SAT RTI NOTES & HANDOUTS

COLLEGE BOARD WRITING TIPS

• PRACTICE WRITING PROMPTS--Remember to take 5 minutes at the start and plan your essay.  PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!!!
• Remember BEFORE YOU START: 
• circle keywords in the prompt
• paraphrase the prompt so you are sure you understand it
• choose a clear point of view (I agree/I disagree/ I agree & disagree)
• Answer "Why?"  and maybe even "How will be this implemented?"
• Write your thesis, combining your point of view with your reasoning.
• Consider the opposing side: what reasons might you concede or just flat-out refute?  (Although remember that concessions strengthen your logos and ethos.
• What CONCRETE EXAMPLES will you use to support  your reasoning?

Tips on beginning the essay: NPR story on the "new" SAT

Also, here is an example of how important it is to use both abstract and concrete language together in your essay: Abstract and Concrete Language together

How make concessions without making your argument seem wimpy: Graff Frames Page One and Graff frames page two.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:  A piece that offers a critical perspective of the SAT essay: Is the SAT Creating A Generation of Bad Writers?

Claim statements and a "They Say I Say" thesis

Today we reviewed the editorial "Felons and the Right to Vote" and discussed the claims of fact, value and policy at play in that piece.  Where it gets complicated is where they overlap or work together in the same claim.

Then, I introduced the importance of composing thesis statements that include a counterargument.

Consider this example from The Language of Composition:

Although the Harry Potter series may have some literary merit, its popularity has less to do with storytelling than with merchandising (96).

As the text tells us, "doing so may make an argument seem both stronger and more reasonable. It may also create a seamless transition to a more thorough concession and refutation of the counterargument later in the argument" (96).

We practiced creating these kind of thesis statements with sample claims, as well.

We closed class by reading an essay in the Bedford Reader titled "Too Much Pressure." We will fill in the Graff template that I gave you to accompany this essay tomorrow.