PARCC SAMPLE Writing Task
Sample Writing task G7: RESEARCH SIMULATION
You have read two texts and watched a video describing Amelia Earhart. All three include information
that supports the claim that Earhart was a daring, courageous person. The three texts are:
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“The Biography of Amelia Earhart”
•
“Earhart’s Final Resting Place Believed Found”
•
“Amelia Earhart’s Life and Disappearance” (video)
Consider the argument each author uses to demonstrate Earhart’s bravery.
Write an essay that analyzes the strength of the arguments related to Earhart’s bravery in at least two of
the texts. Remember to use textual evidence to support your ideas.
G7 2: Literary Analysis
You have read a passage from The Count of Monte Cristo and a scene from Blessings. Think about the
similarities and differences in how the two authors develop the themes in each text.
Write an essay in which you identify a theme from each text and analyze how each theme is developed.
Be sure to include specific details from both selections.
G7 3: Research Simulation
You have learned about electricity by reading two articles, “Energy Story” and “Conducting Solutions,”
and viewing a video clip titled “Hands-on Science with Squishy Circuits."
In an essay, compare the purposes of the three sources. Then analyze how each source uses
explanations, demonstrations, or descriptions of experiments to help accomplish its purpose. Be sure to
discuss important differences and similarities between the information gained from the video and the
information provided in the articles. Support your response with evidence from each source.
G7 4 – Narrative
At the end of the passage, Howie tells Kevin that he is not making a good case. Write an original story
that describes what Kevin does next to try to change Howie’s mind about paying for Cromwell’s training.
In writing your story:
Consider what actions Kevin might take or what Kevin might say that would strengthen his case.
Be sure to use what you have learned about the setting, characters, and plot of the passage.
Sample Writing Task G8: Literary Analysis
You have read excerpts from two novels focused on survival in the wilderness.
These excerpts are from:
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Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen
•
Call of the Wild by Jack London
Consider how the main character in each excerpt reacts to the incidences that occur, and write an essay
in which you analyze how each character’s thoughts and actions reveal aspects of his personality.
You do not need to compare and contrast the characters from the two texts. You may consider each one
separately. Be sure to include evidence from each excerpt to support your analysis and understanding.
G8: Literary Analysis
In Confetti Girl and Tortilla Sun, the narrators have points of view different from those of their parents.
Write an essay analyzing how these differences in points of view create tension in both stories.
Remember to use details from both texts to support your ideas..
G8: Narrative
Write a continuation of the story of Bahauddin Shah using details from the passage. Describe what you
think might happen after Bahauddin Shah climbs out of the Salt Caverns. What obstacles might he face,
and what actions might he take to overcome them?
G9: Research Simulation
Write an essay that compares and contrasts a primary argument in each text that you have read
regarding the decision to drop the atomic bomb. Your essay should explain how effectively you think
each author supported that claim with reasoning and/or evidence. Be sure to use evidence from the
three texts to support your ideas.
G9: Narrative
Write a narrative story that describes the major events in the passage from the point of view of the
stranger, emphasizing his thoughts and feelings about Mr. Skimpole, Miss Summerson, and Richard..
G10: Literary Analysis
ou have read two passages, one from Jacey Choy's "Red Cranes" and one from Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's "The
Firefly Hunt." Though Mie and Sachiko, the main characters in the passages, have certain similarities, the
authors develop their characters in very different ways.
Write an essay in which you analyze the different approaches the authors take to develop these
characters. In your essay, be sure to discuss how each author makes use of such elements as:
• the main characters' interactions with other characters,
• the presentation of the main characters' thoughts, and
• the strong feelings each character experiences at the end of each passage.
Use specific evidence from both passages to support your analysis.
G10: Research Simulation
You have just read or listened to three sources discussing the Supreme Court case of Tinker v. Des
Moines:
• the United States Supreme Court majority opinion by Chief Justice Abe Fortas,
• the United States Supreme Court dissenting opinion by Justice Hugo Black, and
• an audio clip of an interview with law professor Catherine Ross.
Consider the points made by each source about the issues surrounding the Tinker v. Des Moines case.
Write an essay analyzing the arguments of those who believe certain kinds of speech should be
prohibited within an educational setting and those who believe the opposite. Base the analysis on the
specifics of the Tinker v. Des Moines case and the arguments and principles put forth in the three
sources. The essay should consider at least two of the sources presented.
G10: Narrative
After discovering that his wife has gone missing from the bicycle they were sharing, Mr. Harris returns
“to where the road broke into four” and seems unable to remember where he has come from.
Using what you know about Mr. Harris, write a narrative story that describes how he chooses which
road to take and the experiences he has on his return journey. Be sure to use details from the passage in
developing your narrative.
G11: Literary Analysis
Now that you have read and answered questions about the passages from Quicksand and The
Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man write an essay in which you identify and explain a theme that is
similar in both passages. In your essay, discuss how each author uses the characters, events, and
settings in the passages to develop the theme.
G11: Research Simulation
You have studied three sources involving the establishment of American independence from Great
Britain. The sources are:
Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4, 1776
A passage from Patrick Henry’s March 23, 1776, speech to the Second Virginia Convention
The video “From Subjects to Citizens”
An important idea presented in the sources involves the colonists’ notions of the purpose of
government. Write an essay in which you explore the perceptions of government's purpose presented in
the sources. In writing your essay, consider how the authors of the two written documents describe the
ideal relationship between a government and its people, and how they describe the actual relationship
between the government of Great Britain and the colonists. Consider also the perspective presented in
the video. Remember to use evidence from all three sources to support your ideas.