Question

Read the excerpt below and then select one prompt. You will choose to write either a narrative essay or an informational response paragraph. The Railway Children By Edith Nesbit Chapter I, The Beginning of Things They were not railway children to begin with. I don't suppose they had ever thought about railways except as a means of getting to Maskelyne and Cook's, the Pantomime, Zoological Gardens, and Madame Tussaud's. They were just ordinary suburban children, and they lived with their Father and Mother in an ordinary red-brick-fronted villa, with coloured glass in the front door, a tiled passage that was called a hall, a bath-room with hot and cold water, electric bells, French windows, and a good deal of white paint, and 'every modern convenience', as the house-agents say. There were three of them. Roberta was the eldest. Of course, Mothers never have favourites, but if their Mother HAD had a favourite, it might have been Roberta. Next came Peter, who wished to be an Engineer when he grew up; and the youngest was Phyllis, who meant extremely well. Mother did not spend all her time in paying dull calls to dull ladies, and sitting dully at home waiting for dull ladies to pay calls to her. She was almost always there, ready to play with the children, and read to them, and help them to do their home-lessons. Besides this she used to write stories for them while they were at school, and read them aloud after tea, and she always made up funny pieces of poetry for their birthdays and for other great occasions, such as the christening of the new kittens, or the refurnishing of the doll's house, or the time when they were getting over the mumps. These three lucky children always had everything they needed: pretty clothes, good fires, a lovely nursery with heaps of toys, and a Mother Goose wall-paper. They had a kind and merry nursemaid, and a dog who was called James, and who was their very own. They also had a Father who was just perfect—never cross, never unjust, and always ready for a game—at least, if at any time he was NOT ready, he always had an excellent reason for it, and explained the reason to the children so interestingly and funnily that they felt sure he couldn't help himself. You will think that they ought to have been very happy. And so they were, but they did not know HOW happy till the pretty life in the Red Villa was over and done with, and they had to live a very different life indeed. The dreadful change came quite suddenly. ------------------------ Select only one prompt. You will choose to write either a narrative essay or an informational response paragraph. Prompt Choice 1 (Narrative Essay) Read the prompt below and write a well-developed narrative essay. How have you changed since you were a very young child? What is one thing you once believed and what happened to change it? **Be sure that your narrative has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Use your mature voice, specific details, sensory descriptions, and dialogue. Proofread your work before submitting. Prompt Choice 2 (Informational Response) Review the excerpt above. Answer the following question in a well-developed paragraph. How does the excerpt prepare the reader for the last line? What details and descriptions prepare the reader for the change in tone and mood in that final line? **Be sure to re-state the question in your topic sentence and use specific examples and details from the story to support your answers. Proofread your work before submitting.

Answer 1

Prompt Choice 2 (Informational Response).

How does the excerpt prepare the reader for the last line? What details and descriptions prepare the reader for the change in tone and mood in the final line?

First, the author introduces the reader to the children as unaware of what is to come for them, for the tittle is not true at the beggining of the story, they are not Railway Children just yet. The chapter later continues to describe the life of Roberta, Peter and Phyllis before they became railway children, and as the description goes on in such a detailed manner, the reader creates an image of a perfect and happy scenario in which the children used to live before the dreadful change. Even if it is known by the reader that this happy life won't last, said image is already showing the reader what will be missed. The final sentence of the excerpt is where every detail of the life the children had given by the author crumbles down because of this dreadfull change, the significance of this change is also emphatized by the writing style (notice the use of capital letters in "HOW happy till the pretty life...").

Answer 2

the answer below explains prompt choice 2, i will be explaining how you should do the first one.

Explanation:

basically you have to recall a personal time in YOUR life where there was a sudden change and describe it and answer the questions it asks