This document provides guidance on writing a personal narrative for the STAAR writing test. It explains that the test will be administered over two days and students will have four hours each day. Students will be given a blank page for prewriting and drafting before writing their final response. The document emphasizes that students must write a true personal narrative about something that actually happened to them, and it provides a sample prompt asking students to write about a difficult experience. It also notes that students must fill most of the single page response but not exceed 26 lines. The document then explains how to use the "Look-Think-Write" model to develop a response, focusing on each component of looking at the prompt, thinking of personal experiences, and then

1. STAAR Writing:
Understanding the Narrative Prompt
Jacob M. Lightbody © 2012

2. Dear Teacher,
Your students will be taking the new
STAAR Writing Test this year. This
test can be very tricky. The secrets
found in this file should make the
test less confusing for your students
and help them pass the test. Use this
information wisely.
Sincerely,
Anonymous
Anonymous

3. Some Basics to get you started:
∙The STAAR Writing Test will be administered
over two days.
∙On each testing day, students will have a
total of four hours to answer the questions
in the multiple choice portion of the test
and to complete their writing sample.
∙Students will be provided with a blank page
to use for prewriting and to generate a
rough draft. Students are not expected to
begin composing their final drafts without
preparation.

4. now let’s get to the
really important stuff.

5. really important stuff #1:
Students will fail the writing test if
their personal narratives are NOT
personal narratives. A narrative is a
story. It should have a beginning, a
middle, and an end. A student’s
personal narrative must be an
autobiographical story about something
that happened to the student.(It may
be okay to fake a few details, but it
wouldn’t be wise to turn the story
into a fantasy.)

6. really important stuff #2:
To complete each writing sample,
students will be provided with a single
page on which to record their responses.
The page will have twenty-six lines.
Students are expected to fill up most of
the page, but their work must not exceed
the twenty-six lines provided on the
answer document. Any writing that
students try to squeeze onto the bottom
of the page will not be scored. It can
be tricky to learn how to write just the
“right amount” for the test. Practice is
recommended.

7. now we’re ready to get
to the really, really
important stuff.

8. You are about to be shown a
sample of a STAAR-Style
Personal narrative writing
prompt.
Study it very closely.

9. Mowing a lawn can be hard work.
Write about a time when you did something that was difficult.
Be sure to:
∙ Write about a personal experience.
∙ Organize your writing.
∙ Develop your ideas in detail.
∙ Choose your words carefully.
∙ Use correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and
sentences.
Look at the picture below.

10. Did you notice that the Look-Think-
Write model was being used? The
Look-Think-Write model can be a
good way to get a writer’s creative
juices flowing, but it can also be
confusing for someone who doesn’t
know what to focus on.
Fortunately, we have a little trick
to share with you that might help
your students who don’t know much
about the Look-Think-Write model.

11. Are you ready to learn
the trick?

12. here’s what you need to do:
1.)Put your right index
finger on the tip of your
nose.
2.)Stick out your tongue.
3.)Squint your eyes.
-Are you ready
to continue?

13. Please do not be alarmed
by what you see.

14. Mowing a lawn can be hard work.
Write about a time when you did something that was difficult.
Be sure to:
∙ Write about a personal experience.
∙ Organize your writing.
∙ Develop your ideas in detail.
∙ Choose your words carefully.
∙ Use correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and
sentences.
Look at the picture below.

15. It’s easy for the “real”
directions to get lost in
all of the text that is used
in a STAAR-style prompt. It
might be helpful to teach
your students the trick so
that they can use it to stay
focused on the prompt.

16. Of course, it’s still a good
idea to try to understand the
Look-Think-Write model.

17. let’s start with the
“look” component.

18. Mowing a lawn can be hard work.
Write about a time when you did something that was difficult.
Be sure to-
∙ write about a personal experience
∙ organize your writing
∙ develop your ideas in detail
∙ choose your words carefully
∙ use correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and
sentences.
Look at the picture below.
What NOT to do: Do not write about the picture.
What to do: Look at the picture and think about it. Ask
yourself if the picture reminds you of any of your own
experiences.

19. now let’s move on to the
“think” component.

20. Mowing a lawn can be hard work.
Write about a time when you did something that was difficult.
Be sure to-
∙ write about a personal experience
∙ organize your writing
∙ Develop your ideas in detail.
∙ Choose your words carefully.
∙ Use correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and
sentences.
Look at the picture below.
What to do: Think about the “truism” (or “think” statement.)
Try to recall any personal experiences that this statement
might remind you of.
What NOT to do: Do not write about the truism.
You should be able to make mental connections between the
truism and the prompt that follows it. These connections will
help you generate ideas for your composition.

21. now let’s move on to the
“write” component.

22. Mowing a lawn can be hard work.
Write about a time when you did something that was difficult.
Be sure to:
∙ Write about a personal experience.
∙ Organize your writing.
∙ Develop your ideas in detail.
∙ Choose your words carefully.
∙ Use correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and
sentences.
Look at the picture below.
What to do: Write a personal narrative about the topic provided
in the prompt. Also, be sure to follow all of the good advice
that is offered beneath the prompt.

23. Let’s wrap this up by taking a look
at how connections can be made
between each component of the
Look-Think-Write model.

24. Write
ThinkMowing a lawn can
be hard work.
Look
Write about a time when
you did something that
was difficult.
You can see that mowing a
lawn looks like hard work.
The prompt tells you that
mowing a lawn can be
hard work.
It’s hard to do things that
are difficult.
It shouldn’t be hard to figure out what the connection is here.

25. You should now have a
better understanding of
the personal narrative
component of the STAAR
Writing Test.