EAP

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EAP Practice Essay
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What are they really testing??

• Can you read and understand the opinion of
  someone else?
• ?reading skills
• Can you think of an educated response using
  evidence support from your life / what youve
  learned in life?
• ? Supporting your argument
• Can you articulate those ideas in writing so that
  someone you dont know can understand your
  opinion?
• ?writing / organizational skills

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The Prompt
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• For many Americans, the concept of success is a
  source of confusion. As a people, we Americans
  greatly prize success. We are taught to
  celebrate and admire the one who gets the highest
  grades, the one voted more attractive or most
  likely to succeed. But while we often rejoice in
  the success of people far removed from ourselves-
  people who work in another profession, live in
  another community, or are endowed with a talent
  that we do not especially want for ourselves-we
  tend to regard the success of people close at
  hand, within our own group, as a threat.

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First step in responding-Rewrite Prompt

• For many Americans, the concept of success is a
  source of confusion. As a people, we Americans
  greatly prize success
• ?success confusing to Ams, but important

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• We are taught to celebrate and admire the one
  who gets the highest grades, the one voted more
  attractive or most likely to succeed.
• ?Ams taught to admire success

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• But while we often rejoice in the success of
  people far removed from ourselves- people who
  work in another profession, live in another
  community, or are endowed with a talent that we
  do not especially want for ourselves-
• ?were happy when people we dont know are
  successful

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• ourselves-we tend to regard the success of
  people close at hand, within our own group, as a
  threat.
• ?we are threatened or jealous by the
• success of people we know

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Step 2 Agree or Disagree

• Make your decision whether you agree or disagree
  based on your summary think of examples why you
  made that decision.

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• ?success confusing to Ams, but important
• -what is success? Agree
• ?Ams taught to admire success
• -parents, teachers, media, etc. Agree
• ?were happy when people we dont know are
  successful
• -famous actors, athletes, business people
• Disagree
• ?we are threatened or jealous by the
• success of people we know
• -classmates, siblings, coworkers Agree

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Step 3 Turn Prompt into a question

• Can you explain Meads argument and state whether
  you agree or disagree that success can be
  confusing, that we praise people we know who are
  successful and that most Americans are jealous
  of people they know who are successful?

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Write a Thesis

• Mead accurately states that success is confusing,
  
• especially when we find ourselves threatened by
• friends and family who are successful, but she
• misses the point when she states that we are
  happy
• for successful people we dont know because we
  are
• often jealous and threatened by them as well.
• Ask selfdoes this sentence clearly answer the
  prompt/question?

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Organize Thoughts

• ?success confusing to Ams, but important (Intro.
  Para)
• -what is success? Agree
• ?Ams taught to admire success (Intro Para / Con.
  Par.)
• -parents, teachers, media, etc. Agree
• ?were happy when people we dont know are
  successful
• (Body Para.1) -famous actors, athletes, business
  people
• Disagree
• ?we are threatened or jealous by the success of
  people we know (Body Para. 2)
• -classmates, siblings, coworkers Agree

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Beginning to Write
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The Introduction

• Elements of a strong intro
• hook
• intro. to main ideas of body paragraphs
• thesis
• -is your thesis a clear, one sentence
  ANSWER to the prompt (question)

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Body Paragraphs

• Do you explain what Mead is saying?
• Do you say whether you agree or disagree with
  Mead use examples to support your opinion?
• Do you use commentary to explain how each
  example supports your opinion (whether you agree
  or disagree)?
• Did you remember to create a smooth transition
  from paragraph to paragraph?

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Conclusion

• A strong conclusion needs to relate the main
  ideas from your body paragraphs back to the
  thesis
• ?sum up why you agree or disagree with
• Mead
• Also need to explain the significance of your
  ideasBig Picture / So What Test??

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Helpful Hints
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• Write a title
• Explicitly refer to passage
• Identify subtle arguments in addition to obvious
  ones
• -ongoing conversation
• Write neat enough that a reader can understand
  it!
• RELAXa 4 or a 6 BOTH pass!!!!!

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When Its Okay To Use I

• typically, in formal writing, you dont use the
• word I, but of course, there are
  exceptions
• Okay I remember the first time I won a race
• ?when giving an example, theres no other choice
• Not Okay I think that all people should
  believe
• ?All people should believe
• Saying the same thing, but more credible to
  reader
• Okay I agree with Mead when she says that
• ?another option Mead is correct when she
  says..

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Follow-up Exercises Summarizing out a Prompt