We can help students to establish success criteria by sharing two drafts and asking which is more effective. This gives students some ownership over the criteria as well as a better understanding of it.

This puts the focus on details and makes the writing more informative and interesting.

Instead of one paragraph of similarities and one of differences, some students may want to write a paragraph about each point. They can begin with what is similar and then explain differences within the paragraph. This may require some instruction on transitions. Although both biomes have many species, the kinds of species are very different. For example, while the rain forest has _____, the tundra has ____.