Master the Persuasive Essay of the STAAR Test

Tomorrow thousands of Texas students will take the English II portion of The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) Test, which includes a persuasive essay. In my experience as an educator, it is the essay that typically gives students more trouble than the multiple-choice questions.

As I sit here typing these notes, one of my favorite students is sharing with me a story about his cousin. Apparently the young man sat in front of his STAAR test four years ago and had a heart attack. The anxiety was just too much. Fortunately enough the young man survived, took his test at a later date, passed the test and went on to graduate. 

My objective here is to help students squelch some of the anxieties regarding the essay.

That infamous funky lined paper only has 26 lines. By definition, 26 lines do not equate to an essay – it’s simply 26 lines. With that said, you don’t have any room to waste. The persuasive essay is all about picking a side and staying on that side. You have no opportunity to straddle the fence when writing the persuasive.

Here is the method I use in my classroom for the persuasive essay:

Introduction = Hook + Thesis Statement

Body Paragraph # 1 = One Example and Two Details

Body Paragraph # 2 = One Example and Two Details

Conclusion = Sum it all up. Restate the Thesis. No New Information.

Being an educator has taught me to never assume that students know what they should’ve retained from previous grades, so allow me to break down a hook and a thesis statement.

The hook should draw your reader in. It should be a general statement about the subject that any adult can relate to, be they male or female, old or young. By using this appropriate attention grabber, you are telling the reader that you understand the subject matter and that you are going to give them something worth reading for the next 25 lines.

A thesis statement in short is what the paper is about. It is the point you are going to prove. Perhaps other teachers have encouraged you to restate the prompt. I often have my students highlight their thesis when we practice, so that they can always reference it throughout their paper. If you aren’t developing, defending and supporting your thesis – you are in essence wasting your time.

One dynamic of the STAAR writing process that I will often differ on with my fellow English teachers is the body paragraph structure. I teach two body paragraphs, whereas most teach one long body paragraph full of multiple examples. A new idea (new example) deserves a new paragraph. I will never change my sentiments on that. I’ll play STAAR for now, but I won’t promote bad writing for the sake of pacifying a state examination. Two body paragraphs with one strong example in each won’t hurt you.

The conclusion is not the time to be cute and show your reader that you also have other ideas and examples. Finish it up. Restate your thesis. Consider this an opportunity to tell your reader “ha, ha, I proved my point.”

Hopefully by now many parents have searched and discovered the released STAAR tests that exist via a simple Google search. The stories tend to be boring, as my students adamantly tell me. From this point on, don’t look at these stories as being long, boring and meant to piss you off.

These writings tend to stretch 26 to 28 lines as well, so I want you to consider them “essays” written by your best friend. You’re trying to help your friend get a good grade, so the questions that ask you about combining sentences and changing words for clarity are all opportunities for you to help your friend improve his or her writing.

Let's be clear - the STAAR test is not hard, but annoying. Get it done. Get it behind you and move on to better things.

From the Desk of Ariawna Talton

© 2019 AriChristine