TAKS Essay

The Importance of the Opening Paragraph

If you DON’T want a 3 or 4 on your TAKS essay, you should write

an opening paragraph like

this one: I have a place that is really important to me. I

found it one day while I was walking along a path in the woods on my way to the lake. I wasn’t thinking about anything while I was walking. This is when I discovered my favorite place that is very important to me.

BORING!!!

If you DO want a 3 or 4 on your TAKS essay, here are

five options for an effective opening paragraph:

1. Quotation2. Description3. Make a Statement4. Dialogue5. Action

QuotationErnest Hemingway once wrote, “The

only thing that could spoil a day was people,” and that’s exactly what spoiled mine the day I walked through the woods to Knights Lake. I wasn’t thinking about anything until...

DescriptionThe trees and bushes, looking like

they had been smudged with giant emerald crayons, formed an aisle along the warm, dirt path to Knights Lake. I absent mindedly strolled with the sun warming my shoulders, thinking about nothing...

Making a statementThe woods on the way to Knights

Lake seemed safe enough. I usually felt calm and serine when I got this far into the woods. I should have been more aware...

Dialogue“Hello,” I called to the trees that

lined the path to Knights Lake. “Hello, birch. Hello, cypress. Hello, willow.” Their limbs waved hello as their bark seemed to say, “How are you today?”

ActionRunning along the path to Knights

Lake would get me there faster, but today I just lollygagged in the woods. It was a day for slow breaths and gentle breezes, not a day for hurrying.

1 = Failed TAKS Test2 = You’ve Got An Uphill

Battle3 = Sitting Pretty

4 = OMG!!!So remember, the opening

paragraph is the key to an effective essay. Follow these tips, and you should be on your way to a 3 or 4.