Contents

How to Use This Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Forms of Nonfiction Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Expository Writing

Writing a Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Writing Topic Sentences, Marking Up an Article, Paraphrasing,
Organizing a Summary

Writing a Descriptive Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Using Sensory Details, Using Figurative Language, Using Precise Language,
Avoiding Overwriting

Writing a Cause-and-Effect Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Writing to Show Cause and Effect, Organizing a Cause-and-Effect Essay,
Adding Details

Writing a Compare-and-Contrast Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Writing to Compare and Contrast, Organizing Details, Balancing Details,
Writing a Conclusion

Writing a Biography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Organizing Details, Writing Main-Idea Sentences,
Removing Unnecessary Details

Writing a News Article. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Answering the 5Ws and H, Writing a Good Lead, Using a Neutral Voice

Writing a Response to Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Answering a Prompt, Summarizing the Text, Marking Up the Text,
Using Details from the Story

Writing a Research Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Writing a Topic Sentence and Main-Idea Sentences, Asking Research Questions,
Taking Notes, Writing an Outline, Using an Outline to Write,
Quoting and Paraphrasing, Writing Introductions and Conclusions,
Listing Sources

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 Persuasive Writing

Writing a Persuasive Letter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Forming Opinion Statements, Including Reasons and Details,
Writing Good Leads, Organizing a Persuasive Letter

Writing a Persuasive Essay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Writing an Opinion Statement, Including Reasons and Examples,
Including an Opposing Reason and a Response, Writing Action Statements

Writing a Review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Including Important Information, Supporting Your Opinion,
Using a Balanced Voice

Writing an Editorial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Writing an Introduction, Responding to Other People’s Arguments,
Writing a Call to Action

Writing a Problem-Solution Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Stating the Problem, Supporting the Solution, Balancing Information

Writing a Pro-Con Essay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Establishing Pros and Cons, Writing an Introduction,
Adding Details and Examples, Balancing Pros and Cons,
Writing Conclusions

Narrative Writing

Writing a Personal Narrative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Narrowing the Topic, Using Sensory Details, Including Important Details,
Writing Transition Sentences

Writing Creative Nonfiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Writing a Creative Introduction; Including Strong Verbs, Adjectives, and Adverbs;
Creating a Mood

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 Summary
Name: ______________________________________________

Introducing a Summary
Read this example of a summary.

Writing Model

Summary of “Fishy Weather”

The article “Fishy Weather” describes strange storms during
which fish and other animals fall from the sky. According to the
article, some places in the world get more weird weather than others.
In Yoro, Honduras, it has rained silver fish many times. The article
says that scientists claim waterspouts and tornadoes can pick up fish
or other animals from rivers, lakes, and oceans. These storms carry
the animals for miles. When the storms die down, the animals fall. Fish
are not the only animals that can fall with rain. It has rained frogs in
Serbia and spiders in northern Argentina. Strange weather like this
is not common, but it is definitely real.

Writer’s Purpose: 

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 Summary
Name: ______________________________________________

Writing Topic Sentences

Revise each summary topic sentence based on the directions.

1. Remove the writer’s personal opinion from the topic sentence.

“Red Cars Are Fastest” was a terrible article about one silly man’s idea that a car’s
color affects its speed.

2. Make the topic sentence more specific by clarifying that the article is about
giant foods, such as ten-foot-long burritos and hamburgers that weigh
15 pounds.
“The Fifteen-Pound Hamburger” has many facts about large-sized foods.

3. Remove the writer’s personal opinion and make the topic sentence more specific
by clarifying that the article is about a popular water park in Texas.
“Water Is Awesome” is a great article about this really cool place that has many
water slides and rides, which are more fun than roller coasters.

4. Add the title “Spaceship School Bus,” remove the writer’s personal opinion, and
make the main idea more specific by clarifying that the article tells about the
houses and food people would need in order to live on the moon.
It told some good details about space, such as what someone’s house on the moon
would be like, but the ending was weird, and I didn’t like the part about dried food.

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 Summary
Name: ______________________________________________

Marking Up an Article
A. Mark up this science article about onions. Do the following:
➤ Draw a box around the title.
➤ Double-underline the topic sentence in the introduction.
➤ Underline the main idea in each paragraph.

Why Onions Make You Cry

People have used onions to flavor their foods for thousands of years. Today, the
average American eats more than 20 pounds of onions each year. But if onions are
so great, why do they make people cry? The tears that you shed when you cut an
onion are caused by chemicals in the onion.
Onion cells contain chemicals that sting your eyes. When you cut an onion, you
cut through the walls of many onion cells. The chemicals inside those cells are
released. The chemical mixes with water in your eyes and starts to sting. Your eyes
start creating tears to wash away the stinging chemicals.
Cooks and scientists have come up with some ways to keep your eyes from
getting bothered when you chop onions. One suggestion is to cut the onion under
running water. The water will wash away the chemicals before they can reach your
eyes. You can also use a fan to blow air over the onions and away from your eyes.
Wearing goggles or glasses can also help by blocking the chemicals from your eyes.
If you start crying while cutting onions, don’t worry. The tears will not last long,
and they might even help you keep from crying the next time you start chopping.
This is because each time you cut an onion, your body becomes more immune to
the onion’s chemicals. So dry your eyes, wash your face, and keep slicing.

B. Why do you think it is helpful to underline the main ideas in an article that
you are going to summarize?

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 Summary
Name: ______________________________________________

Paraphrasing
Read each paragraph. Then rewrite the information using your own words.

1. Porcupines are rodents with quills on their head, back, and sides. These quills
usually lay flat. When a porcupine is disturbed, however, its quills point outward,
away from its body. Each quill is sharp and can easily break off, so an animal that
comes too close will end up with quills stuck in it!

2. A veterinarian named Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick found an unusual way to help animals
that have lost body parts. Dr. Fitzpatrick helped a cat named Oscar that had lost its
back feet in a farming accident. He made metal prosthetic feet for Oscar. These feet
attach directly to Oscar’s leg bones. This had never been done for an animal before.

3. The Martin Jetpack is a new jetpack that people can buy. The jetpack can travel at
60 miles per hour but can go a distance of only 35 miles. The jetpack is expected to
cost $100,000. You don’t need a license to fly the jetpack, but you must take a safety
course before you can buy one.

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 Summary
Name: ______________________________________________

Organizing a Summary
Read this poor summary of an article called “Planting Rain.” Organize the
information from the summary by writing the topic sentence, detail sentences,
and the concluding sentence in the correct places in the organizer.

Summary of “Planting Rain"

Vincent Schaefer was the first person to discover how to seed clouds.
“Planting Rain” tells about cloud seeding, in which materials are dropped into
clouds to make rain fall. Today, China uses cloud seeding regularly for its
crops and to wash away pollution. The next time it rains, you might want to
find out if the rain was natural or “seeded.” From 1940 to 1970, the U.S.
government tested cloud seeding to see if it could change weather patterns.

Topic sentence:

Detail sentences:

Concluding sentence:

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