1. Writing Tips
Personal Response Exam Review

2. Structure of Personal Response
Your personal response
requires only 2
paragraphs: the first one
to explore the text and
the second one to make
connections with the
text.

3. Structure of Personal
Response
You do not
need a
separate
introduction
but an
introductory
sentence is
a good idea.
Example:
After watching
Persepolis, a
movie that
chronicles a
young girl’s
experiences
living through
the Iranian
revolution, I
learned that…

4. Structure of Personal
Response
You do not
need a
separate
conclusion
but an
concluding
sentence is
a good idea.
Example:
To conclude, the
events that
Marjane
experienced
during her youth
shaped her and
made her the
strong woman
that she is
today.

5. Organization and Content of
Personal Response
You must make two
observations per paragraph
and you must use two of the
prompts provided to make
your observations. Therefore,
you need to have two
prompts per paragraph.

6. Organization and Content of
Personal Response
**Your observations must be
about the story of the text
(or movie) and NOT about
the political
situation, historical
context, or geographical
location of the text or
movie.

7. Organization and Content of
Personal Response
**You must also NOT
WRITE A SUMMARY of
the text or movie . There
should be very little plot
summary in your response
to support and give
context to your
observations.

8. Organization and Content of
Personal Response
You must support each of
your observations by
making reference to the
text (or movie)!!! You can
do this by citing
examples, scenes or
characters from the text.

9. Stylistic Conventions-Slang
Informal words
that are more
common in
speech than in
writing can also
devalue what
you are trying to
say.
Examples
 got
 kid

10. Stylistic Conventions-
Vocabulary
Specific
Vocabulary
Using more
precise words
clarifies your
arguments and
makes them
easier to
understand.

11. Stylistic Conventions-Sentences
Beware of the
length of your
sentences!
Use punctuation
or write shorter
sentences.
While watching the movie
Persepolis I found that it
was very depressing
because it is very tough
for a maturing teenager
of Marjane Satrapi’s age
to live in a difficult setting
such as a war, a
revolution or even a new
country to call home and
riding the merciless,
emotional and
psychological
rollercoaster that she

12. Mechanics-Verb tense
Be sure not to
switch verb tenses
in the middle of a
sentence.
Also, you should
either write in the
present or the past,
NOT the future.
They could not do
what they want
without having to
hide themselves.
For example, if they
throw a party, they
had to be careful not
to be seen by
someone else
because if so, they
could get in big

13. Mechanics-Verb tense
Be sure not to
switch verb tenses
in the middle of a
sentence.
Also, you should
either write in the
present or the past,
NOT the future.
They could not do
what they want
without having to
hide themselves.
For example, if they
throw a party, they
had to be careful not
to be seen by
someone else
because if so, they
can be in big

14. Mechanics-Verb tense
Be sure not to
switch verb tenses
in the middle of a
sentence.
Also, you should
either write in the
present or the past,
NOT the future.
They could not do
what they wanted
without having to
hide themselves.
For example, if they
threw a party, they
had to be careful not
to be seen by
someone else
because if so, they
could have been in

15. Mechanics-Homophones
WHERE
vs.
WERE
vs.
WE’RE

16. Mechanics-Homophones
THERE
vs.
THEIR
vs.
THEY’RE

17. Mechanics-Homophones
THEN
vs.
THAN

18. Mechanics-Homophones
WHICH
vs.
WITCH
vs.
WICH???

19. Mechanics-Homophones
YOUR
vs.
YOU’RE

20. Mechanics-Mistake I never want
to see again!
They could of gone to
the store.
Marjane would of been
killed.
Uncle Anouche
could’ve died in prison.
They could have
gone to the store.
Marjane would have
been killed.
Uncle Anouche
could have died in
prison.

21. JUNE EXAM
You will write a 200-
250 word personal
response on The
Pearl or on The
Lord of the Rings.

22. JUNE EXAM
You will prepare your
observations in class
and write them on a
note taking sheet
which will be given to
you during the exam.

23. JUNE EXAM
** Be aware **
Do NOT compare and
contrast the novella
and the movie. You
must choose one and
respond to it.