1. DO NOW – 11/17/15 Read the following instructions. 1)Answer the questions below based on the work you did yesterday: A)What is your claim? B)What are the central ideas of the passage? C)What is the textual evidence you will use? Write your answers on the outline provided. 1)Answer the questions below based on the work you did yesterday: A)What is your claim? B)What are the central ideas of the passage? C)What is the textual evidence you will use? Write your answers on the outline provided.

2. Topic / Objective & Essential Question Topic / Objective: 1) To practice writing a thesis statement for our essays; to work on a first draft. Essential Question: 1) What makes for an effective thesis statement? Topic / Objective: 1) To practice writing a thesis statement for our essays; to work on a first draft. Essential Question: 1) What makes for an effective thesis statement?

3. Announcements 1) Begin writing the first draft of your essays, due 11/19 (AP Lit)

4. For a Test-Taking Situation 1)What are your greatest enemies? A: Time and yourself – why? 1)What are your greatest enemies? A: Time and yourself – why?

5. Each writing stage needs to be compressed and re-thought Suggested time is 40 minutes per essay 1)Pre-writing – 10-15 minutes 1)Pre-writing – 10-15 minutes * # 2)Drafting – 25 minutes 3)Revising and/or editing 2-5 minutes 3)Revising and/or editing 2-5 minutes* * The more time you spend planning, the less time you’ll need for revising editing. # This time will need to be spent reading the passage as well. Suggested time is 40 minutes per essay 1)Pre-writing – 10-15 minutes 1)Pre-writing – 10-15 minutes * # 2)Drafting – 25 minutes 3)Revising and/or editing 2-5 minutes 3)Revising and/or editing 2-5 minutes* * The more time you spend planning, the less time you’ll need for revising editing. # This time will need to be spent reading the passage as well.

6. What is a thesis? Thesis: a writer’s overarching claim in an essay.

7. What makes an effective thesis? The thesis should be sufficiently specific. A thesis should be significant.

8. What does specific mean? When a writer has narrowed or refined his or her ideas to a point where they cannot be made more specific. 1)How do you do this? Name the things you’re analyzing A) Name the things you’re analyzing – whether with proper nouns or by using more descriptive nouns and verbs.

9. Examples of Specificity Problematic statements: a) The poem is about motherhood. b) One episode of a talk radio program shows how much of today’s airwaves are silly and uninformative. Problematic statements: a) The poem is about motherhood. b) One episode of a talk radio program shows how much of today’s airwaves are silly and uninformative. Revisions: a) Alvarez’s “Woman’s Work” shows her appreciation of the sacrifices her mother made in raising her. b) The talk radio program, “Republicans Today” shows how today’s airwaves are littered with one-sided accusations. Revisions: a) Alvarez’s “Woman’s Work” shows her appreciation of the sacrifices her mother made in raising her. b) The talk radio program, “Republicans Today” shows how today’s airwaves are littered with one-sided accusations.

10. A thesis should be significant. Q: What does making a thesis significant mean? A: It should be a point that is contestable, debatable, or otherwise not settled or determined.

11. Examples of Achieving Significance Problematic Statement: a) The more you learn, the greater are your chances of success in the world. Revision: a) An education is a right, not a privilege. Revision: a) An education is a right, not a privilege.

12. During your planning stage, you need to achieve four things: a)Understand the prompt and its requirements. b)Read and comprehend central ideas in the passage as required by the prompt. c)Develop ideas for a claim about the passage. d)Identify three examples of textual evidence to support the claim. Q: Of these four achievements, which are the most cognitively demanding/difficult? a)Understand the prompt and its requirements. b)Read and comprehend central ideas in the passage as required by the prompt. c)Develop ideas for a claim about the passage. d)Identify three examples of textual evidence to support the claim. Q: Of these four achievements, which are the most cognitively demanding/difficult?

13. YOUR TURN Before you go to the computers or desks to write: 1)Write or revise a thesis statement for Essay #3.up 2) Check with me before you go. the claim.

14. Sample Thesis Statements (revise for specificity and/or significance) a)All individuals change according to their environment, but some more so than others. b)Women need to stand up for themselves no matter what. c)All people want is independence.