Ch 27: OAE Middle Grades ELA: Essay Writing
About This Chapter
OAE Middle Grades ELA: Essay Writing - Chapter Summary
Use the lessons in this chapter to brush up on strategies for writing compelling essays. After watching our videos, you should be ready to handle questions on the following topics when you sit for the GACE Middle Grades ELA exam:
- Developing an outline
- Composing a thesis statement
- Developing an appeal to capture the reader
- Writing a strong essay body
- Utilizing transition sentences
- Structuring your argument
- Crafting introductions and conclusions
- Avoiding common writing pitfalls
Our format lets you explore this information on your computer or mobile device, and you can study anywhere and anytime you are online. Our instructors are experts in their field and make learning fun through their liberal use of humor and real-world examples.
Objectives of the OAE Middle Grades ELA: Essay Writing Chapter
Ohio teachers must pass the OAE Middle Grades ELA exam for certification to teach language arts at this level. The exam has five domain areas, or sections, and questions on the information the lessons here discuss are in the Modes of Writing domain which accounts for 21% of the test's content. The questions on the exam are multiple-choice like the questions on the quizzes that accompany our lessons.

1. Essay Organization and Outline Building
Creating an outline before writing an academic essay doesn't take that long to do and can greatly improve the quality of your essay. This lesson covers the basics of how to put together an effective outline that will cover all of the right points.

2. What is a Thesis Statement?
Before we can talk about how to write a great thesis statement, you need to be able to identify a great thesis when you see one. Contrary to what you may have been taught, a thesis is so much more than just the last sentence of the opening paragraph of an essay.

3. Essay Introduction: Write a Thesis and Capture Your Audience
We'll look at the importance of the introductory paragraph and engaging your audience through the use of attention getters, a bridge, and an arguable thesis. Three of the most common attention getters are specifically defined, and examples are provided in this lesson.

4. How to Engage Readers by Picking and Developing an Appeal
There are three types of appeals that you can use in your persuasive writing to make your arguments more effective. In this video, you'll learn about logical, ethical, and emotional appeals as well as how to use them.

5. How to Write a Strong Essay Body
This video will show you how to achieve unified, coherent body paragraphs in your essays. By creating well-developed body paragraphs, your essays will be cleaner, sharper and earn you a better grade!

6. How to Write and Use Transition Sentences
Like a road map, transitions guide readers through your essay. This lesson examines the way writers transition between sentences, within paragraphs and between paragraphs to make for a smooth reading experience.

7. How to Structure an Argument in Your Essay
When you write a persuasive essay, it's important to think about how you'll construct your argument, from how you'll arrange your major points to how and where you'll refute opposing views. This video covers some of the basics for structuring an argument.

8. Introductions and Conclusions: Best Practices and Advice
Take the opportunity in your introductory and concluding paragraphs to create good impressions. This lesson walks you through a variety of methods for making the most of the first and last paragraphs in your academic essay.

9. Common Writing Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
In addition to all the other things you do while writing an academic essay, you'll need to think about how to avoid common pitfalls. This lesson discusses how to steer clear of some common problems.
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Other Chapters
Other chapters within the Ohio Assessments for Educators - Middle Grades English Language Arts (028): Practice & Study Guide course
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Foundations of Reading Development
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Identifying Word Meanings
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Teaching Vocabulary
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Figures of Speech
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Inference & Context
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Reading Comprehension Strategies
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Organization in Writing
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Elements of Plot in Literature
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Identifying Literary Themes & Main Ideas
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Point of View in Literature
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Reading Informational Texts
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Genres in Literature
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Nonfiction
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Analyzing Fiction
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Types of Fiction
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Analyzing Literary Drama
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Analyzing Poetry
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Analyzing Prose
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Examining Literary Works
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Parts of Speech
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Phrases & Clauses
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Types of Sentences
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Modifiers
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Grammar & Punctuation
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Comma Rules
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Spelling Rules
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: The Writing Process
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Clear & Concise Writing
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Elements of Research Writing
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Narrative Writing Strategies
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Descriptive Writing Strategies
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Expository Writing Strategies
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Persuasive Writing Strategies
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Effective Listening
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Public Speaking Strategies
- OAE Middle Grades ELA: Using Visuals to Present Information
- OAE Middle Grades English Language Arts Flashcards