As Goldilocks, write a one-minute speech to convince a judge not to convict you of B&E.
The writing prompt above uses the RAFTS format, which was developed by Carol Santa and her colleagues as part of Project CRISS (Creating Independence through Student-owned Strategies) as a tool for prompting thinking and writing in all content areas. It is particularly useful in Language Arts, as a response to reading. Inviting readers/writers to take on a “role” and consider audience and purpose not only requires them to extend and apply their reading, it also generates more effective writing.
The acronym RAFTS stands for:
ROLE: What is the writer’s point of view? The writer might be writing from his or her own point of view, but also might take on another persona, such such as a character from the reading.
AUDIENCE: Who will read this? The writer is asked to consider the audience and target the voice, tone and message to that reader.
FORMAT: What text form will the writing take? Letters are popular choices, but the options range from character sketches to comic strips.
TOPIC: What’s the writing about? The prompt should require the reader to refer back to the text and the response should reflect an understanding of both the prompt and the reading.
STRONG VERB: The verb indicates the purpose of the writing: asking, complaining, outlining, sharing, etc.
A Template for a RAFTS Prompt:
As _____________(role),
write a ________(format)
for __________(audience),
to __________(strong verb)
about _____________(topic).