities will help you improve the unity and coherence of your paragraphs.

Revising for Paragraph Unity

Focusing on one idea in a paragraph is called unity. For example, the sentences in each paragraph in your essay should focus on the category mentioned in the paragraph’s topic sentence. A paragraph lacks unity when it includes ideas that do not relate to its topic sentence. In the example paragraph below, the topic sentence is in bold type, and an unrelated idea is deleted.

Percussion instruments provide rhythm and many of the interesting sounds you hear during musical performances. Percussionists make sounds by striking, shaking, or scraping their instruments. Drums, cymbals, xylophones, and maracas are examples of percussion instruments. Surprisingly, the piano is a percussion instrument, too. ~~Another keyboard instrument is the pipe organ, but sound on a pipe organ is made when air goes through pipes.~~ The percussion section in an orchestra varies in size depending on the requirements of the music that is being performed.

Create paragraph unity.

Read the passages below. If every sentence belongs, write “U” for unity on the line provided. If a passage lacks unity, cross out the sentence that does not belong.

Poison ivy is an enemy of campers and other nature lovers. It contains an oil that irritates the skin. The oil gets onto the skin when the plant’s leaf is crushed. Walking through or on top of poison ivy can release the oil. You can easily recognize poison ivy because it usually grows as a vine and has compound leaves made up of three leaflets each. ~~Poison sumac is also a problem for campers.~~ Poison ivy is an enemy of campers and other nature lovers. It contains an oil that irritates the skin. The oil gets onto the skin when the plant’s leaf is crushed. Walking through or on top of poison ivy can release the oil. You can easily recognize poison ivy because it usually grows as a vine and has compound leaves made up of three leaflets each. Poison sumac is also a problem for campers.

By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Revising Cause-Effect Essays

After you've completed a first draft of your cause-effect essay, take a break before you begin revising. You need to see your work objectively, because when you revise, you make big improvements to your ideas, organization, and voice. These activities will help you revise.

Revising for Depth of Detail

Each middle paragraph should fully explain the specific cause or effect identified in the topic sentence. If a paragraph lacks support, you need to add details to the paragraph.

Check depth of detail.

Briefly list the supporting details in each of your middle paragraphs. Do any paragraphs lack the level of detail of the others? If so, add supporting details, such as facts, reasons, and examples.

Middle Paragraph 1

Middle Paragraph 2

Middle Paragraph 3

Middle Paragraph 4

Teaching Tip

Use this lesson to help students deepen their explanations. Additional research may be needed to discover new details.

Revising for Focus

You can revise paragraphs for focus by developing one main idea and cutting unrelated details.

Unfocused paragraph (includes too many ideas and unrelated details)

One major cause of erosion is water. Over time, rainfall splashes against rock, causing it to wear away. Strong wind is another major cause of erosion. Crashing waves produce a similar impact. Huge waves can be dangerous for swimming. Lastly, powerful floods lead to rapid erosion.

Revised paragraph (one main idea developed in detail)

One major cause of erosion is water. Over time, rainfall splashes against rock, causing it to wear away. Crashing waves produce a similar impact. Lastly, powerful floods lead to rapid erosion.

By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Writing a Cause-Effect Essay

You've selected a topic, done your research, and formed a focus. Now it's time to write your first draft. Relax. You have all the material you need. Now you just need to put it down in a first form. Your draft doesn't have to be perfect: That's what revising and editing are for.

Writing the Beginning Paragraph

Your beginning paragraph starts with a lead that gets your reader's attention, includes detail sentences that explain the cause-effect relationship, and ends with a focus statement that tells readers just what your essay will be about.

Write a lead.

Read each lead-writing strategy and example, and write your own leads related to your topic.

Ask a question.
What did you eat for lunch today?
Relate the topic to your own experience.
Last year, school lunches changed in a big way.
Start with a thought-provoking fact or statement.
School districts are taking a closer look at school lunches.

Write your beginning paragraph.

Write your best lead sentence, add detail sentences, and provide your focus statement.

Lead Sentence

Detail Sentences

Focus Statement

Friendship

Friendship A dictionary contains a definition of friendship somewhere in the F’s between the words “fear” and “Friday.” An encyclopedia supplies interesting facts on friendship. But all the definitions and facts do not convey what friendship is really all about. It cannot be understood through words or exaggerations. The only way to understand friendship is through experience. It is an experience that involves all the senses. Friendship can be seen. It is seen in an old couple sitting in the park holding hands.

The Best Little Girl in the World

The Best Little Girl in the World In the book The Best Little Girl in the World, Kessa has a serious eating disorder called anorexia nervosa. But she is not alone. Many people have this eating disorder, and this book shows its harmful effects. This is an emotional and invigorating story of a determined girl and her fight to survive. In the beginning of her story, Kessa is a normal 15-year-old. She has many talents, especially dancing. She has danced for many years and loves it. One day her dance teacher tells her to continue eating right, but maybe lose a few pounds.

What Really Matters

What Really Matters Margaret L. is like any other teenage girl today: she talks on the phone, deals with the stress of schoolwork, and has a boyfriend. Unlike many of her peers, however, Margaret takes medication as part of her morning routine; and the time she spends in the school bathroom is not devoted to fixing her hair. Margaret has spina bifida, a condition in which one or more of her vertebrae did not form properly, leaving her spinal cord—the most vital component of the central nervous system—unprotected.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.2.E