Writing prompt - Expository

You have studied about the early settlers to this country. You know about the hard times that they encountered and know that most of the settlements survived and prospered. They lived in environments that were often difficult, but they overcame those difficulties. Many of the simple every-day acts required individual creativity and effort. They had to live everyday being resourceful enough to meet their needs and the needs of their family and community. Even at an early age, each member was expected to contribute.

Your job is to write a five-paragraph essay about how the colonists used their creativity and resourcefulness to survive and succeed.

Use a planner.

Think about the problems that faced the colonists. Those general problems can be ones that are related to every day life. They do not have to be earth shattering. Write them down. Be sure that the problems are general. If not, it will be difficult to write a paragraph about each.

How will you organize the paragraphs? Will you do it by problem or by group of persons who worked together for success? Is there another arrangement that might be appropriate?

For each difficulty, list the ways that the colonists solved the problem. If you really are not sure, think about how you might have solved the problem. They might have done some of the same things. Think about the creativity that was involved and note it.

When you have all of the brainstorming done and the ideas placed on your planner, figure out an effective opening sentence that ties all of those ideas together. Remember that you are to stress their ingenuity. That focus must be part of the sentence,

Now, how can you rewrite that sentence as part of the summary fifth paragraph? Do the same for each of the three supporting topic sentences.

As you write, think about the formation of each and every sentence and how it relates to the one that came before. Be sure that they logically follow.

Transitions between sentences are often as important as those placed between paragraphs. Be sure that you explain and cite examples to support your topic sentence. These are very important in an expository essay.

Remember that this is a expository essay and not a personal opinion. Do not use the pronoun "I".

When you finish, reread and be sure that you stress the focus of ingenuity in each of the paragraphs. Be sure that the essay did not become a list of the ways that the problems were solved.

Reread and edit the essay making sure that there are no spelling errors, capitalization mistakes, sentence fragments or run-on sentences. Be very certain that you stayed with the focus of the assignment.