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How to use this packet:
This packet contains three reading selections (informational text), two paired
passage short answer questions and 8 practice persuasive prompts. The prompts
are attached to the persuasive essay lined writing boxes to simulate an actual
test-taking environment for students.
The reading selections are each followed by 10 reading comprehension questions.
I have used STAAR prompt and question stems for all of the material. I have also
included the Answer Key for the Reading Comprehension Questions and the
STAAR rubric for persuasive prompts (provided by TEA).
If you have any questions about this packet, please do not hesitate to contact me
at via my TpT Store.
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Table of Contents
Going Wild on Texas Highways by H. Barkley ......................................................... 5
Answer the following questions and record your answers in the blank to the left
of the question number. ..................................................................................... 6
Answer Key for Reading Comprehension Questions on “Going Wild on Texas
Roadways” ........................................................................................................ 10
Read this selection and answer the questions that follow. .................................. 11
Selma .................................................................................................................. 11
Answer the following questions and record your answers in the blanks to the
left of the question numbers. ........................................................................... 15
Answer Key for Reading Comprehension Questions on “Selma”: ..................... 18
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Fireside Chats................................ 19
Reading Comprehension Questions .................................................................. 23
Answer Key: Reading Comprehension Questions ............................................. 27
Short Answer: Paired Passages ........................................................................... 28
Short Answer #1 ............................................................................................... 29
Short Answer #2 ............................................................................................... 31
Answer Keys for Short Answers ........................................................................ 33
Persuasive Essay Prompt #1 ................................................................................. 35
Persuasive Essay Prompt #2 ................................................................................. 37
Persuasive Essay Prompt #3 ................................................................................. 39
Persuasive Essay Prompt #4 ................................................................................. 41
Persuasive Essay Prompt #5 ................................................................................. 43
Persuasive Essay Prompt #6 ................................................................................. 45
Persuasive Essay Prompt #7 ................................................................................. 47
Persuasive Essay Prompt #8 ............................................................................ 49
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STAAR Persuasive Essay Scoring Guide Provided by the TEA ................................ 51
Score Point 1 ........................................................................................................ 52
The essay represents a very limited writing performance. ................................ 52
Score Point 2 ........................................................................................................ 54
The essay represents a basic writing performance. ........................................... 54
Score Point 3 ........................................................................................................ 56
The essay represents a satisfactory writing performance. ................................ 56
Score Point 4 ........................................................................................................ 58
The essay represents an accomplished writing performance. ........................... 58
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Read this selection and answer the questions that follow.
Going Wild on Texas Highways
by H. Barkley
(1) If, like me, you grew up in Texas and travelled from one small town to
another to spend time with grandparents and other family members, you have
spent long stretches sitting in the back seat of the family vacation-mobile.
(2)You can see these traveling circuses on Texas roads every holiday – they
are easy to recognize. They are usually not new, and seem never to have been
new even when they were; at least three kids crowd into their back seats, “not
touching each other,” “not looking at each other,” and DEFINITELY “not doing
THAT,” the thing that irritated the mother the most. THAT was different for each
back seat, but all the kids in the car knew what their THAT was. And if a kid did
THAT, the mother informed the kids that they would be put out on the side of the
road to fend for themselves.
(3)So I began my habit of studying Texas roadsides, contemplating my
options and weighing the consequences for doing THAT. One Easter when I was
about eight, I noticed that the edges along the highways were bursting wild with
color – more flowers than I had seen in any garden in my small town. They
stretched for the miles along the drive from our house to my grandfather’s house.
In my mind a child had been put out of a car years ago and then had begun a life
wandering up and down this road – she had become a Wild Child Gardener,
cultivating her fields and living on the land after having done THAT. It did not
seem like such a bad life, actually.
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(4)As an adult, I learned that the truth about the wildflowers was much less
dramatic. As early as 1932, officials in the Texas Department of Transportation
had noticed that wildflowers were the first to fill in and grow where local land had
been disturbed by road construction. The state recognized the benefits of the
wildflowers – they prevented erosion; they needed little supplemental water;
they did not need to be mowed as often as grass; and their beauty drew tourists
and tourist dollars to the state. Today the Texas Department of Transportation
buys and sows 30,000 pounds of wildflower seeds every year!
(5)I still sometimes look for my Wild Child Gardener when I am rambling
across our Texas highways every spring. I see her every once in a while, darting
alongside my car, daring me to do THAT so I can get out and see her garden.
Answer the following questions and record your answers in the blank to the
left of the question number.
_____ 1. When the author describes family cars as “traveling circuses” in
paragraph 2, her purpose is to:
a. Give readers a metaphor that adds lively and happy connotations to
the description of family cars
b. Give readers a simile that adds lively and happy connotations to the
description of family cars
c. Link the description of family cars to the chaos and noise of a circus
d. Demonstrate to readers that she did not like family vacations
_____ 2. The beginning of paragraph 4 marks a shift in the author’s:
a. Mood from nostalgic to serious
b. Mood from confused to angry
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c. Tone from nostalgic to factual
d. Tone from confused to angry
_____ 3. In paragraph 4, the passage states that “The state recognized the
benefits of the wildflowers.” Which of the following provides the best
evidence for this statement?
a. “I noticed that the edges along the highways were bursting wild with
color”
b. “Today the Texas Department of Transportation buys and sows
30,000 pounds of wildflower seeds every year!”
c. “I learned that the truth about the wildflowers was much less
dramatic.”
d. “[T]hey prevented erosion; they needed little supplemental water;
they did not need to be mowed as often as grass; and their beauty
drew tourists and tourist dollars to the state.”
_____ 4. In paragraphs 1 and 2, the speaker:
a. Feels genuinely afraid that her parents will stop the car and put her
out by the roadside
b. Recognizes that her parents are delivering an exaggerated threat
about the consequences of her misbehavior in the car
c. Hates family vacations and causes trouble in the car as a result
d. Sees herself as a well-behaved child who should never be punished
_____ 5. The author’s purpose for writing this passage primarily is:
a. To link favorite childhood memories to a description of wildflowers
along Texas highways
b. To give a complete history of the cultivation of wildflowers along
Texas highways
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c. To encourage her readers to become gardeners
d. To encourage her readers to notice the beauty of the world around
them
_____ 6. This passage is primarily:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Persuasive
Expository
Narrative
None of the above
_____ 7. In paragraph 3, the word cultivating means:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Adding culture to
Appreciating the sight of
Passing through
Helping the growth of plants in
_____ 8. Which detail from the passage best helps you understand the
meaning of the word sows in paragraph 4?
a.
b.
c.
d.
The state recognized the benefits of the wildflowers
30,000 pounds of wildflower seeds
they prevented erosion
their beauty drew tourists
_____ 9. From details in the passage, when can you infer that most
wildflowers begin to bloom in Texas?
a. In the late spring
b. In the fall
c. In the winter
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d. At the end of the summer
_____ 10.
a.
b.
c.
d.
The speaker of this passage is:
A child
A group of children
An adult woman
An adult man
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Answer Key for Reading Comprehension Questions on “Going Wild on Texas
Roadways”
1. a
2. c
3. d
4. b
5. a
6. b
7. d
8. b
9. a
10. c
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Read this selection and answer the questions that follow.
Selma
(1) In the fight for voting rights for African Americans in the South, the
city of Selma, Alabama and the extraordinary events that happened there over
the course of the year 1965 were pivotal. The visual images of violence and
injustice that passed into the consciousness of the wider American public
ultimately fueled the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Without Selma,
and the events leading up to it, it is probable that the Voting Rights Act might
have had to wait for many more years, perhaps even a decade, to become law in
the United States.
(2) The 1950s and 1960s saw
challenges to the laws supporting
segregation in the United States, and the
push for voting rights was a part of this
larger protest movement. The African
American community in Selma had been
trying for several years to register more
minority citizens to vote, but with little
success. The Ku Klux Klan and other similar
organizations intimidated minority citizens
with violence, beatings and church
bombings. Black people who worked in
white businesses and homes were often
fired if they tried to register to vote. Literacy tests and poll taxes
disenfranchised members of the minority communities. The voter registration
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statistics for Dallas County, the county Selma is in, speak for themselves:
disenfranchised minorities simply were not being allowed to register to vote.
(3) In 1964, the black community continued to press for voting rights,
sending group after group to the Dallas County Courthouse to register. Most
were stopped through beatings and arrests. Law enforcement did little to stop
the violence. Many governmental authorities in Alabama took the side of those
opposing voting rights. The local sheriff in Selma, Sherriff Jim Clark, had KKK
members as deputes. Other branches of government offered no protection. In
July of 1964, State Circuit Judge James Hare issued the “Selma Injunction,”
making it illegal for more than two people to meet together and talk about civil
rights and voting rights. This Injunction, though ultimately found to be
unconstitutional, stopped most overt civil rights activity in Selma until 1965;
however, planning meetings continued in private. The outcome of these
meetings was that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to Selma in January of 1965,
and the backdrop for what would become three marches attempted from Selma
to Montgomery was complete.
(4) In February of 1965, a young civil rights protestor named Jimie Lee
Jackson was shot by Alabama State Trooper James Bonard Fowler. Jackson died
eight days later. His death precipitated the call for a march from Selma to
Montgomery, the capitol of Alabama. The march organizers hoped that the
march would bring national attention to the numerous violations of constitutional
and civil rights happening in Alabama. The first march from Selma to
Montgomery was scheduled for Sunday, March 7, 1965.
(6) That Sunday is now referred to as “Bloody Sunday.” Around 600
protestors met in Selma and began crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, a bridge
across the Alabama River at the southern edge of Selma. Sherriff Jim Clark had
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earlier deputized every
white male over 21 in
Dallas County who had
shown up to stop the
protestors.
Sherriff Clark and his
deputes began beating
the protestors with knight sticks, firing tear gas at them, and trampling them on
horseback. TV news reports broadcast images of this violence and its bloody
aftermath around the country, and public sentiment began to turn towards the
protestors.
(7) A second march was planned for Tuesday, March 9th. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., led this march, which progressed half way across the Edmund
Pettus Bridge and then turned around when troopers ordered the protestors to
stop. A Federal District Court had issued a restraining order on the marchers,
and Dr. King asked the marchers to respect that order until further preparations
for a longer march were made. That night, one of the protestors who had
travelled to Selma from Boston, a white minister named James Reeb, was beaten
to death by the KKK. Protests spread around the country, including protests at
the White House.
(8) On March 15, 1965, President Johnson convened a joint session of
Congress. On live television, he outlined the full version of his new bill, the
Voting Rights Act.
(9) The third march, in which marchers did complete the 54 miles from
Selma to Montgomery, began on Sunday, March 21st and lasted for 4 days. The
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restraining order preventing the march had been
lifted, and the march was led by Dr. King and
other spiritual and civil rights leaders.
The marchers were protected by the U.S. Army,
the FBI, Federal Agents and the Alabama
National Guard under federal command. The
marchers arrived in Montgomery on March 24th.
On Thursday, March 25th, Dr. King gave
the speech “How Long, Not Long” on the steps of
the state capitol in Montgomery. Towards the end of his speech, he told the
gathered crowd:
I know you are asking today, "How long will it take?" (Speak, sir)
Somebody’s asking, "How long will prejudice blind the visions of men,
darken their understanding, and drive bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred
throne?" Somebody’s asking, "When will wounded justice, lying prostrate
on the streets of Selma and Birmingham and communities all over the
South, be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the
children of men?" . . .
I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, (Yes,
sir) however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, (No sir) because
"truth crushed to earth will rise again." (Yes, sir). . .
How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it
bends toward justice. (Yes, sir)
(Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., from “How Long, Not Long”)
(10) The Congress acted quickly and passed the Voting Rights Act, which
was signed into law by President Johnson on August 6, 1965.
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Answer the following questions and record your answers in the blanks to the
left of the question numbers.
_____ 1.
This reading passage is primarily:
a. Persuasive
b. Fictional
c. Expository
d. Literary
_____ 2.
In paragraph 2, the best definition for the word disenfranchised is:
a. deprived of a right of citizenship
b. deprived of a good reputation
c. deprived of the right to make a living
d. deprived of the right to vote
_____ 3.
The author includes Figure 1 to:
a. Give facts to the reader about how many black people were eligible to
vote in Dallas County compared to how many were registered.
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b. Give a visual representation of the large discrepancy between the
number of black citizens eligible to vote in Dallas County and the
number of registered black voters.
c. Give population statistics about Dallas County.
d. Demonstrate racism in Dallas County, Alabama in the 1960s.
_____ 4.
Which detail best helps the reader understand the meaning of overt
in paragraph 3?
a. “however, planning meetings continued in private.”
b. “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to Selma in January of 1965”
c. “the backdrop for what would become three marches attempted from
Selma to Montgomery was complete”
d. “This Injunction, though ultimately found to be unconstitutional”
_____ 5.
In paragraph 4 the passage states, “His [Jimmie Lee Jackson’s]
death precipitated the call for a march from Selma to Montgomery, the capitol
of Alabama.” Which of the following provides the best evidence for this
statement?
a. “That Sunday is now referred to as “Bloody Sunday.”
b. “Sherriff Jim Clark had earlier deputized every white male over 21”
c. “The first march from Selma to Montgomery was scheduled for Sunday,
March 7, 1965.”
d. “Sherriff Clark and his deputes began beating the protestors”
_____ 6.
How were black citizens kept from registering to vote in Dallas
County, Alabama?
a. Literacy tests
b. Violence
c. Poll taxes
d. all of the above
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_____ 7.
From details in the passage, what can you infer was the role of
television in the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
a. Television played no role in its passage.
b. Television was important to its passage because it helped sway public
opinion.
c. Without television, the Voting Rights Act would never have passed.
d. Television had not yet been invented.
_____ 8.
From the quotation from Dr. King’s speech “How Long, Not Long”
given at the end of this passage, what can you conclude about Dr. King’s
overall tone in the speech?
a. Dr. King felt hopeless and angry.
b. Dr. King felt passionate and hopeful.
c. Dr. King felt frustrated and defeated.
d. Dr. King felt detached and apathetic.
_____ 9.
What word would you use to describe the way that Dr. King’s
audience felt about Dr. King’s speech “How Long, Not Long”?
a. mood
b. tone
c. active
d. interested
_____ 10.
From details in the passage, what can you infer was the point of
marching to Montgomery from Selma?
a. It was 54 miles away.
b. Montgomery was a larger town..
c. Montgomery was the capitol of Alabama, and if justice could not be
found in Selma, the marchers wanted to seek it in Montgomery.
d. Montgomery had more television news stations.
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Answer Key for Reading Comprehension Questions on “Selma”:
1. C
2. D
3. B
4. A
5. C
6. D
7. B
8. B
9. A
10. C
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President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Fireside Chats
(1) Franklin Delano Roosevelt, often
referred to by his initials FDR, was the 32nd
President of the United States. He was elected
an unprecedented 4 times and served from
1933 until his death in 1945. As president, he
presided over some of the most difficult and
traumatic times ever faced by the United
States. He led the country through the Great Depression and was the
commander-in-chief during the better part of World War II. Throughout his
presidency, his skill at communicating with the American people was one of his
defining characteristics. Thirty times during his presidency, he addressed his
nation over the radio, and these radio addresses became his link to the country.
A newsman at CBS radio coined the term “fireside chats” for these addresses,
and the name became indelibly associated with FDR and the radio addresses. In
the most critical moments of his presidency, FDR’s “fireside chats” with the
American people communicated his plans, his emotions and his reassurances
that the U.S. would prevail over the many challenges facing the nation.
The Importance of Radio
(2) FDR’s fireside chats were only possible because
of the advent of commercial radio. Before 1920, radios were
mostly used for person-to-person communication or for
military purposes. During the 1920’s, public companies
quickly moved into this space and developed what would
become modern broadcasting networks. NBC and CBS, and
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later ABC, were some of the first companies to take advantage of commercial
radio broadcasting.
(3) In 1930, 40% of U.S.
households owned radios. In
fact, the 1930 U.S. census was
the only census ever to ask the
question “Does this household
own a radio?” Throughout the
1930’s and 1940’s, more
households had a radio than
had a telephone. The number of
households owning a radio
continued to climb, reaching
65% by the middle of the
1930’s. FDR’s use of this
communication medium was
ingenious. His voice became a
lifeline for the nation.
The Fireside Chats
(4) FDR’s physical boundaries were also a factor in his effective use of
radio. His voice was strong where his body had limitations. FDR’s early years
instilled in him his resilient personality. As a child, he survived a bout of polio
that left him unable to walk on his own for the rest of his life. Radio was the
perfect medium for him – radio carried his voice and his message into
households all over America. It was as if FDR were there in the living room,
sitting by the fireside and chatting with the families in his audience.
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(5) FDR was keenly aware of his audience as he composed his fireside
chats. He was not talking to kings or political leaders (though they certainly
listened to his addresses). His main audience was the average citizen. In the
1930’s and early 1940’s, citizens were facing unemployment and poverty. Most
of them had not finished high school, and so their informal learning was more
important than their formal education. In 1930, the high school graduation rate
was 29%. FDR spoke to his audience with concrete images and direct, simple
language. He often began his chats with the phrase, “Good Evening, Friends,”
setting the warm and familial tone that stretched throughout the chats
themselves.
(6) FDR’s chat “On Drought Conditions” from 6 September 1936
demonstrates his concrete, simple language when describing a complex climate
crisis that was facing the Midwest in America – the Dust Bowl. He opens the chat
by telling his listeners that he visited the impacted states “primarily to see at first
hand conditions in the drought states.” This opening tells the audience that this
is a president who cares, who visits his fellow citizens in their time of need. He
describes the specifics of lost crops, of conversations with farmers and ranchers.
But then he gives the country hope:
No cracked earth, no blistering sun, no burning wind, no grasshoppers, are
a permanent match for the indomitable American farmers and stockmen
and their wives and children who have carried on through desperate days,
and inspire us with their self-reliance, their tenacity and their courage. It
was their fathers' task to make homes; it is their task to keep those
homes; it is our task to help them with their fight. (FDR, “On Drought
Conditions”)
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With this one well-crafted paragraph, he links the strength of today’s farmers
and ranchers to the strength of their past, and then he links the future of the
country as a whole to this strength. His concrete imagery, “cracked earth,”
“blistering sun,” “burning wind,” paints the picture of the Dust Bowl states in his
listeners’ minds. After this paragraph, he outlines in a series of numbered steps
what the government is going to do to support those affected by the drought.
His language, his ability to unify the people of the U.S. with each other, and his
simple strategy of telling his audience the steps of his plan all made his
addresses some of the most popular radio broadcasts of the 1930’s and 1940’s.
(7) FDR’s legacy of radio communication lives on in today’s presidents.
President Reagan brought back the spirit of the Fireside Chat when he began his
practice of addressing the country via radio every Saturday, and all subsequent
presidents have continued this practice. But none of these addresses has
reached the large scale of the audiences of FDR’s fireside chats. In his last
address, encouraging his country to buy war bonds (“Opening Fifth War Loan
Drive” 12 June 1944), FDR acknowledged one of the strengths of his fireside
chats: “To the consciences of those people, this appeal by the President of the
United States is very much in order.” His ability to appeal to the consciences of
the people and to convince them to follow him in his plans makes him one of the
greatest persuasive writers ever to hold the office of president.
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Reading Comprehension Questions
Answer the following questions and record your answers in the blanks
to the left of the question numbers.
_____ 1.
This reading passage is primarily:
a. Persuasive
b. Fictional
c. Expository
d. Literary
_____ 2.
In paragraph 2, the passage states, “FDR’s fireside
chats were only possible because of the advent of commercial radio.“
Which of the following provides the best evidence for this statement?
a. “The number of households owning a radio continued to climb,
reaching 65% by the middle of the 1930’s.”
b. “His voice became a lifeline for the nation.”
c. “NBC and CBS, and later ABC, were some of the first companies to take
advantage of commercial radio broadcasting.”
d. “FDR’s physical boundaries were also a factor in his effective use of
radio.”
_____ 3.
The author of the passage includes Figure 1 to:
a. Demonstrate the popularity of FDR’s fireside chats
b. Give statistics to support the percentage of households which listened
to FDR’s fireside chats
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c. Demonstrate the increasing popularity of radio programming
d. Give the reader a visual representation of the growing number of
households which owned a radio in the 1930’s and 140’s
_____ 4.
The “trend line” in figure 1 demonstrates:
a. The increasing number of radio broadcast networks starting in the
1930’s
b. The statistics, by decade, of the number of households owning radios
c. The increasing number of households owning radios in the 1930’s and
1940’s
d. The dramatic drop in the number of households owning radios
_____ 5.
Paragraph 6 includes a quotation from FDR’s fireside
chat “On Drought Conditions.” All of the following are examples of concrete
images from that quotation except:
a. desperate days
b. burning wind
c. grasshoppers
d. cracked earth
_____ 6.
According to the reading passage, the tone of FDR’s
fireside chats was:
a. mostly emotional
b. serious and educational
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c. warm and familial
d. logical and predictable
_____ 7.
Based on context, what can we infer is the meaning of
the word indelibly in paragraph #1?
a. creating a bond which cannot be erased
b. easily re-named
c. wrongly linked
d. both B and C
_____ 8.
According to paragraph 7 of the passage, FDR’s
fireside chats:
a. have been picked up and imitated successfully by current presidents
b. have been imitated, but have not reached the audience that FDR
reached due to the dominance of television
c. have had no current imitators
d. have been admired and imitated, but never have achieved the audience
or reach of FDR’s original broadcasts
_____ 9.
From the reading passage, the reader conclude that
the Fireside Chats were primarily:
a. Persuasive
b. Fictional
c. Expository
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d. Literary
_____ 10.
According to the passage, which president first brought
back the spirit of the Fireside Chat?
a. Richard Nixon
b. Bill Clinton
c. Ronald Reagan
d. George W. Bush
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Answer Key: Reading Comprehension Questions
“President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Fireside Chats”
1. C
2. A
3. D
4. C
5. A
6. C
7. A
8. D
9. A
10. C
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Short Answer: Paired Passages
Read the following selections and answer the questions which follow.
“A child said, What is the grass?”
by Walt Whitman
A child said, What is the grass? fetching it to me with full
hands;
How could I answer the child?. . . .I do not know what it
is any more than he. . . .
[I]t seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves.
This grass is very dark to be from the white heads of old
mothers,
Darker than the colorless beards of old men,
Dark to come from under the faint red roofs of mouths.
O I perceive after all so many uttering tongues!
And I perceive they do not come from the roofs of mouths
for nothing.
I wish I could translate the hints about the dead young men
and women,
And the hints about old men and mothers, and the offspring
taken soon out of their laps.
What do you think has become of the young and old men?
What do you think has become of the women and
children?
They are alive and well somewhere;
The smallest sprouts show there is really no death,
And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait
at the end to arrest it,
And ceased the moment life appeared.
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All goes onward and outward. . . .and nothing collapses,
And to die is different from what any one supposed, and
luckier.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A verse commonly found on 18th century American tombstones (the author is
unknown):
Remember me as you pass by,
As you are now, so once was I,
As I am now, so you must be,
Prepare for death and follow me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Short Answer #1:
Answer this question in the box labelled “Short Answer #1.”
Both the poem by Walt Whitman and the tombstone verse share a common
topic: death. However, these authors have very different ideas about death.
Discuss the tone of the two pieces. How does tone contribute to meaning in
these two poems? Be sure to explain your answer and support it with evidence
from both selections.
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Short Answer #1
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Short Answer #2
Answer this question in the box labelled “Short Answer #2.”
These two poets include personification in the reading selections. Discuss the authors’
purpose(s) for including personification. Be sure to explain your answer and support it
with evidence from both selections.
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Short Answer #2
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Answer Key for Short Answers
Short Answer #1:
Here are some ideas that the student might include:
The tone of the Whitman poem is thoughtful and hopeful. Whitman does not
approach death as something to be feared, but rather as something which is a
part of life. Death fosters life as the decaying bodies of the dead provide
nourishment for new life: “The smallest sprouts show there is really no death.”
The author of the tombstone verse sees death as an end which we must prepare
for. No one will escape death, “As I am now, so you must be.” The tombstone
serves as a warning that death is inevitable and even imminent. There are no
hopeful images of “sprouts” or beauty in the tombstone verse. The sparse nature
of the verse itself lends to the tone, to the feeling that the afterlife is not going to
be a pleasant walk through the grass. The words are all one or two syllables, with
the exception of the first word “Remember.” That places emphasis on the word
“remember” – remember death is near. The tone of these two pieces reiterates
the very different ways that all people can think about death.
Short Answer #2:
Whitman includes personification to re-inforce his message that even in death,
life exists. The grass is alive and can talk: “O I perceive after all so many uttering
tongues!” The living grass communicates the message that death supports life.
All objects can talk, and we all can hear the messages they bring if we only listen
closely enough, “I wish I could translate the hints about the dead.”
The talking tombstone also uses personification to show that death has a
message for the living, but this message is not so pleasant. The tombstone is a
symbol of death, and personifying it by making it talk is ironic: the living
tombstone is warning people that they will soon die, “Prepare for death and
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follow me.” The ominous message contrasts greatly with the message spoken by
the grass in Whitman’s poem. These personified objects re-inforce both poets’
messages, though the messages themselves are different. The messages
represent the spectrum of the ways that people can approach death.
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Persuasive Essay Prompt #1
Read the following quotation.
Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one
another, this country and this world.
--Sharon Salzberg
Voting is one of the most important things the citizens of a democracy can do.
Should voting be made mandatory for all citizens? Think carefully about this idea.
Write an essay stating your position on whether citizens should be required to
vote or not.
Be sure to —
•
•
•
•
•
state your position clearly
use appropriate organization
provide specific support for your argument
choose your words carefully
edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
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Persuasive Essay Prompt #2
Read the following quotation.
An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and
who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the
conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the
highest respect for the law. ~~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Should a person follow a law that he or she considers to be unjust? Or does the
person show more respect for justice by not following an unjust law? Think
carefully about this idea.
Write an essay stating your position on whether citizens should be required to
follow laws they consider to be unjust.
Be sure to —
•
•
•
•
•
state your position clearly
use appropriate organization
provide specific support for your argument
choose your words carefully
edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
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Persuasive Essay Prompt #3
Read the following quotation.
The United States routinely spends more tax dollars per high-school athlete
than per high-school math student—unlike most countries worldwide. And we
wonder why we lag in international education rankings? ~~Amanda Ripley
Should local school boards dedicate more money to academics than athletics?
Should athletic budgets be cut, making travel to away games a thing of the past?
Think carefully about this idea.
Write an essay stating your position on if school boards should fund academics
over athletics.
Be sure to —
•
•
•
•
•
state your position clearly
use appropriate organization
provide specific support for your argument
choose your words carefully
edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
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Persuasive Essay Prompt #4
Read the following quotation.
In at least 20 Washington school districts, high school students have to
perform community service in order to graduate. A new bill would make
it mandatory statewide. ~~John Stang, 2013
Should high schools make community service, or volunteering, mandatory? Does
this requirement make the idea of volunteering meaningless? Think carefully
about this idea.
Write an essay stating your position on if high schools should mandate
community service for graduation.
Be sure to —
•
•
•
•
•
state your position clearly
use appropriate organization
provide specific support for your argument
choose your words carefully
edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
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Persuasive Essay Prompt #5
Read the following quotation.
Because so few serving in politics have worn their country’s uniform, they
have collectively forgotten how to put country before party and selfinterest. They have forgotten a “cause greater than self,” and they have
lost the knowledge of how to make compromises for the good of the
country. ~~ Dana Milbank
Milbank argues that requiring military service of all U.S. citizens when they turn
18 would help fix many problems our country is facing. Think carefully about this
idea.
Write an essay stating your position on if the United States should require military
service from all of its citizens.
Be sure to —
•
•
•
•
•
state your position clearly
use appropriate organization
provide specific support for your argument
choose your words carefully
edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
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Persuasive Essay Prompt #6
Many schools have installed video cameras for security, and a few schools are
now giving local police access to monitor these cameras. Read the following
quotation.
The danger . . . [is] that with cameras recording every student infraction,
more and more activities in schools will become criminalized. A scuffle
between two kids in a hallway, which once would have been solved with
detention or suspension, could now been seen as criminal activity—
especially if the police are involved. – “Privacy vs. Security,” David Rapp,
Scholatic.com
Do you think schools should allow law enforcement to monitor school video
security cameras? Think carefully about this idea.
Write an essay stating your position on if schools should allow local police to
monitor school video security cameras.
Be sure to —
•
•
•
•
•
state your position clearly
use appropriate organization
provide specific support for your argument
choose your words carefully
edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
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Persuasive Essay Prompt #7
Read the following quotation.
As today's parents (and those who hope to be parents someday) balance
school, career choices and relationships, many are looking for help making
the "right" decision about family size. -- Sharon Jayson
What is the ideal number of children to have in a family? What is better – a big
family or a small one. Think carefully about this idea.
Write an essay stating your position on the benefits of big vs. small families.
Be sure to —
•
•
•
•
•
state your position clearly
use appropriate organization
provide specific support for your argument
choose your words carefully
edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
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Persuasive Essay Prompt #8
Read the following quotation.
“They told us we wouldn’t get here. And there were those who said that
we would get here only over their dead bodies. But all the world today
knows that we are here and we are standing before the forces of power in
the state of Alabama saying, ‘We ain’t goin’ let nobody turn us around.’”
~~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “How Long, Not Long”
What is one topic you feel so passionately about that you would organize a
march or some other form of protest about it? Describe the issue you feel
passionately about and state your position on the issue.
Write an essay describing why you think the issue is important enough to
stage a protest or a march.
Be sure to —
•
•
•
•
•
state your position clearly
use appropriate organization
provide specific support for your argument
choose your words carefully
edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
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STAAR Persuasive Essay
Scoring Guide Provided by the
TEA
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Score Point 1
The essay represents a very limited writing performance.
Organization/Progression
The organizing structure of the essay is inappropriate to the purpose or the
specific demands of the prompt. The writer uses organizational strategies
that are only marginally suited to the persuasive task, or they are
inappropriate or not evident at all. The absence of a functional
organizational structure causes the essay to lack clarity and direction.
Most ideas are generally related to the issue specified in the prompt, but
the writer’s position is missing, unclear, or illogical. The writer may fail to
maintain focus on the issue, may include extraneous information, or may
shift abruptly from idea to idea, weakening the coherence of the essay.
The writer’s progression of ideas is weak. Repetition or wordiness
sometimes causes serious disruptions in the flow of the essay. At other
times the lack of transitions and sentence-to-sentence connections causes
the writer to present ideas in a random or illogical way, making one or
more parts of the essay unclear or difficult to follow.
Development of Ideas
The development of ideas is weak. The argument is ineffective and
unconvincing because the reasons and evidence the writer uses to support
the position are inappropriate, vague, or insufficient.
The essay is insubstantial because the writer’s response to the prompt is
vague or confused. In some cases, the essay as a whole is only weakly
linked to the prompt. In other cases, the writer develops the essay in a
manner that demonstrates a lack of understanding of the persuasive
writing task.
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Use of Language/Conventions
The writer’s word choice may be vague or limited. It reflects little or no
awareness of the persuasive purpose and does not establish a tone
appropriate to the task. Word choice may impede the quality and clarity of
the essay.
Sentences are simplistic, awkward, or uncontrolled, significantly limiting
the effectiveness of the essay.
The writer has little or no command of sentence boundaries and spelling,
capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and usage conventions. Serious and
persistent errors create disruptions in the fluency of the writing and
sometimes interfere with meaning.
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Score Point 2
The essay represents a basic writing performance.
Organization/Progression
The organizing structure of the essay is evident but may not always be
appropriate to the purpose or the specific demands of the prompt. The
essay is not always clear because the writer uses organizational strategies
that are only somewhat suited to the persuasive task.
Most ideas are generally related to the issue specified in the prompt, but
the writer’s position is weak or somewhat unclear. The lack of a clear,
effective position or the writer’s inclusion of irrelevant information
interferes with the focus and coherence of the essay.
The writer’s progression of ideas is not always logical and controlled.
Sometimes repetition or wordiness causes minor disruptions in the flow of
the essay. At other times transitions and sentence-to-sentence connections
are too perfunctory or weak to support the flow of the essay or show the
relationships among ideas.
Development of Ideas
The development of ideas is minimal. The argument is superficial and
largely unconvincing because the reasons and evidence the writer uses to
support the position are not always appropriate or are too briefly or
partially presented.
The essay reflects little or no thoughtfulness. The writer’s response to the
prompt is sometimes formulaic. The writer develops the essay in a manner
that demonstrates only a limited understanding of the persuasive writing
task.
Use of Language/Conventions
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The writer’s word choice may be general or imprecise. It reflects a basic
awareness of the persuasive purpose but does little to establish a tone
appropriate to the task. Word choice may not contribute to the quality and
clarity of the essay.
Sentences are awkward or only somewhat controlled, weakening the
effectiveness of the essay.
The writer demonstrates a partial command of sentence boundaries and
spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and usage conventions.
Some distracting errors may be evident, at times creating minor disruptions
in the fluency or meaning of the writing.
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Score Point 3
The essay represents a satisfactory writing performance.
Organization/Progression
The organizing structure of the essay is, for the most part, appropriate to
the purpose and responsive to the specific demands of the prompt. The
essay is clear because the writer uses organizational strategies that are
adequately suited to the persuasive task.
The writer establishes a clear position. Most ideas are related to the
position and are focused on the issue specified in the prompt. The essay is
coherent, though it may not always be unified due to minor lapses in
focus.
The writer’s progression of ideas is generally logical and controlled. For the
most part, transitions are meaningful, and sentence-to-sentence
connections are sufficient to support the flow of the essay and show the
relationships among ideas.
Development of Ideas
The development of ideas is sufficient. The argument is largely convincing
because the reasons and evidence the writer uses to support the position
are specific and appropriate.
The essay reflects some thoughtfulness. The writer’s response to the
prompt is original rather than formulaic. The writer develops the essay in a
manner that demonstrates a good understanding of the persuasive writing
task.
Use of Language/Conventions
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The writer’s word choice is, for the most part, clear and specific. It reflects
an awareness of the persuasive purpose and establishes a tone appropriate
to the task. Word choice usually contributes to the quality and clarity of the
essay.
Sentences are reasonably varied and adequately controlled, contributing
for the most part to the effectiveness of the essay.
The writer demonstrates an adequate command of sentence boundaries
and spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and usage conventions.
Although some errors may be evident, they create few (if any) disruptions
in the fluency of the writing, and they do not affect the clarity of the essay.
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Score Point 4
The essay represents an accomplished writing performance.
Organization/Progression
The organizing structure of the essay is clearly appropriate to the purpose
and responsive to the specific demands of the prompt. The essay is
skillfully crafted because the writer uses organizational strategies that are
particularly well suited to the persuasive task.
The writer establishes a clear position. All ideas are strongly related to the
position and are focused on the issue specified in the prompt. By
sustaining this focus, the writer is able to create an essay that is unified
and coherent.
The writer’s progression of ideas is logical and well controlled. Meaningful
transitions and strong sentence-to-sentence connections enhance the flow
of the essay by clearly showing the relationships among ideas, making the
writer’s train of thought easy to follow.
Development of Ideas
The development of ideas is highly effective. The argument is forceful and
convincing because the reasons and evidence the writer uses to support
the position are specific and well chosen.
The essay is thoughtful and engaging. The writer may choose to recognize
the complexities of the issue, consider opposing or alternate points of
view, use his/her unique experiences or view of the world as a basis for
writing, or connect ideas in interesting ways. The writer develops the
essay in a manner that demonstrates a thorough understanding of the
persuasive writing task.
Use of Language/Conventions
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The writer’s word choice is purposeful and precise. It reflects a keen
awareness of the persuasive purpose and maintains a tone appropriate to
the task. Word choice strongly contributes to the quality and clarity of the
essay.
Sentences are purposeful, varied, and well controlled, enhancing the
effectiveness of the essay.
The writer demonstrates a consistent command of sentence boundaries
and spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and usage
conventions.
Although minor errors may be evident, they do not detract from the
fluency of the writing or the clarity of the essay. The overall strength of
the conventions contributes to the effectiveness of the essay.
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Many blessings to you!
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