Writing: Text Types and Purposes
What this domain tests
This domain covers the three writing purposes: argumentative (claim plus evidence), informative/explanatory (explain a topic clearly), and narrative (tell a story with craft). Questions may ask you to choose the best thesis, the most relevant supporting detail, or the strongest organizational approach.
Concepts to master
- Thesis and claim: an argument needs a debatable claim; an informative piece needs a focused controlling idea. Both should be specific enough to guide the whole piece.
- Relevant support: each body paragraph should contain one idea, evidence for it, and explanation linking evidence to the claim.
- Audience and purpose: word choice and level of detail shift with audience. A letter to a school board differs from a blog post for classmates.
- Narrative elements: a clear conflict, sensory detail, pacing, and a consistent point of view. Narrative questions reward showing over telling.
- Transitions: they signal relationships between ideas (addition, contrast, cause, example).
Traps to expect
- Broad thesis - a statement so general it could introduce any essay ("Technology is important").
- Irrelevant evidence - a statistic that is interesting but does not support the claim.
- Purpose drift - an informative prompt answered with persuasion, or vice versa.
- Weak narrative opening - a summary of events rather than a scene.
Rule of thumb
Test a thesis with the "so what?" question. If a reader could respond "obviously" or "who cares," the thesis needs a sharper angle, a narrower scope, or a clearer stake.
Worked example
Prompt: Explain how a school garden benefits students. Weak thesis: "Gardens are good." Strong thesis: "A school garden improves student nutrition and gives science classes a living laboratory." The strong version names two specific benefits that the body paragraphs can each develop with evidence.