We know that many of our students struggle with the components of writing an effective essay. Writing, in particular argument writing, is an essential skills for college and career readiness.
“The ability to frame and defend an argument is particularly important to students’ readiness for college and careers. The goal of making an argument is to convince an audience of the rightness of the claims being made using logical reasoning and relevant...In some cases, a student will make an argument to gain access to college or to a job, laying out their qualifications or experience. In college, a student might defend an interpretation of a work of literature or of history and, in the workplace, an employee might write to recommend a course of action. Students must frame the debate over a claim, presenting the evidence for the argument and acknowledging and addressing its limitations. This approach allows readers to test the veracity of the claims being made and the reasoning being offered in their defense." Source: National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers, College and Career Ready: Standards for Reading, Writing, and Communication, 2009.
Consider asking students to write an essay on demand with little to no guidance. Use this as a pre-assessment to determine what mini-lessons you need to provide to students. If you see trends among students, then you know what your biggest bang for the buck lessons will be. For instance, if you have multiple students start an essay with, "Hi, my name is ________and this essay will be about..." you know that students would benefit from a mini-lesson on introductions. This writing toolkit has some great strategies and examples for each part of an essay. You can even use the pre-assessment essays and have students revise it after each mini-lesson.
Here are some additional resources for writing:
- College Ready Writers Program
- High School AVID Writing Strategies
- New York TImes 301 Prompts for Argumentative Writing
- Argumentative Writing Paper Format
- Using Mentor Texts to Improve Writing
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