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Tenth-grader Lisa’s voice comes through loud and clear in this model. The use of strong details and dialogue—including the author “talking” to herself—makes this a believable essay about a student’s first high school crush.

Seventh-grade poet Brittany invites her readers to share in a real experience.

Seth, this model’s fifth-grade author, wrote a poem about a historical event and the reasons behind it.

Amy, the author of this personal narrative, effectively uses voice to convey the fear she feels as she ascends a path to an area above a 100-ft. waterfall. Her expert choice of words helps to paint a beautiful picture of her surroundings.

Fifth-grader Kelli begins this personal narrative with a question that captures the reader’s interest.

The writer’s descriptions in this narrative make it a vivid and memorable story.

Charlotte, the seventh-grade writer of this model, organizes her essay into paragraphs that describe different aspects of her subject. The closing leaves the reader with a clear idea of the important place her grandfather holds in her memory.

Fifth-grader Tommy includes lots of details in a story that leads up to a surprise ending.

This is a fun story with lots of details.

Ninth-grader Samantha’s assignment for this essay was to write a series of vignettes, loosely modeled on the novel The House on Mango Street, about her own house, neighborhood, family, and friends.

Hannah’s seventh-grade science class tried an experiment involving an egg, vinegar, corn syrup, and water. Her observations include not only the outcomes of the different steps in the procedure, but also her personal reactions to the experiment.