1. Warm-Up
Based on everything you know about your topic you have been researching, answer these questions:
What are the three main reasons/explanations for how your topic might cause teen angst?
Based on what you know, how would you say a teenager feels while in this situation?

2. Topic
You are now an expert on your topic, who can answer the question: How does ___________ cause teen angst?
Being a victim of human trafficking
Being a victim of child marriage
Living in extreme poverty
Being a child soldier
Being a refugee
Living in an environmentally dangerous region
Living in a war-torn and dangerous region

3. Essay 5 paragraphs (minimum)
Formal- No slang. No contractions. No first person. (I, me, etc.)
In-class writing and editing (today and tomorrow)
Final draft/revisions may need to be done on your own – we’ll see how it goes.
Remember, the whole point of your essay is to answer the question of how your topic might cause teen angst.

4. Thesis Statement
Your THESIS STATEMENT must answer the question and provide a general outline of the three most important reasons/explanations you have to answer the question.
Go back to your warm-up – do your three reasons seem to be really the most important reasons/explanations you can give for how this causes teen angst?
If yes, then your thesis should read something like this:
_____________________ causes teen angst because…. (then you give your three reasons).

5. Example Common Teenage Problem = bullying Thesis Statement:
Bullying causes teen angst because it makes adolescents feel insecure, depressed, and endangered.
Am I giving you at least 3 reasons of how this topic causes teen angst?
What are my 3 body paragraphs going to be?

6. Body Paragraphs
Each of your BODY PARAGRAPHS should correspond with those three reasons you put in your thesis.
Each body paragraph should give plenty of supporting details and evidence to prove your point.
This is where your research and your notes come in. You haven’t personally experienced this, so you use evidence from people who have experienced it to support what you’re saying.

7. Outline
Use the graphic organizer to outline the main points of your essay.
You can come back and juice up your introduction later. For now, write your thesis statement and align each of your body paragraphs to those three main points.

8. Citations & Quotations
Cite = You paraphrase (put in your own words) an idea, fact, etc. You don’t need quotation marks, but you do need to give credit to the person who you took it from.
Quote = You use the other person’s exact words, put them in quotation marks, and give credit to the person you took them from.
Look in your packet for some suggestions on how to write in-text citations in your paper. Note the lead-ins (According to Alison Gopnik, “…..”; A study by the United Nations proves that…..; etc.) and also what has to go in parentheses after the sentence.

9. Drafting Time
Use the packet to organize your thoughts and draft each sentence/paragraph of your essay.
Your final essay must be written in blue or black ink, on notebook paper, skipping lines, and in MLA style.