Writing a Paragraph for Assessment
Some tests ask you to write a paragraph in response to sources you have read or viewed. The following activity will help you practice responding.
Analyze the writing prompt.
Read the following prompt, answer the PAST questions, write a topic sentence, and list details. Make a copy of this Google doc or download a Word template.
- Read the writing prompt.
You have just read three articles and watched a video about monarch butterflies. Write a paragraph that explains how the additional sources expand your understanding from Source 1. Include at least two examples, naming the title and author of each source that you use.
- Answer the PAST questions.
Purpose?
Show how the other sources expand on Source 1, with at least two examples
Audience?
Test grader
Subject?
Sources 1, 2, 3, and video
Type?
Paragraph
- Write a topic sentence.
Source 1 focuses on secrets of the monarch butterfly, and the other sources provide details about those secrets.
- List supporting details.
--Source 2 explains the migration in detail.
--Source 3 gives details of the many ways that monarchs need milkweeds.
--The video shows the connection between monarchs and milkweeds.
Write a paragraph response.
Create an explanatory paragraph. Include a topic sentence that answers the prompt, body sentences that provide supporting details, and an ending sentence. Use details from the sources, giving credit with the title and author’s name.
In “King of the Butterflies,” Gabriel Garcia reveals four secrets about monarch butterflies, while the other sources explain those secrets in detail. The first article tells us that monarchs migrate, but in “A Journey of Generations,” Jana Herrolt says that this migration covers thousands of miles. The butterflies that head north from Mexico in the spring are sometimes five generations ahead of those that fly south from Canada in the fall. In the same way, “Mother’s Milkweed” by David Jones explains the many ways that monarch butterflies rely on milkweed. They lay eggs on it, eat it during their caterpillar phase, gain protective poison from it, and use milkweed stalks for hanging their chrysalises. The video "Monarchs and Milkweed" by the federal government shows just how important the plant is for these butterflies. If milkweed continues to disappear, monarchs will, too.