Paragraph Writing Practice

Paragraph Writing Practice Activity 1: Read through the following paragraphs and grade them using the rubric below.

Scoring rubric: 4= excellent 3= good 2= developing 1= limited  Clear topic  Clear topic sentence  Clear topic sentence  No clear topic sentence  3 supporting  2-3 supporting sentence. Paragraph  3-4 supporting details; somewhat details provided but just begins with details that are well explained not explained supporting details. explained  Various transition  Transition words  No supporting  Various transition words used used, but not varied details or details words used  Concluding  Concluding seem disconnected  Concluding sentence is weak or sentence is weak or  No transition sentence provides missing missing words closure  No concluding sentence a) Grand Theft Auto 4 is a better video game than Spider Man because it is dynamic. You can hi-jack vehicles such as busses, trucks, boats and even airplanes. Also, when the cops are in a high speed pursuit it is so realistic. In Spider Man, the game, you can’t even drive a car. Another thing is in GTA 4, you can use a variety of weapons such as, AR-15, Uzi, M-16, RPG and more. You can even steal a squad car and complete vigilante missions.

b) Randy Moss is like the greatest. He's never been to jail or gotten a strike in history like other NFL stars. Randy moss played for about 12 years & was very good. I believe he was drafted as the first pick, first round when he came from college. c) Parents who are not in love shouldn’t stay together if there is no longer any romantic connection between them. Why should they waste their time being with someone who doesn’t love them? It’s not like anyone is benefitting from the relationship. Even if they have a child together, the child has nothing to do with the physical or mental love between the man and woman. Children shouldn’t keep their parents bottled up in an unsuccessful relationship. d) Pittbull raps with Lil' John. Lil' John and Pittbull sound good together. Pittbull sounds good by himself; but as a duet they sound almost perfect. Not to mention, Little John rocks.

Activity 2: Your Turn Select one of the prompts below. Respond to the prompt with one excellent expository paragraph. Refer to the rubric as you write to ensure you include all parts. Write your paragraph on loose leaf and pass in when you are completed.

 Name one movie you enjoy watching and explain why.  Name one movie you did not like and explain why.  If you could have any animal for a pet, what would it be and why?  If you won a trip for two to Disney Land, who would you take with you and why?  If you could live anywhere, where would you live and why?  If you could have any one superpower, what would it be?  Which sports team is your favorite?  Do you like to read?  What job would you like to have when you grow up?  Is it important to be able to speak a second language?

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