1. HOOKS…

2. Anecdotal Short Story In a dark, secluded room, many great men gathered. Despite the danger from laws imposed by the king they met. They spoke of freedom, of virtue. They spoke of right vs. wrong. They spoke of revolution. All those men had was a prayer; a prayer and a wild gamble that a ragtag group of farmers could take down the most powerful army in the world. They took the biggest risk ever. Two hundred years later, you could say that risk has paid off in full. THESIS: Those men were the founders of democracy and the founders of America, the greatest nation on earth, born through nothing more then hope, prayer, and risk.

3. Explain my thinking … What can I say to get the reader ready for my thesis? A lot of people struggle with the concept of taking chances in their lives. Sometimes people think that if they don’t know what the outcome of their actions will be, then it is not worth taking the chance. THESIS: However, there will be a time in everyone’s life where taking a risk is the best choice because it could end up making all the difference, and potentially change your future.

4. Rhetorical Question (BEWARE)!!! Must be deep and thought provoking. NOT: What makes a good leader? Remember that it should be a question with an obvious answer not one that you are about to answer in your paper. NOT: What does having a sense of humor mean? Example: If you don’t take chances, how will you ever learn or gain something new?

5. Quote Remember you may NOT use the quote from the prompt/box. You are showing higher level thinking by remembering your OWN! Example: There is a saying that goes as follows: “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always had.”

6. THESIS

7. You MUST have a thesis!!!!!! This is your opinion You are choosing a side! Example: Having a sense of humor is important to being able to enjoy life.

8. BODY

9. Support your thesis with ideas and details Topic sentence (your idea/support) Cite examples and details Explain how your examples/details support your topic sentence Does this look familiar??? Can anyone say SAR format?

10. CONCLUSION

11. Conclude your thinking by… Reminding your reader what your main point was Tell your reader why this matters and is important to understand Do NOT… Change your opinion Try to convince your reader to agree with you. Their opinion doesn’t matter … just yours.