This document provides guidance on writing personal narratives and expository essays for the STAAR test. It discusses the components of a strong introduction, body, and conclusion for both essay types. For personal narratives, it recommends using the "S.C.A.R.E.D." acronym to grab the reader's attention in the introduction and the "D.U.H." structure to leave the reader thinking in the conclusion. The body should follow a beginning, middle, end plot outline. For expository essays, it suggests using a hook and thesis statement in the introduction, providing examples in the body, and restating the thesis in the conclusion. Sample acronyms like "Ho

1. The Personal Narrative
• Watermelon vs Seed
• Introduction: S.C.A.R.E.D.
• Body:
• Conclusion: DUH
September 15, 2015

2. Writing a Personal Narrative
Watermelon or Seed?

3. Watermelon Stories
• Include a series of events
• Have many characters
and plot developments
• Tell about an entire
experience in great detail

4. Seed Stories
• Are brief and focused
• Tell about a small moment
within a larger story
• Zoom in on
the most important
part(s) of an event

5. Decide if the following are
Watermelon Topics or Seed Topics
• Fun times I’ve had with my dog
• When I spotted my cat at the pound and
realized he was the pet for me.
• The very first time I met the person who is
now my best friend
• Spending the summer with my best friend
• The season we finally won the
championship in soccer
• Scoring my very first goal
watermelon
seed
seed
watermelon
watermelon
seed

6. When you write a Personal
Narrative on STAAR, make sure
you write a seed story,
not a watermelon story!

7. Narrative
Introductions
Grab your reader’s
attention!

8. S R
C E
A D

9. setting
R
C E
A D

10. setting
R
character
E
A D

11. setting
R
character
E
action
D

12. setting
reflection/
thinking
character
E
action
D

13. setting
reflection/
thinking
character emotion
action
D

14. setting
Reflection/
thinking
character emotion
action dialogue

15. S
C
A
R
E
D

16. S Setting
C
A
R
E
D

17. S Setting
C Characters
A
R
E
D

18. S Setting
C Characters
A Action
R
E
D

19. S Setting
C Characters
A Action
R Reflection/ Thinking
E
D

20. S Setting
C Characters
A Action
R Reflection/ Thinking
E Emotion
D

21. S Setting
C Characters
A Action
R Reflection/ Thinking
E Emotion
D Dialogue/Talking

22. S
C
A
R
E
D

23. S Create a picture of the setting in the
reader’s mind.
C
A
R
E
D

24. setting Describe the
setting
Reflection/
thinking
character emotion
action dialogue

25. S Create a picture of the setting in the
reader’s mind.
C Create a picture of an important
character.
A
R
E
D

26. setting Describe the
setting
Reflection/
thinking
character
Describe an
important
character
emotion
action dialogue

27. S Create a picture of the setting in the
reader’s mind
C Create a picture of an important
character.
A Start with something interesting
happening.
R
E
D

28. setting Describe the
setting
Reflection/
thinking
character
Describe an
important
character
emotion
action
Start with
something
interesting
happening
dialogue

29. S Create a picture of the setting in the
reader’s mind.
C Create a picture of an important
character.
A Start with something interesting
happening.
R Start with an interesting thought
inside your mind.
E
D

30. setting Describe the
setting
Start with an
interesting
thought
Reflection/
thinking
character
Describe an
important
character
emotion
action
Start with
something
interesting
happening
dialogue

31. S Create a picture of the setting in the
reader’s mind.
C Create a picture of an important
character.
A Start with something interesting
happening.
R Start with an interesting thought
inside your mind.
E Create a picture of the strongest
emotion you were feeling.
D

32. setting Describe the
setting
Start with an
interesting
thought
Reflection/
thinking
character
Describe an
important
character
Start with a
strong emotion
you were feeling
emotion
action
Start with
something
interesting
happening
dialogue

33. S Create a picture of the setting in the
reader’s mind.
C Create a picture of an important
character.
A Start with something interesting
happening.
R Start with an interesting thought
inside your mind.
E Create a picture of the strongest
emotion you were feeling.
D Start with interesting dialogue.

34. setting Describe the
setting
Start with an
interesting
thought
Reflection/
thinking
character
Describe an
important
character
Start with a
strong emotion emotion
action
Start with
something
interesting
happening
Start with
interesting
dialogue
dialogue

35. S: Setting/Snapshot –
create a picture of the setting in the reader’s mind
It was a dark and stormy night. In her
attic bedroom Margaret Murry, wrapped in
an old patchwork quilt, sat on the foot of
her bed and watched the trees tossing in
the frenzied lashing of the wind.
from A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L’Engle

36. C: Character Description –
create a picture of an important character
in the reader’s mind
…Even though I’m a big dude with a
face like the moon and ears that stick out
like radar scoops and humongous feet like
the abdominal snowman…
from Max the Mighty
by Rodman Philbrick

37. A: Action –
start with something interesting happening
I disappeared on the night before
my twelfth birthday, July 28, 1988.
from Kensuke’s Kingdom
by Michael Morpurgo

38. R: Reflection/Thinking –
start with an interesting thought inside a
character’s mind
He did not want to be a wringer.
This was one of the first things he
learned about himself.
from Wringer
by Jerry Spinelli

39. E: Emotion –
create a picture of the strongest emotion
you were feeling
You were supposed to wake up from
nightmares. That’s what Nina kept telling
herself as she cowered on the floor of her
concrete cell.
from Among the Betrayed
by Margaret Peterson Haddix

40. D: Dialogue/Talking –
start with interesting dialogue
“Hey, Killer! How’s your boyfriend?”
from Juliet Dove, Queen of Love
by Bruce Coville

41. Typical:
It was a day at the end of June 2010. My whole
family (including my mom, dad, brother, and me) was at
our camp at Rangeley Lake. We arrived the night
before at 10:00, so it was dark when we got there and
we unpacked. The next morning when I was eating
breakfast, my dad started yelling for me from down at
the dock at the top of his lungs about a car in the lake.

42. Action:
A character doing something
I ran down to our dock as fast as my legs could carry me,
my feet pounding away on the old wood, hurrying me
toward the sound of my dad’s panicked voice. “Scott!” he
hollered again.
“Coming, Dad!” I gasped, and picked up my speed.

43. Dialogue:
A character (or characters) talking
“Scott! Get down here on the double!” my father
hollered.
“Dad,” I yelled back. “Where are you?” I was sitting at
the kitchen table eating breakfast our first morning at our
Rangeley Lake Camp, and from someplace outside my dad
was calling for me.
“Scott! MOVE IT! You’re not going to believe this!” Dad’s
voice urged me.
I gulped down my milk, pushed away from the table, and
bolted outside, slamming the broken screen door behind
me.

44. Reflection/ thoughts:
A character thinking about something
I couldn’t imagine what my father could be hollering about
already at 7:00 in the morning. I thought hard and fast about
what I might have done to get him so riled up. Had he found
out about the cigarettes I’d hidden in my backpack? Or the
way I’d talked to my mother the night before when we got to
camp and she’d asked me to help unpack the car? Before I
could consider a third possibility, my dad’s voice shattered my
thoughts.
“Scott! Move it! You’re not going to believe this!”

45. ““Foot-see Thought”Foot-see Thought”
a way to write interesting sentences

46. Problem:Problem:
Writer can see it,Writer can see it,
but the reader can’t.but the reader can’t.
Solution:Solution:
““ Foot -see Thought”Foot -see Thought”

47. ““Foot-see Thought”Foot-see Thought”
You want the writing in your personal
narrative to have more pizzazz,
so try writing a few of your sentences
with these three parts:
Where did you go?
What did you see?
What did you think?

48. ““Foot-see Thought”Foot-see Thought”
When I went into the kitchen, I saw my
mom at the stove, stirring a pot.
“Mmmmm,” I thought. “Chili!”

49. ““Foot-see Thought”Foot-see Thought”
 Could you change the eye to other senses?
 Did you use another word other than “walked”?

50. ““Foot-see Thought”Foot-see Thought”
When I stepped out onto the stage, I could hear
the audience clapping. “What was I so afraid
of?” I thought. “This is fun!”

51. ““Foot-see Thought”Foot-see Thought”
As I stood at the top of the stairs, I saw my
father’s suitcase by the front door, and I thought,
“He’s going to be gone a long time.”

52. Narrative
Conclusions
Leave your reader
thinking!

53. D
U
H

54. D Dream/Plan
(future)
U
H

55. D Dream/Plan
U Universal Truth
H

56. D Dream/Plan
U Universal Truth
H Huh?

57. F FutureHow will the experience impact your future?
U Universal Truth
LL
Lesson
Learned

58. D
What are your dreams/plans
for the future because of
what you learned from your
experience?
U
H

59. D
What are your dreams/plans
for the future because of
what you learned from your
experience?
U
What universal truth
can be learned from
your experience?
H

60. D
What are your dreams/plans
for the future because of
what you learned from your
experience?
U
What universal truth
can be learned from
your experience?
H
What’s the point of your
story? Why was what
you learned important?

61. The Day I Got Electrocuted
(the short version)
My parents always told me not to stick
anything in the electric socket. When
I was five years old, I thought I knew
more than them, so I jammed a pin
into the socket in my bedroom. My
thumb was fried an ashy white. The
combination of pain and the smell of
my burnt flesh almost made me vomit.

62. conclusion 1
Being the oldest kid in my family, I
always learn things the hard way. My
younger sisters and brother learn the
easy way- by watching me mess up! I
am a better example to them now.
In the future, he will be a better example,
so this is D – dreams/ plan (for the future).

63. conclusion 2
“Listen to your parents. They really
do know what they’re talking about.”
Sound familiar? I had heard this all
my life; I just never believed it until
that fateful day.
U – Universal truth:
Kids should listen to their parents.

64. conclusion 3
I found out that adults are smart,
especially my parents. This was an
important thing to learn because now
I usually ask for and follow their
advice.
Huh? –
What did he learn? His parents are smart.

67. Expository

68. Expository
Introduction:
Ho.T.T.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.)
Thesis: Good teachers know more than
just how to teach; they also care about
their students.

69. Expository
Body:
Example 1
Example 2
Introduction:
Ho.T.T.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.)
Thesis: Good teachers know more than
just how to teach; they also care about
their students.

70. Expository
Body:
Example 1
Example 2
Introduction:
Ho.T.T.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.)
Thesis: Good teachers know more than
just how to teach; they also care about
their students.
Conclusion:
Restate (say it in
different words) your
thesis.
Conclusion:
It is important for teachers to know
the material, but it is just as important
for them to care about their students.

71. Expository
Body:
Example 1
Example 2
Introduction:
Ho.T.T.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.)
Thesis: Good teachers know more than
just how to teach; they also care about
their students.
Conclusion:
Restate (say it in
different words) your
thesis.
Conclusion:
It is important for teachers to know
the material, but it is just as important
for them to care about their students.

72. Narrative
Introduction:
S.C.A.R.E.D.
Body:
First, (beginning)
Then, (middle)
Finally, (end)
Remember the plot outline from
Price’s class.
Conclusion:
D.U.H.
How will this
experience affect your
future?
What important
lesson should
everyone learn?
What did YOU learn?
Expository
Body:
Example 1
Example 2
Introduction:
Ho.T.T.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.)
Thesis: Good teachers know more than
just how to teach; they also care about
their students.
Conclusion:
Restate (say it in
different words) your
thesis.
Conclusion:
It is important for teachers to know
the material, but it is just as important
for them to care about their students.
Narrative

73. Narrative
Introduction:
S.C.A.R.E.D.
Body:
First, (beginning)
Then, (middle)
Finally, (end)
Remember the plot outline from
Price’s class.
Conclusion:
D.U.H.
How will this
experience affect your
future?
What important
lesson should
everyone learn?
What did YOU learn?
Expository
Body:
Example 1
Example 2
Introduction:
Ho.T.T.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.)
Thesis: Good teachers know more than
just how to teach; they also care about
their students.
Conclusion:
Restate (say it in
different words) your
thesis.
Conclusion:
It is important for teachers to know
the material, but it is just as important
for them to care about their students.
Narrative
Introduction:
S.C.A.R.E.D.

74. Narrative
Introduction:
S.C.A.R.E.D.
Body:
First, (beginning)
Then, (middle)
Finally, (end)
Remember the plot outline from
Price’s class.
Conclusion:
D.U.H.
How will this
experience affect your
future?
What important
lesson should
everyone learn?
What did YOU learn?
Expository
Body:
Example 1
Example 2
Introduction:
Ho.T.T.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.)
Thesis: Good teachers know more than
just how to teach; they also care about
their students.
Conclusion:
Restate (say it in
different words) your
thesis.
Conclusion:
It is important for teachers to know
the material, but it is just as important
for them to care about their students.
Narrative
Introduction:
S.C.A.R.E.D.
Body:
First, (beginning)
Then, (middle)
Finally, (end)
Remember the plot outline from
Price’s class.

75. Narrative
Introduction:
S.C.A.R.E.D.
Body:
First, (beginning)
Then, (middle)
Finally, (end)
Remember the plot outline from
Price’s class.
Conclusion:
D.U.H.
How will this
experience affect your
future?
What important
lesson should
everyone learn?
What did YOU learn?
Expository
Body:
Example 1
Example 2
Introduction:
Ho.T.T.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.)
Thesis: Good teachers know more than
just how to teach; they also care about
their students.
Conclusion:
Restate (say it in
different words) your
thesis.
Conclusion:
It is important for teachers to know
the material, but it is just as important
for them to care about their students.
Narrative
Introduction:
S.C.A.R.E.D.
Body:
First, (beginning)
Then, (middle)
Finally, (end)
Remember the plot outline from
Price’s class.
Conclusion:
D.U.H.
How will this experience
affect your future?
What important lesson
should everyone learn?
What did YOU learn?

76. Real STAAR answers to look at
 Personal Narratives
 Expository