The Essay Writing Prompt
The Basic Essay:
Although you won’t know the essay topic until the
day of the test, the writing prompts follow a pattern:
a controversial topic is presented and several
arguments are listed for each side of the issue. Then
you are asked to take a stand on the issue presented
and to present reasons and evidence to support your
beliefs. Below is the sample prompt listed in the
2004-2005 THEA bulletin:
The five-paragraph essay is one possibility for
writing the TSI essay: an introduction, three body
paragraphs, and a conclusion.
The introduction should start with a lead-in
directing the readers toward your thesis, which is
typically stated as the last sentence of the
introductory paragraph. A possible thesis statement
for the sample THEA topic is The government
should not establish guidelines that limit the kind of
art that can be created with public funding. Notice
that this thesis statement chooses a side on the
issue: to limit the kind of art created. (Although the
thesis can also be implied or appear in the
conclusion, if you do this, you are taking a risk. The
readers may not easily understand your position or
they may think your thesis is an afterthought, not
your guiding theme.)
Each body paragraph should develop an idea
that supports the thesis. Three topic sentences are
outlined below for the sample topic. Each topic
sentence should be fully developed in a separate
body paragraph. Each topic sentence needs
examples to prove it is true and an explanation of
the examples.
One reason the government should not set
guidelines for art produced with public funding is
the public will never agree on a definition of what is
“socially acceptable.”
In addition, setting guidelines for publicfunded art restricts diversity.
Finally, the government should not set
guidelines for tax-supported art because
censorship is dangerous.
Should art projects that are supported by
public funding be required to meet certain
standards defining what is socially acceptable?
Some believe that the government has both a right
and a responsibility to ensure that works of art
produced with the help of public funds reflect
society’s commonly accepted values. Others regard
government guidelines for art as a form of
censorship that violates our nation’s commitment to
freedom of expression.
Your purpose is to write an essay, to be read
by a classroom instructor, in which you take a
position on whether or not the government should
establish guidelines limiting the kind of art that can
be produced with public funding. Be sure to support
your position with logical arguments and
appropriate examples.
Think of the arguments listed in the prompt as a
starting point for your prewriting. You are not
required to include any of the given arguments in
your essay, but if you choose to use some of these
statements as main ideas, rephrase them and add a
substantial amount of your own material as
supporting detail.
NOTE: Restating your thesis in each topic sentence
will keep you focused as the writer of a timed essay,
and it will help keep your readers focused.
Your conclusion should restate your thesis and
summarize your main points in different words. It
should also leave readers with a sense of closure.
The five-paragraph essay is very direct in its
approach to the topic, but it can help you
demonstrate to your readers that you understand the
basics of writing an essay.
Evaluation
Scorers will evaluate your essay for the following:
Appropriateness:
Have you addressed the topic?
Have you stated a position on the issue?
Do you argue the stated position?
Is the language appropriate? Do not use awkward,
artificial phrasing. Do not overuse slang and “street
talk.”
Do not use profanity.
Unity and focus:
Do you state and maintain your position throughout
the
essay?
Do you make your point clear to the readers?
Do your examples clearly develop the point?
Development:
Do you support your point with specific detail?
Is there a sufficient amount of support?
Is there depth to the support?
Organization:
Is the information organized logically?
Does each paragraph clearly support the thesis
statement?
Sentence Structure
Are the majority of your sentences error free?
Avoid
fragments, run-ons, comma splices, subject-verb
agreement errors, pronoun agreement errors,
unnecessary
repetition, and wordy sentences.
Usage:
Is the writing free of word errors?
Do you use precise word choice?
Mechanical Conventions:
Do you spell common words correctly?
Do you use capitalization and punctuation correctly
Here’s a suggested strategy for writing the essay:
Phase 1: Prewrite
--Carefully read the prompt. Spend time prewriting on
the topic to generate information and to work out a plan
to organize your essay.
--Circle or underline ideas that could form the main
points for your essay.
--Establish an order for them and generate details for
developing these ideas into paragraphs.
--Decide on a lead-in for your essay that engages the
reader and focuses on the topic.
--Write a clear thesis statement stating your position on
the topic.
Phase 2: Draft
Draft the essay. Make your paper believable and
sensible. Support your main ideas with specific
examples and details.
Phase 3: Revise
Take a mental break: five minutes -10 minutes if you are
taking THEA.
Read over your draft carefully and make sure your ideas
are easy to follow for someone unfamiliar with the topic.
Add any details and transitions that would make your
meaning clearer. Delete any details that don’t clearly
develop your main points. Move information that is in
the wrong place.
Phase 4: Proofread
Read through your essay watching for omitted words,
sentence fragments, comma splices, and run-ons. Cross
out information you don’t want readers to see.
Before you go take the test, review papers your
instructors have marked and make a list of the kinds of
errors you typically make and ways to identify those
errors. By doing this, you will know what kinds of error
to look for in your final essay.
Try reading your paper from the last sentence to the first
sentence. Reading your sentences out of sequence is a
good strategy for locating errors.