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ESSAY WRITING. THE LAW & ORDER APPROACH. We call this the prompt. Read the prompt very closely. Mark all of the evidence that is immediately available. Dates, places, events, and/or people involved
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ESSAY WRITING THE LAW & ORDER APPROACH
We call this the prompt. Read the prompt very closely. Mark all of the evidence that is immediately available. Dates, places, events, and/or people involved The prompt provides just enough information to begin the process of establishing a framework for your argument. First you discover the body.
Next you must study the crime scene and collect all your evidence to prove your case. • We call this studying. • There are no shortcuts. • Reading the textbook or materials is a must to establishing the background of information needed to make the your case.
Start your essay as if you were presenting a legal case to the “jury” with your interpretation of the evidence. • We call this the thesis statement. • Make sure your thesis answers the prompt. • Is your theory of the events in question plausible? • Does your thesis answer, “So what?”
Establish the main planks of your case • We call these the “body” paragraphs of the essay. • Use G-O P-E-R-S-I-A, if no other topic statements are required by the prompt. • They should directly tie to and support your thesis • Use your evidence to prove each of your planks in support of your thesis
You need to provide “evidence” to the jury to substantiate your case. • We call these facts. • Are all of your facts relevant? • Do you have enough facts to make a strong enough case? • Do your facts support your theory (thesis)? • List any facts that may provide alternate theories, to show complete understanding.
Then you must interpret those facts and show their relationship to the case • We call this analysis. • How and why did this occur? • Why was this evidence involved? • How is this evidence related to the facts presented in the prompt? • What are the connections?
Explain where the evidence took you in your final summation. • We call this the conclusion. • Rewrite your thesis statement in a new way. • Wrap up all the loose ends of your argument. • Do not introduce any new ideas or evidence. It will be thrown out of court. • Do not reverse your argument. • No surprise endings!
THE PROCESS • Always write an outline first. • Organize your thinking. • Write a rough draft of your thesis statement. • List all of your knowledge on the subject. • Prioritize your facts by importance to subject. • Start with your strongest evidence in the first body paragraph. • Lesser evidence in subsequent body paragraphs. • Now begin to write your essay.
Working through Writing • Define Expectations • Writing to a Rubric—Allowed to use on tests • Essay Question Prompts-Use on tests • Spelling and Grammar • First Draft-not a formal essay • Not an excuse to be sloppy, but it does allow free thinking • Outlines are a must before writing!!!
Working through Writing • Thesis Statement-PRACTICE~PRACTICE • Timed writing—Buy a stopwatch. • Shorten times by 5 minutes • Confidence for the AP exam • “If I would have had 2 more minutes, I would have finished.” • Trial by Fire-High Expectations—Expect early failure • Inform Students—Honesty works to motivate.
TAKE THIS G-A-T-E TO BETTER AP SCORES
COMPARATIVE ESSAYS • A-NALYZE REASONS FOR SIMILARITIES • G-LOBAL CONTEXT • A-DDRESS ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION • T-HESIS STATEMENT • EVIDENCE • 2 • D-IRECT • C-OMPARISONS
CHANGE & CONTINUITY OVER TIME ESSAYS • G-LOBAL CONTEXT • A-DDRESS ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION • T-HESIS STATEMENT • E-VIDENCE • 5-C’s • CHRONOLOGY • CAUSATION • CHANGE • CONTINUITY • CONTENT
DBQ RUBRIC • B-IAS/P.O.V. (3) • A-LL DOCUMENTS • G-ROUPINGS (3) • U-NDERSTAND THE DOCUMENTS • E-VIDENCE FROM DOCUMENTS (3) • T-HESIS STATEMENT • T-IME PERIODS • E-XTRA DOCUMENT(2)