common topic - school legislation

1Hook-Starting an essay with "A hook"-- Essay needs to start off with a hook tha
t is laid out well and makes total sense.
2Transition to thesis .Make sure to include a concise list of the main points th
at you are going to make in the essay for each body paragraph.
3Thesis & Intro Sentence of Each Body Paragraph for an Outline-take your thesis
and each of your introductory sentences of each of your body paragraphs and be a
ble to form an outline of your essay.
4Refutation of the Counter Argument(contradict the argument or statement) - Whil
e some (may) say that,inspite of popular belief belief,contrary to .Marginal ben
efit --costs
5For each of the body paragraphs address the counterargument
6. Smooth Transitions --In conclusion,Above all,Overall,In total,After everythin
g,---do not use these for conclusion
Not only...but also
7A Zinger-A zinger is just like a hook, except it is used at the last sentence o
f the entire essay.Use quotes by famous people or come up with one of your own.
ex-"And when it comes to solving our societal woes, as Franklin Delano Roosevelt
once said, 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.'"
use real life example and explain each idea.
SCORE

CHARACTERISTICS

4 6 ----Writers will show a clear understanding of the purpose of the essay by art
iculating their perspective and developing their ideas.
Most generalizations will be developed with specific examples to support the wri
ter s perspective.
A clear focus will be maintained throughout the paper.
The paper will show competent use of language.
Although there may be some errors, these will only occasionally distract the rat
er and will not interfere with the rater s ability to understand the writer s meanin
g.
1 3---- Writers will not clearly articulate a perspective on the issue.
The writing will usually demonstrate some development of ideas, but the developm
ent may be very general or repetitious.
Most papers will maintain focus on the general topic identified in the prompt, b
ut they may not maintain focus on the specific issue.
Except for the weakest papers, the essay will use a clear but simple organizatio
nal structure.
The language will be understandable for the most part, but errors will distract
the rater and possibly interfere with understanding.
Five Steps to a
STEP
STEP
STEP
STEP
STEP

1:
2:
3:
4:
5:

OUTLINE

Understand the prompt and take a position.

Brainstorm examples.
4 5 MINUTES
Create an outline.
5 6 MINUTES
Write the essay.
15 MINUTES
Proof the essay.
3 MINUTES

1 MINUTE

PARAGRAPH #
PURPOSE
1
Introduction
2
Example 1
3
Example 2
4
Example 3
5
Conclusion
e

WHAT IT SHOULD CONTAIN

Thesis Statement; State Examples
Topic Sentence for Example 1; Explain Example 1
Topic Sentence for Example 2; Explain Example 2
Topic Sentence for Example 3; Explain Example 3
Thesis rephrased in a broader way; a look into the futur

Good essay has

1 Positioning. The strength and clarity of the position on the given topic
2 Examples. The relevance and development of the examples used to support the
argument
3 Organization. The organization of each paragraph and of the essay overall
4 Command of Language. Sentence construction, grammar, and word choice
TRANSITION WORDS
They are words or short phrases that assist in the flow of a passage. They are e
ither found at the beginning of a sentence, or in the middle of a sentence after
a comma.
Words used to add information:
again another
for instance
for example also
additionally as well besides
along with
finally in addition

and
moreover
other next

Words used to emphasize a point. Important in Reading Comprehension.

again truly especially
for this reason to repeat
in fact
to emphasize
Words used to indicate contrast:
but
still although
on the other hand however
e
even though

yet

Words used to show cause/effect:

as a result
therefore
so
for as
thus
consequently because hence due to since accordingly

so that
seeing that

otherwis

good transition words

therefore, however, furthermore,On the other hand

JUDGING/SCORING
takes a position on the issue in the beginning of the essay
convey reasons to support that position
statements supporting claims are /not understandable
no/ discernable organization to the essay
no /transitions are used, and no conclusion is offered.
Sentence structure and word choice are consistently simple
repeated use of words or sentences
Language usage errors are frequently distracting and contribute to difficulty un
derstanding
displays no recognition of a counter-argument to that position

Sentence structure shows some variety

word choice is appropriate to the discussion
essay shows some understanding of the writing task
counter-argument developed/underdeveloped
some sentence variety
Some errors distract but do not impede understanding.
essay demonstrates adequate skill in responding to the task.
Development of ideas is adequate, with three ideas discussed and with some movem
ent between general statements,specific examples and details
Focus on the specific issue in the prompt is maintained throughout the essay.
some evidence of logical sequencing
The introduction and conclusion are both clear and somewhat developed.
Development of ideas is specific and logical.
Language use in the essay is generally clear
punctuation,spelling
variety of sentence structure
the essay demonstrates logical sequencing of ideas
The essay shows a good command of language, with precise and varied sentences an
d word choice
The conclusion and especially the introduction are effective and well developed