HELPS

"HELPS" really helps

I. Introduction (HoTT)

A. Hook (lead, connect)

B. Transition (bridge, summary)

C. Thesis (claim)

SOaR: Subject, Opinion, Reason

II. Body Paragraph One (TEEC)

A. Topic Sentence (Reason #1)

B. Example (HELPS)

C. Explanation / Elaboration

D. Concluding Sentence

III. Body Paragraph Two (TEEC)

A. Topic Sentence (Reason #2)

B. Example (HELPS)

C. Explanation / Elaboration

D. Concluding Sentence

IV. Conclusion (XYZ)

A. Explain/ restate the thesis

B. Why should audience care?

C. Zing audience with concluding

thought

When you're trying to explain something, it's always best to use examples.

Think of your classes - Your teachers always using examples to explain what they're teaching

When you're writing for ThinkCERCA or StudySync or answering an text-based question, all of your evidence/ examples come from whatever you're reading.

With other prompts, like on the STAAR test, you have to come up with your evidence/ examples on your own.

That's where HELPS comes in.

HELPS is an acronym that helps you come up with evidence/ examples for your expository essay.

History

Experiences

Literature

Pop culture

Science and Sports

This is a STAAR prompt from long ago:

READ the following quotation.

A famous businessman once said, “Players win games; teams win championships.”

THINK carefully about the following statement.

Sometimes you can accomplish good things by yourself but better things with other people.

WRITE an essay explaining whether it is better to work by yourself or with a group.

And here's an essay (1,465 characters, 325 words).

A famous businessman once said that players win games and teams win championships. He was right. Though an individual can often accomplish good things by himself, a group of people working together can often do bigger and better things. Working in a group is better than working alone because the job will get done more quickly and a group of people can come up with better ideas than just one person can.

A task can often be completed more quickly when individuals work together as a group. In the novel "When We Were Lost," a group of high school students survive a plane crash in the jungle, but don't know where they are. Working together, they are able to survive the wilderness and its snakes, jaguars, and drug dealers. They learned that only by working together could they survive.

A group can also come up with more ideas through brainstorming than an individual can. In 1970, the crew of Apollo 13 found themselves in a great deal of trouble when one of their oxygen tanks failed. Luckily, through the combined efforts of the astronauts in the capsule and a crew of scientists and engineers (including Mr. Skipper's father) in Houston, they were able to come up with a solution to fix the tank using the materials that were onboard the spaceship. Without that teamwork, the astronauts would have run out of oxygen before they could have returned to earth.

Not everyone likes to work in a group, but when you need to get a job done quickly or need ideas, sometimes it's the best way to go. Tony learned this when he and his friends crashed in the jungle as did the NASA scientists. So when you're assigned to a group project - at school or at your workplace - don't be too quick to say you'd rather work by yourself: you might find that it's not as bad as you thought it would be.

Here's another essay (1,959 characters, 456 words). You can see from the character count that it's too long.

WRITE an essay explaining the best way to learn new things.

The best way to learn new things is to try new things. Breaking out of your comfort zone and exploring the new that’s out there can expand your mindset and teach you new lessons. It’s important to explore what you can do by trying something different. You may feel nervous and fear what the outcome may be but that's how you learn new things in life!

In Elementary School I was a part of the National Honor Society Club (NHSC) and there was going to be a debate on who would be the President. I was very excited because I’ve always wanted to try and lead a society at my school. So, I gave it a shot. I wrote my essay explaining why I would be a great NHS president and turned it in. I was very nervous because I didn’t know if I would win the debate. I had never run for president for any club so there was a lot of fear when waiting for the ballots to be counted. But through the whole experience I was very happy that I tried something new. That I didn’t hesitate to break out of my comfort zone. So as the votes were finally done being counted, they put out who won. And they announced my name. I was so happy and couldn't believe it. I was now the president of the NHS club! And because I tried something new, I learned that the possibilities are endless!

In the 2017 award winning film “Wonder” is about a 10-year-old boy named Auggie who tries to go to school for the first time. Auggie is born with Treacher Collins syndrome, a disease that allows him to have facial differences which have prevented him from going to school. So to hide his face Auggie would wear an Astronaut helmet so no one could see him. When Auggie started attending school he felt very nervous and wondered what people would think of him. He felt separated from other kids and would always hide behind an astronaut helmet. Until he started to make friends. Because he was going to school, he met other people that wanted a change and wanted new people to hang out with. So Auggie came out of his comfort zone and started hanging out with others who cared about him. And believe it or not Auggie had a lot of friends, he became more confident in himself. And because he tried something new by attending school Auggie learned not to hide but to be you!

Learning new things is important and will teach you life lessons that will guide you. But in order to learn you must try and see what you can accomplish by exploring new differences!

A good essay displays more than just your ability to write well, it's a chance to show how well you connect ideas to the world around you. That's why we suggest that you avoid using personal examples. Instead, connect the prompt to historic events; books, stories, or poems; movies, songs, or current events; scientific achievements; or sports.

This can be challenging. Some prompts make it easier than others.

Your body paragraphs are very similar to a short answer response: TEEC

The topic sentence is one of the reasons from your thesis, the evidence and explanations are from HELPS (see below), and the concluding sentence closes out the paragraph.

A task can often be completed more quickly when individuals work together as a group. In the novel "When We Were Lost," a group of high school students survive a plane crash in the jungle, but don't know where they are. Working together, they are able to survive the wilderness and its snakes, jaguars, and drug dealers. They learned that only by working together could they survive.

A group can also come up with more ideas through brainstorming than an individual can. In 1970, the crew of Apollo 13 found themselves in a great deal of trouble when one of their oxygen tanks failed. Luckily, through the combined efforts of the astronauts in the capsule and a crew of scientists and engineers (including Mr. Skipper's father) in Houston, they were able to come up with a solution to fix the tank using the materials that were onboard the spaceship. Without that teamwork, the astronauts would have run out of oxygen before they could have returned to earth.

Not everyone likes to work in a group, but when you need to get a job done quickly or need ideas, sometimes it's the best way to go. Tony learned this when he and his friends crashed in the jungle as did the NASA scientists. So when you're assigned to a group project - at school or at your workplace - don't be too quick to say you'd rather work by yourself: you might find that it's not as bad as you thought it would be.

STAAR Prompt

These prompts are from STAAR Connection: Writing 7 published by Kamico Instructional Media. Many of their 'think abouts' are pretty weak because they are exactly the same as the prompt :-( Using the 'think about' as your transition will result in unnecessary repetition. The real STAAR won't do this.

P1

READ the following quotation:

Men love to wonder, and that is the seed of science." - Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer