Writing the Beginning Paragraph

The purpose of your beginning paragraph is to grab your reader's attention, introduce the title and author of your book, and tell something interesting about it. The paragraph should start with a lead sentence, which gets the reader interested in the book. You can introduce the title and author in the lead or in a new sentence. Then, to close out the paragraph, introduce the big challenge the main character must face in the book. But don't spoil the ending!

1. Ask a question related to the work.

Have you ever felt like a stranger in your school or community?

2. Talk directly to your readers.

You never know when you will meet someone who will change your life.

3. Provide a suspenseful detail from the story.

Just when Lucy thought she was getting her very own room, a stranger showed up and changed everything.

4. Share a feeling you have about the work.

The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang changed the way I think about my heritage.

Viewing for Assessment

Some tests ask you to watch a video and respond to it in a paragraph or essay. Often, you'll need to refer to details from the video and any readings you have done. The following activities will help you practice viewing for assessment.

Practicing for Assessment

Reading and writing tests measure important learning skills. You can do your best on such tests by reading and writing every day. You can also get a better score if you practice for assessment.

How Can I Practice for Assessment?

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The best way to practice for a reading and writing assessment is to take a practice test. This unit asks you to closely read information and write about it, just as you will do on actual assessments.

You’ll find interesting articles to read and respond to. You’ll also get to watch a video. In the end, you’ll need to take the information you discover and use it to write an informational essay of your own.

If you would like more help with close reading and informational writing, see the unit “Reading and Writing for Assessment.”

Reading a Practice Assessment

Some tests ask you to closely read and respond to explanatory articles and then use them to write an essay. One technique for reading closely is SQ3R:

• Survey the headings, illustrations, beginning, and ending of the text.
• Question what the text is about and what you expect to learn from it.
• Read the text carefully.
• Recite the main points covered in the text.
• Review the material, thinking about how it relates to other things you have learned.

Source 1

Finding Supporting Details

Each controlling sentence in a text is supported with different types of details. Note how the following focus statement is supported by different details.

Understanding Controlling Sentences

As you read, watch for two types of controlling sentences:

A focus statement tells what an essay or article is about. It usually appears at the end of the first paragraph.

A topic sentence tells what a paragraph is about. It usually appears at the start of a middle paragraph.

Closely Reading Nonfiction

To read closely, remember SQ3R—Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review.

1. Survey the text: Highlight the title, author, and headings.
2. Question the topic and purpose: Write comments on the document.
3. Read the text: Underline the focus statement and topic sentences.

Warm-Up for Reading and Writing Assessments

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Reading helps you learn any subject. Writing helps you share what you've learned. That's why these two skills are critical in all your classes. That's also why major assessments test your ability to read and write.

What Is Assessment?

Assessment is another word for test. Some assessments will test your ability to read and write. The reading and writing you do every day at school and home will help you get ready for these assessments. This unit will also help.

In the following activities, you’ll learn about close reading—reading to understand the focus statement, topic sentences, details, and vocabulary of the nonfiction texts you’re assigned. You’ll also learn about on-demand writing—writing to develop your own ideas during an assessment. Strong reading skills help you write and vice versa.

In this unit, you’ll learn the reading and writing skills that you need to succeed in nonfiction assessment. If you’d like to try out these skills, see the unit “Practice Test for Reading and Writing.”

Thinking About Close Reading

To read closely, you need to think about the ideas in a text. You can do this by asking and answering questions. For starters, use the 5 W’s and H.

Reading a Problem-Solution Paragraph and Essay

Now that you've warmed up your thinking about problems and solutions, you can read a sample paragraph and essay. Note how each writer explains a problem and argues for a specific solution.

Reading a Problem-Solution Paragraph

A problem-solution paragraph has three main parts. The topic sentence introduces the solution to a problem. The body sentences explain the problem and solution. The ending sentence calls readers to action.

Sample Paragraph

Reading an Opinion Paragraph and Essay

Before you write your own essay, you can read an opinion paragraph and essay that others wrote. As you read, think about how the writers put ideas together and how you might support an opinion in your essay.

Reading an Opinion Paragraph

An opinion paragraph has three main parts. The topic sentence states the opinion. The body sentences support the opinion with reasons. The ending sentence restates or emphasizes the opinion.

Sample Paragraph

Editing in Action

When you edit, you check to make sure your paragraph is correct.

• Paragraph Before Edits

  

• A proper noun was capitalized and a usage and agreement error was fixed.

  

• Paragraph After Edits