Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail: Essay Pre-Writing Steps
This is the first step to follow as soon as you receive your Benchmark packet.
Write your name!
The tool we use to analyze every document in the Benchmark packet is called this.
Every Text, Every Time.
The intro paragraph should start with this.
Context.
All body paragraphs should begin with this.
A claim.
The conclusion of a historical essay should do this.
If there are any words or phrases you don't recognize in the Big Question, the second step to follow is to try to find their meaning using these.
Context Clues
All background information including Source, Note, and any other information provided outside of the documents themselves.
The intro paragraph should end with this.
Thesis Statement.
The claim in a body paragraph should be backed up by at least 2 of these.
Cited pieces of evidence (quotes or paraphrases).
To help analyze the Background Essay, you should create these (based on the historical topic(s) in the Big Question) during Step 4 of pre-writing.
4-5 background questions
After you have found the meaning of any unknown words in the Big Question, the third prewriting step to follow is to do this.
Rewrite the question in your own words.
The first time we read any document, we are looking for this (and we should always write it down at the bottom of the document).
The main idea of the document.
A thesis statement should be this long.
One sentence.
All evidence in a body paragraph must be followed by this.
An explanation of how the evidence proves the claim.
After you are done analyzing all documents in the Benchmark Packet, one of the last 2 steps before you plan out your essay is to do this.
Final Bucketing/Chickenfoot.
The Background Essay exists to provide this for your essay.
Context/Background Info
The second time we read any document, we are reading to do this.
The part of the thesis statement that restates the question is called this.
The thesis.
The claims in the body paragraphs should be in the same order as they are here.
In the thesis statement.
Your labels for your final buckets should go under the buckets. This is what goes inside them.
The letters of the documents that match each bucket (for evidence).
2-Part Answer: After you have followed all other pre-writing steps (1-4), this is the last step to follow before analyzing the documents. This step is important to start thinking about these.
Pre-bucketing/Claims
When we read any document the second time, our claim should go in one of these (underneath the document).
A bucket
The number of claims (answers to the Big Question) in a thesis statement should match this number.
The number of body paragraphs in the essay.
2-part answer: Evidence in body paragraphs can be in the form of either this or this but must ALWAYS be cited.
Quotes or paraphrases.
2-Part Answer: The Chickenfoot is the last step before planning your essay. The Chickenfoot helps you do this and the number of toes on the foot match this number.
Plan your thesis/the number of claims or body paragraphs in the essay.