Cahsee Types of Writing
CAHSEE Writing
Writing Application
On the writing portion of the
CAHSEE exam, you will be given a
“Writing Task” which is one essay question.
You may be asked to do one of the following:
Biographical Narrative
Response to Literature
Expository Essay
Persuasive Essay
Business Letter
Biographical Narrative
Tells the story from the life of a real
person.
Often, this type of CAHSEE essay
question will ask you to write about
someone who is important in your life.
Response to Literature
You read a (literature) text and are asked
to respond (write an essay) based on a
question regarding that passage.
This type of question asks that you first
comprehend the text, then write about it (use TtT
and chunking!).
Expository Essay
Expository essays (also called
compositions) are most often nonfiction,
meaning that it deals with real people,
things, events and places.
The question may ask you to write about an
important moment in history or technology,
or a question about school.
Persuasive Essay
A persuasive essay (or composition) asks you to
defend a position or argue for your side of an
issue about which people disagree.
A sample question may ask you to write an essay for your school
paper in which you convince the readers of the importance of
volunteer hours as a graduation requirement or a convincing essay
about whether or not there should be art and music in school.
The readers want you to think about the other side of the argument and
keep that in mind as you defend your ideas
Business Letter
A Business Letter is a formal
correspondence about a business related
matter.
When you’re writing a business letter,
your purpose may be
•to apply for a job
• to complain
•to request information
Business Letter (continued)
Besides the way it looks, treat the
business letter pretty much the same way
you would treat an essay. It should
include:
Salutation
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Signature
CAHSEE Essay Writing
#1. Remember
Make sure to answer all parts
of the writing task.
If the question is asking you to describe
the main characters decisions and
emotions,
make sure to address both.
CAHSEE Essay Writing
# 2. Remember
Make sure you have the correct five-paragraph essay
structure with a strong introduction, three body
paragraphs, and conclusion.
Use specific details and examples from the passage to
demonstrate your understanding of the main idea’s
and the author’s purpose.
Vary your sentences to make your writing more
interesting.
CAHSEE Essay Writing
# 3. Remember
Real people (usually teachers) are hired by the
testing company to grade essays.
They read a lot of essays, give it a score (1
through 4) quickly, and two grader’s scores are
combined for your final score.
Make your essay easy to read both in terms of the
structure, and in terms of handwriting. If the
grader has to struggle to read your essay, they
can’t pay attention to your great ideas!
Your CAHSE Essay Should Include
Five strong paragraphs (at least four
sentences)
A thesis statement at the end of the
introduction paragraph
Clear main ideas
Supporting evidence
Understandable writing
Clearly written (check your handwriting!)
Good (enough) spelling
Clear grammar
How should my essay look?
Introduction
Body paragraph 1
Body paragraph 2
Body paragraph 3
Conclusion
Kind of like a hamburger….
Introduction
Body Paragraph 1
Body Paragraph 2
Body Paragraph 3
Conclusion