STAAR WRITING
GUIDELINES
What students should KNOW:
Two-day test; time limit of 4 hours per day
Day 1–All 40-48 multiple-choice questions
and first composition.
Day 2–Second and third compositions
Compositions will be PERSONAL
NARRATIVE AND EXPOSITORY ESSAY
forms
Students may use dictionaries for the entire test
(multiple-choice section and written compositions)
Compositions/Essays must be no longer than one
page—a maximum of 26 lines for each
2
composition
STAAR Writing Performance
Score Point 1—VERY LIMITED
Score Point 2—BASIC
Score Point 3—SATISFACTORY
Score Point 4—ACCOMPLISHED
On-Level: Your goal should be score 3
or 4 for each composition.
Pre AP: Your goal should be score 4 for
each composition.
3
DO’S

DO read and understand ALL PARTS
of the prompt:
◦
◦
◦
◦

“Read”
“Think”
“Write”
“Be Sure To…”
DO focus upon the “Write” for your
MAIN WRITING GOAL.
4
DO’S, continued…

Read the WRITING GENRE listed at the top.
◦ There will be a label stating either “Personal
Narrative” or “Expository Essay”.
◦ KNOW YOUR PURPOSE!
◦ WRITE ACCORDING TO YOUR PURPOSE!
◦ STAY FOCUSED UPON YOUR PURPOSE!
5
DO’S, continued…
BEFORE WRITING ON THE 26-LINE PAPER:

BRAINSTORM IDEAS under the writing prompt.

PLAN by creating an ORGANIZER on a blank page of
your booklet.

WRITE A ROUGH DRAFT on a blank page in your
booklet.

WRITE A ROUGH DRAFT 3-PART THESIS
STATEMENT for your EXPOSITORY ESSAY /
CONTROLLING IDEA Purpose Sentence for your
PERSONAL NARRATIVE Story.
6
DO’S, continued…

Write STRONG SENTENCES.
◦ Use COMPOUND and COMPLEX
SENTENCES.
◦ Use specific, elevated WORD CHOICES
(Dictionary).
◦ Use images, metaphors, interesting ideas.
7
DO’S, continued…

Write interesting/clever EFFECTIVE
INTRODUCTIONS that don’t exceed 3
lines.

Write REFLECTIVE CONCLUSIONS
that contain the LESSON LEARNED and
don’t exceed 3 lines.
8
DO’S, continued…

Use the dictionary to locate correct
spellings and elevated, precise synonyms
to make your writing sound more mature
and sophisticated.

FOCUS UPON HIGH QUALITY
WORDS AND IDEAS!
 Think QUALITY over QUANTITY!
9
DO’S, continued…

Ask the teacher or test administrator to
read the prompt aloud to you if you need
to hear it.
10
DO NOT’S

DO NOT Forget to REREAD the prompt
as you write.

DO NOT forget to reread your PURPOSE.Is your entire composition FOCUSED on the
TOPIC in the Prompt?

DO NOT forget to reread the Prompt, your
PLANNING SHEET, and ROUGH DRAFT to
make sure you are CORRECTLY addressing
the PROMPT AND PURPOSE.
11
DO NOT’S, continued…

DO NOT forget to REREAD your
THESIS STATEMENT as you are planning
and rough drafting BODY PARAGRAPHS
AND THE CONCLUSION.

DO NOT just list your ideas—make sure
to DEVELOP your writing with QUALITY
IDEAS, EXAMPLES, IMAGES, ETC.
12
DO NOT’S, continued…

DO NOT skip the PLANNING AND
ROUGH DRAFT. You MUST FIT YOUR
ENTIRE FINAL DRAFT ON THE 26
LINES.
 Without careful planning and prewriting, your essay
may not meet the 26 line requirement.

DO NOT forget to EDIT for capitalization
and proper punctuation! - REREAD
◦ If your ideas don’t make sense because of
missing or improper punctuation, your score will
be greatly reduced.
13
DO NOT’S, continued…

DO NOT waste words by repeating
them or by using poor quality words.

DO NOT ramble on and on about the
same thing. Use only FRESH,
INTERESTING, IMPORTANT IDEAS.
14
DO NOT’S, continued…

DO NOT forget that you may have the
prompt read aloud to you if you wish.
15
BEFORE THE STAAR WRITING
TEST

REVIEW your PERSONAL NARRATIVE
STRUCTURE and guidelines.
◦ KNOW your purpose for Personal Narrative
writing.

REVIEW your EXPOSITORY ESSAY
STRUCTURE and guidelines.
◦ KNOW your purpose for EXPOSITORY ESSAY
writing.
16
Adjacent Scoring for
STAAR
17