Argument Essay Timing Drill

Write an essay you might write in response to the prompt below. You have 40 minutes.

With the recent Black Lives Matter protests, many English and social studies teachers have questioned the material that they teach each year. Write a letter to either your English teacher or social studies teacher (please do not use their real names) arguing for or against change in the material taught.

Follow the suggested time guide.

15 Minutes

Planning. This includes understanding the prompt and creating an outline for the essay. The prompt will establish the occasion. Indicate what the occasion is, who you are as a rhetor, who your audience might be, what your exigence is, and use these factors to develop your purpose.

You can list the elements like this:

Thesis: This contains your purpose and your chief claim.

Sub-claims and evidence:

Sub-claim 1:

Evidence:

Sub-claim 2:

Evidence:

Subclaim 3:

Evidence:

Counter-claim or concession:

Rebuttal:

Next, organize these elements into an outline. Do you want to put the concession first or last? Which sub-claim and evidence are especially strong? What can you eliminate?

Final planning task: Rewrite your thesis.