Writing: Text Types and Purposes
Writing items test whether you can produce and revise three kinds of text for a specified audience and purpose: argument, informative/explanatory, and narrative. Prompts typically supply a source set or a scenario and ask you to choose the best claim, reorganize a paragraph, select the most precise word, or identify which revision improves a conclusion.
Argument
- Open with a debatable claim, not a fact: "School start times should move to 8:30" beats "Many schools start early."
- Support each reason with relevant evidence, then explain the link - the reasoning earns the point, not the quotation alone.
- Include a counterclaim and rebut it: "Opponents cite bus schedules; however, districts that shifted routes absorbed the cost within one year."
- Use transitions that mark logic (therefore, consequently, admittedly, in contrast), maintain a formal style, and close by reinforcing the claim without introducing new evidence.
Informative/Explanatory
Organize by comparison, cause and effect, or chronology - whichever fits the content. Introduce the topic clearly, use precise domain-specific vocabulary with definitions where needed, include formatting such as headings or charts only when it aids understanding, and end with a conclusion that follows from the explanation rather than a call to action.
Narrative
Establish context and point of view, introduce a character and a conflict, use dialogue and pacing (slow down at tension, compress transitions), weave in reflection so events carry meaning, and use sensory detail selectively. Avoid summarizing the entire story in the first paragraph.
Worked example
Draft claim: "Recess should not be cut because kids need exercise." Revision options: A) "Recess is good." B) "Cutting recess to gain instructional time is a false economy, because unfocused students learn less, not more." C) "Some people say recess is important."
Reasoning: A is vague and barely debatable in form. C reports others' views and commits to nothing. B names the practice, takes a position, and previews the reasoning ("false economy... unfocused students learn less"), giving the essay a spine. B is the only revision that strengthens the argument.
Traps
- A claim no reasonable person could dispute.
- Evidence dropped in without commentary tying it to the claim.
- Shifting tense or point of view mid-narrative.
- Ending an explanation with a call to action that belongs in an argument.