Writing an Informative Essay about the Immigrant Experience

Read the excerpt from Immigrant Kids, by Russell Freedman. But the journey was not yet over. Before they could be admitted to the United States, immigrants had to pass through Ellis Island, which became the nation's chief immigrant processing center in 1892. There they would be questioned and examined. Those who could not pass all the exams would be detained; some would be sent back to Europe. And so their arrival in America was filled with great anxiety. Among the immigrants, Ellis Island was known as "Heartbreak Island." Which answer choice best paraphrases this excerpt?

A. Ellis Island, the major processing center for immigrants in 1892, was called "Heartbreak Island" by the immigrants. If they failed to pass all the required examinations, they would be detained on the island, and perhaps even sent back to the country they came from. All in all, the process was frightening for an immigrant.

Read the excerpt from Immigrant Kids, by Russell Freedman. When their ship docked at the Hudson River pier, the immigrants had numbered identity tags pinned to their clothing. Then they were herded onto special ferryboats that carried them to Ellis Island. Officials hurried them along, shouting "Quick! Run! Hurry!" in half a dozen languages. Which answer choice best paraphrases this excerpt?

D .Once the ship docked in the Hudson River, the immigrants were given identity tags and loaded into a ferry boat that took them to Ellis Island. Those in charge barked commands at them in many languages, ordering them to proceed quickly onto the ferry.

Read the paragraph. Kainoa is researching an informative essay about recycling and its effect on the environment. He finds a great deal of information at wikipedia.org. The facts and details are more compelling than those he found at a government website with supporting statistics and graphs. What concern should he have about using wikipedia.org as a source?

Though the site may contain interesting information, it is written by anonymous authors.

Read the sentence. Damon is researching an informational essay on the history of electric cars and wants to find a credible source to cite. Which source is most likely to be credible?

a car museum's website.

Read the excerpt from Immigrant Kids, by Russell Freedman. Men, women, and children were packed into dark, foul-smelling compartments. They slept in narrow bunks stacked three high. They had no showers, no lounges, and no dining rooms. Food served from huge kettles was dished into dinner pails provided by the steamship company. Because steerage conditions were crowded and uncomfortable, passengers spent as much time as possible up on deck. Details such as "foul-smelling," "bunks stacked three high," and "no showers, no lounges, and no dining rooms" show that living conditions on the steamships were

difficult and unpleasant.

Generalizations should be revised because they

make writing less compelling because details are not used.

Concrete details

make writing more interesting to read.

When writing an informational essay, when is it important to cite information from a source?

when paraphrasing information

Read the paragraph. Sonya is writing an essay about animal overpopulation. She is studying the causes, extent, and effects of this problem. She finds a website that was published by the Humane Society several years ago. The site has a wealth of statistics that would be really useful to cite in her essay. What should she be most cautious of when deciding whether or not to use this source?

whether or not the information is outdated

Read the paragraph. For an informational essay, Melanie is researching brain injuries caused by participation in contact sports. She found an article with statistics on injuries and steps for prevention at the website www.footballforall.org. This site is hosted by a nonprofit group that promotes the teaching of football to children ages five to twelve. She wants to cite the article in her essay. What should Melanie consider most before incorporating information from this general website into her essay?

whether the author is an expert in the field of head injuries and contact sports