Earth Science Persuasive Writing Prompts


Expository Writing Activity #1
As an amateur astronomer, you have noticed that every time you look at the moon you always see the same surface features. You also notice that the phase of the moon does not have any effect on the features viewed.

Directions: Write a 5-7 paragraph paper describing how it can be possible that we always see the same features of the moon. Include in your description why the phases of the moon haven’t any effect on this.

An effective writer will consider the following points:
-The relative positions of the moon, the earth, and the sun for each phase.
-Include drawings or diagrams to dictate these positions
-The revolution and rotational periods of the moon.

For your writing task, you will have the opportunity to follow all of the steps of the writing process: prewriting, writing a first draft, revising and editing your first draft, and writing a final draft.

CHECK LIST FOR MY WRITING

My writing will be most effective if I have a good design. In other words, I used interesting, thoughtful, and essential information to communicate ideas about my topic.
used specific details
organized writing with a beginning, middle, and end.
used paragraphs
used transitions to connect ideas
have an interesting style
used words that helps the reader understands my ideas
follow conventions in writing. In other words, I
used complete sentences
used capitalizations and punctuations correctly
have subject/verb agreement
spelled correctly






Expository Writing Activity #2
As an amateur astronomer, you have noticed that every third or fourth week or August, the earth is showered by meteors over a period of several days. On closer examination of the historical record, you find that this event has occurred throughout history.

Directions: Write a 5-7 paragraph paper describing how it can be possible to have these yearly August meteor showers?

An effective writer will consider the following points:
-the structure of the solar system
-the earth’s revolution period
-the earth’s orbital pathway

For your writing task, you will have the opportunity to follow all of the steps of the writing process: prewriting, writing a first draft, revising and editing your first draft, and writing a final draft.

CHECK LIST FOR MY WRITING

My writing will be most effective if I have a good design. In other words, I used interesting, thoughtful, and essential information to communicate ideas about my topic.
used specific details
organized writing with a beginning, middle, and end.
used paragraphs
used transitions to connect ideas
have an interesting style
used words that helps the reader understands my ideas
follow conventions in writing. In other words, I
used complete sentences
used capitalizations and punctuations correctly
have subject/verb agreement
spelled correctly







Expository Writing Activity #3

You and your family are on visit to grandparents in Ellensburg. On the way over you travel over Snoqualmie Pass. Becoming bored with the conversation in the car you turn your attention to the view out the car window. As you travel from North Bend to the Pass you notice that the dominant type of plants are Douglas Fir trees.

When you arrive on the eastern side of the Pass you see that the dominant type of plants are pine trees. The closer you get to Ellensburg the fewer trees you see and the more grasses you find.

On the way back you travel to Yakima and then over White Pass. You notice that there is very little plant life outside of Yakima. As you move west you find the pattern that you saw over Snoqualmie Pass repeated.

Directions: Write a 5-7 paragraph paper describing how it can be possible that when we move from Western to Eastern Washington over the Cascade Mountains, we see a dramatic shift in the representative vegetation?

An effective writer will consider the following points:
-the global wind patterns
-the orographic effect of the Cascade Range
-the primary characteristics of biomes and representative plant species
-Identify, compare, and contrast the various plant adaptations

For your writing task, you will have the opportunity to follow all of the steps of the writing process: prewriting, writing a first draft, revising and editing your first draft, and writing a final draft.

CHECK LIST FOR MY WRITING

My writing will be most effective if I have a good design. In other words, I used interesting, thoughtful, and essential information to communicate ideas about my topic.
used specific details
organized writing with a beginning, middle, and end.
used paragraphs
used transitions to connect ideas
have an interesting style
used words that helps the reader understands my ideas

follow conventions in writing. In other words, I
used complete sentences
used capitalizations and punctuations correctly
have subject/verb agreement
spelled correctly

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