Potential Pointed… Poised over vast expanse. Clean. Pen Purposefully Pointed… Poised over vast expanse. Clean. White. Temporarily barren. Perfect stillness. Focused. Pensive. Thoughts burst forth. Words take on new meaning.

Essay & Paragraph Template 30 Minute Timed Writing Paragraph #1: Thesis Paragraph Includes Thesis Sentence & 2 Sub-Thesis Points Paragraphs #2-4: Support & Development Topic Sentence (Sub-Thesis Point) Explanation Illustration Transition Paragraph #5: Conclusion Wrap-up & Restate

Rewrite Exemplar: 30 minute in-class essay Tim O’Brien felt he was a coward for going to war because he gave in to outside opinions. His statement, “I was a coward. I went to war,” illustrates his feelings in that he allowed societal pressures to overrule what he felt in his heart was correct. The result of O’Brien’s lack of integrity creates doubt, fear, and guilt. In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien becomes a metaphor for situational morality.

Rewrite Exemplar: 30 minute in-class essay In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien becomes a metaphor for situational morality. Tim O’Brien felt he was a coward for going to war because he gave in to outside opinions. His statement, “I was a coward. I went to war,” illustrates his feelings in that he allowed societal pressures to overrule what he felt in his heart was correct. The result of O’Brien’s lack of integrity creates doubt, fear, and guilt.