TDA Writing

What is a Text
Dependent Analysis
(TDA)? What words do
you associate with
TDA?
 Key Vocabulary
Analyze- to examine something carefully and with focus
Cite- to mention or quote as an example to support an
idea, claim, or opinion
Evidence- something that proves that a claim is true or
valid
Essay- a formal and focused piece of writing, usually
containing multiple paragraphs
 Steps to Writing a TDA
1. Read the passage (1st time)

2. Read the question/ prompt

3. Read the passage with a purpose (2nd time)

4. TAR2 - Analyze the Prompt

5. Mark Up the Text/ Highlight

6. Pre-write with RACE (include sTArt topic sentence)

7. Write your TDA with analysis and evidence

Understanding
the prompt;
Implicit Vs.
Explicit
What can you SEE in this picture?
What do you think is happening in the picture?
 Explicit VS Implicit

Explicit Implicit
● Stated in the text ● Details are implied
● Can be found in text ● Not stated directly in the text
● Identify only the things that ● Use the details to make
are facts inferences
 What can you SEE in this picture? EXPLICIT
● Child is sitting in the grass
● Baby goat is laying in the
grass
● Bigger goat is standing
● Child is reaching her hand
to the goat
● Bigger goat has a collar on
● Child has a long sleeve
shirt on
Understanding TDA Prompts
Read the text and finding the explicit and implicit
details will help you understand WHAT the
prompt wants you to do.

Looking at the prompt, what does it tell you?

Authors often present events and situations as a way to shape
characters. Write an essay analyzing how the main character of
The Cormorant in My Bathtub changes in response to the
events in the passage. Use evidence from the passage to
support your response.

Explicit Implicit
 What do you think is happening in the picture? IMPLICIT
● The little girl is letting the
goat smell her
● The little girl is feeding the
big goat
● The baby goat is tired
● The little girl likes goats
● It is a nice day
● They are on a farm
● The goats are her pets
● The goats like the girl
 TAR 2

Deconstructing the Prompt

Strategy
 Pick a Strategy thats STICKS!
2
TAR: Analyzing the prompt

T: Topic (underline everything after analyze)

A: Audience (Who is reading this?)
R: Reading Elements
2: 2 Reading Elements Identified
Possible
Reading
Elements
Plot Setting/ Mood/ Tome
The organization of the Where & when the story takes
text (Exposition, problem, place. This may also include
rising action, climax, falling the mood (reader’s emotion) or
tone (author’s attitude.
action, resolution.
Character Traits Figurative Language
Words that describe the Simile, Metaphor,
character. These may Personification, Hyperbole,
change throughout the Alliteration
passage.
Theme Author’s Craft/ Imagery
The universal lesson of the Use of words and phrases which
create a visual representation of
text. actions, objects, and ideas in a way
that appeals to our physical senses.
Central Idea Events
The idea in which the text is Facts or information
focused on; what the author presented in a text to
wants you to remember most.
explain topic.

Text Structures Figurative Language

Chronological order, cause/ Simile, Metaphor,
effect, problem/ solution, Personification, Hyperbole,
compare/ contrast, Alliteration
description
Text Features Point of View
Title, heading, subheading, index, The position or perspective of the
glossary, captions, graphics, speaker of the text from which the
information is told or given.
photographs, sidebar
 2
TAR
In “The Scholarship Jacket,” a minor character experiences a change. In
a brief essay, analyze the details that show the principal changing.
Describe what the story reveals about his appearance and actions.
Use evidence from the story to support your response.

T: Details that show the principal Changing (Topic)

A: Teachers (Audience)

R: 1) Character Development (Reading Element 1)

2) Description (Reading Element 2)

 2
TAR- Example to do Together
In “Lemonade: The Musical”, the author tells about a boy who becomes
a member of his school’s drama club. Write an essay analyzing how the
author uses the different traits of the characters to reveal a theme of
the passage. Use evidence from the text to support your response.

T:

A:

R: 1)

2)
 TAR2- Your Turn
Authors often reveal information about a theme through the
thoughts and actions of the characters. Write an essay
analyzing how the grandson demonstrates a theme about
persistence when responding to the challenges of blueberry
picking. Use evidence from the text to support your response.
T:
A:
R: 1)
2)
 TAR2- Your Turn
In the drama, the Fisherman and the Emperor are minor
characters. Write an essay analyzing how the Fisherman and
the Emperor are important to the development of a theme of
the drama. Use evidence from the drama to support your
response.
T:
A:
R: 1)
2)
 TAR2- Your Turn
At the end of the passage, the king says to Ram Dhan, “You shall
be the royal tutor and teach my sons all you know.” Write an
essay analyzing the reasons why the king wants Ram Dhan to
be the royal tutor. Use evidence from the passage to support
your response.
T: Sometimes the prompt
doesn’t reveal any
reading elements. It’s
A: your job as the reader
to use the text and
figure out what
R: 1) elements fit!

2)
 sTArt Method
Writing Topic Sentences
 Topic Sentence
sTArt Method
s- source (passage/ excerpt/ article/ story)
T- “Title”
A- Author
r- right verb (describes, argues, explains, claims, proposes)
t- topic (from TAR2)
 Topic Sentence
sTArt Method
In the____Source: article/excerpt/passage ______
“____Title of the article in quotes. Capitalize all “big” words, nouns, and
verbs.__________" , ____________Author Capitalized__________ _______
RIGHT VERB Examples: describe(s), argue(s), explain(s), claim(s),
propose(s), discuss(es), interview(s), report(s), compare(s), etc.
________Topic from TAR2________________________

***You may also provide a sentence that give the two reading elements
 Example
In “The Scholarship Jacket,” a minor character experiences a change. Write an essay analyzing
the details that show the principal changing. Describe what the story reveals about his
appearance and actions. Use evidence from the story to support your response.

T: Details that show the principal Changing (Topic)

A: Teachers (Audience)

R: 1) Character Development (Reading Element 1)

2) Description (Reading Element 2)

In the literary nonfiction story “The Scholarship Jacket”, Marta Salinas

provides details that show the principal changing. She demonstrates
this change through character development and description.
 Example to do Together- Lemonade: The Musical by Paul
Acampora
In “Lemonade: The Musical”, the author tells about a boy who becomes
a member of his school’s drama club. Write an essay analyzing how the
author uses the different traits of the characters to reveal a theme of
the passage. Use evidence from the text to support your response.
T: How the author uses the different traits of the characters to reveal a theme of the passage.
A: Teachers
R: 1) Theme
2) Character Traits

Topic Sentence:
 Example to do Together- Lemonade: The Musical by Paul
Acampora
In “Lemonade: The Musical”, the author tells about a boy who becomes
a member of his school’s drama club. Write an essay analyzing how the
author uses the different traits of the characters to reveal a theme of
the passage. Use evidence from the text to support your response.
T: How the author uses the different traits of the characters to reveal a theme of the passage.
A: Teachers
R: 1) Theme
2) Character Traits

Topic Sentence: In the story “Lemonade: The Musical”, Acampora

explains the different traits of the characters to reveal a theme
of the passage.
 Your Turn- Blueberry Picking by Donald Hall
Authors often reveal information about a theme through the
thoughts and actions of the characters. Write an essay
analyzing how the grandson demonstrates a theme about
persistence when responding to the challenges of blueberry
picking. Use evidence from the text to support your response.
T: How the grandson demonstrates a theme about persistence when responding to the
challenges of blueberry picking.
A: Teachers
R: 1) Theme
2) Character Actions

Topic Sentence:
 Your Turn- Blueberry Picking by Donald Hall
Authors often reveal information about a theme through the
thoughts and actions of the characters. Write an essay
analyzing how the grandson demonstrates a theme about
persistence when responding to the challenges of blueberry
picking. Use evidence from the text to support your response.
T: How the grandson demonstrates a theme about persistence when responding to the
challenges of blueberry picking.
A: Teachers
R: 1) Theme
2) Character Actions
Topic Sentence: In the story “Blueberry Picking”, Hall tells how the
grandson demonstrates a theme about persistence when responding to
the challenges of blueberry picking through the character’s action.
 Your Turn- The Crane Wife
In the drama, the Fisherman and the Emperor are minor characters. Write
an essay analyzing how the Fisherman and the Emperor are important to
the development of a theme of the drama. Use evidence from the drama
to support your response.
T: The Fisherman and the Emperor are important to the development of a theme of
the drama.
A: Teachers
R: 1) Theme
2) Minor Characters
Topic Sentence:
 Your Turn- The Crane Wife
In the drama, the Fisherman and the Emperor are minor characters. Write
an essay analyzing how the Fisherman and the Emperor are important to
the development of a theme of the drama. Use evidence from the drama
to support your response.
T: The Fisherman and the Emperor are important to the development of a theme of
the drama.
A: Teachers
R: 1) Theme
2) Minor Characters
Topic Sentence: In the drama “The Crane Wife”, the author
demonstrates how the Fisherman and the Emperor are
important to the theme of the drama even though they are
minor characters.
 Example Without Reading Elements
At the end of the passage, the king says to Ram Dhan, “You shall be
the royal tutor and teach my sons all you know.” Write an essay
analyzing the reasons why the king wants Ram Dhan to be the
royal tutor. Use evidence from the passage to support your
response.
In the passage “The King”, the author shows the reasons why
the king wants Ram Dhan to be the royal tutor. The author
demonstrates these reasons using __RE 1_____ and ___RE2___.
***We would need to figure out the reading elements using the passage.
RACE
Strategy
How to answer the prompt!
 RACES Writing
Strategy
❏ Use RACES to cite text evidence
 Multiple Paragraph RACES- TDA
Introduction Body Paragraph 3
Restate the Question Cite Evidence
Answer the Question Explain how the Evidence
(Topic Sentence) Supports Your Answer
Body Paragraph 1 Conclusion
Cite Evidence Summarize the Main Ideas
Explain how the Evidence
Supports Your Answer
Body Paragraph 2
Cite Evidence
Explain how the Evidence
Supports Your Answer
 Important Information

Are all TDA’s 5 Paragraphs?

Can I cite/ explain more than 2 No! However, it should not be less
pieces of evidence in a paragraph? than 4 or more than 6. It’s not about
Absolutely! Just make sure that you how much you write, but how well
explain ALL of your evidence. You can’t you answer the question!
cite evidence without explaining how
it supports your answer.