Mr. Assael's English Classes



( Come up with a thesis statement

( Write topic sentences

( Organize your cards

( Create an outline

Example: Your controlling question was:

Should cell phones be allowed in schools?

You did a bunch of research, and here’s what the most convincing of the experts had to say:

Cell phones should be allowed in schools.

That’s your thesis statement:

Cell phones should be allowed in schools.

| |Thesis |

| |statement: Cell |

| |phones should be|

|Take out a piece of paper, and write your thesis statement at the top. Now, you will begin constructing your outline. Roman numeral I is |allowed in |

|your introduction. We’re going to save that for later. |schools. |

| | |

| |I. Introduction |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

Roman numeral II is the strongest reason why your reader should

agree with your thesis statement. It’s the topic sentence of its

paragraph. Here’s how to construct it:

Step 1: On a separate sheet of paper, write your thesis statement again:

Cell phones should be allowed in schools

Step 2: Insert the phrase “YOU SHOULD AGREE THAT” before the thesis statement and the word “BECAUSE” after the thesis statement. Our example would now look like this:

YOU SHOULD AGREE THAT cell phones should be allowed in schools BECAUSE

Step 3: Now, based on what your research uncovered, complete the sentence with what you believe is the strongest reason you found for agreeing with your thesis statement.

“YOU SHOULD AGREE THAT cell phones should be allowed in schools BECAUSE they help teens socialize while at school, and this keeps students in a positive frame of mind and open to learning.

Step 4: Now, delete the phrase you added before the thesis statement, delete the thesis statement itself, and delete the word “BECAUSE.”

YOU SHOULD AGREE THAT cell phones should be allowed in schools BECAUSE they help teens socialize while at school, and this helps keep students in a positive frame of mind and open to learning.

Here’s what’s left:

they help teens socialize while at school, and this helps keep students in a positive frame of mind and open to learning

Step 5: Rewrite if you need to for readability.

they Using cell phones help is a way teens can socialize while at school, and this helps keep students in a positive frame of mind and open to learning.”

|What you have now is a topic sentence. Eventually, you will develop a paragraph around it … but for now, let’s just stay with the topic |Thesis statement:|

|sentence. |Cell phones |

|Step 6: Transfer it to your outline: |should be allowed|

| |in schools. |

| | |

| |I. Introduction |

| | |

| |II. Using cell |

| |phones is a way |

| |teens can |

| |socialize while |

| |at school, and |

| |this helps keep |

| |students in a |

| |positive frame of|

| |mind and open to |

| |learning.” |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

Now, do it again!!

This time, list the next strongest reason you found that supports your thesis statement.

Thesis statement: Cell phones should be allowed in school.

Add the phrases: YOU SHOULD AGREE THAT Cell phones should be allowed in school BECAUSE

Add your reason: YOU SHOULD AGREE THAT Cell phones should be allowed in school BECAUSE they can be used for instructional purposes, making learning fun and keeping students engaged and focused on classroom activities.

Delete the phrases: YOU SHOULD AGREE THAT Cell phones should be allowed in school BECAUSE they can be used for instructional purposes, making learning fun and keeping students engaged and focused on classroom activities.

|Revise for readabilty: Cell phones can be used for instructional purposes, making learning fun and, therefore, keeping students |Thesis statement: |

|engaged and focused on classroom activities. |Cell phones should |

|Done: Transfer this topic sentence to your outline. |be allowed in |

| |schools. |

| | |

| |I. Introduction |

| | |

| |II. Using cell |

| |phones is a way |

| |teens can socialize|

| |while at school, |

| |and this helps keep|

| |students in a |

| |positive frame of |

| |mind and open to |

| |learning.” |

| | |

| |III. Cell phones |

| |can be used for |

| |instructional |

| |purposes, making |

| |learning fun and, |

| |therefore, keeping |

| |students engaged |

| |and focused on |

| |classroom |

| |activities |

Step 7: You need a rebuttal. Try to construct yours using the one below as a pattern. Use the underlined phrases in your own sentences!

Those who disagree say that cell phones should not be allowed in school because their constant ringing and buzzing causes distraction and interrupts the learning process. This argument, however, is not valid. Actually, cell phone ringing and buzzing does not occur any more often in schools where cell phones are allowed than in schools that do not allow them.

|This is more than a topic sentence, but it is not your entire paragraph. You’ll eventually have to add to it, explaining, |Thesis statement: Cell |

|offering examples, elaborating, and supporting with cited evidence. But for now … |phones should be allowed in|

| |schools. |

| | |

|Step 8: Transfer it to your outline. |I. Introduction |

| | |

| |II. Using cell phones is a |

| |way teens can socialize |

| |while at school, and this |

| |helps keep students in a |

| |positive frame of mind and |

| |open to learning.” |

| | |

| |III. Cell phones can be |

| |used for instructional |

| |purposes, making learning |

| |fun and, therefore, keeping|

| |students engaged and |

| |focused on classroom |

| |activities |

| |IV. Those who disagree say |

| |that cell phones should not|

| |be allowed in school |

| |because their constant |

| |ringing and buzzing causes |

| |distraction and interrupts |

| |the learning process. This |

| |argument, however, is not |

| |valid. Actually, cell phone|

| |ringing and buzzing does |

| |not occur any more often in|

| |schools where cell phones |

| |are allowed than in schools|

| |that do not allow them. |

| |Thesis statement: Cell phones should be allowed in schools. |

|Step 9: Now, go through your cards. Read your slugs. Find all | |

|the cards that have to do with the topic sentence you wrote |I. Introduction |

|for Roman numeral II. Transfer these slugs to the outline, | |

|word for word, and in the order you think the information on |II. Using cell phones is a way teens can socialize while at school, and this helps keep |

|the cards should be presented. Label each slug with a capital |students in a positive frame of mind and open to learning.” |

|letter. |A. Blah diddy blah blah. |

| |B. Blah diddy blah blah blah. |

|Do the same for the topic sentence you wrote for Roman numeral|C. Blah diddy blah blah. |

|III. |D. Blah diddy blah diddy blah blah. |

| |E. Blah blah blah diddy blah blah. |

|Do the same for the start of the rebuttal paragraph you wrote |F. Blah diddy blah blah. |

|for Roman numeral IV. |III. Cell phones can be used for instructional purposes, making learning fun and, |

| |therefore, keeping students engaged and focused on classroom activities |

| |A. Blah diddy blah blah. |

| |B. Blah diddy blah blah blah. |

| |C. Blah diddy blah blah. |

| |D. Blah diddy blah diddy blah blah. |

| |E. Blah blah blah diddy blah blah. |

| |F. Blah diddy blah blah. |

| |IV. Those who disagree say that cell phones should not be allowed in school because |

| |their constant ringing and buzzing causes distraction and interrupts the learning |

| |process. This argument, however, is not valid. Actually, cell phone ringing and buzzing |

| |does not occur any more often in schools where cell phones are allowed than in schools |

| |that do not allow them. |

| |A. Blah diddy blah blah. |

| |B. Blah diddy blah blah blah. |

| |C. Blah diddy blah blah. |

| |D. Blah diddy blah diddy blah blah. |

| |E. Blah blah blah diddy blah blah. |

| |F. Blah diddy blah blah. |

| | |

| |III. A. Blah diddy blah blah 6 |

| | |

|Step 10: Look at the Roman numerals and letters you assigned | |

|to each slug on the outline. Copy these Roman numerals and | |

|letters to the upper left corner of each file card. Use a |ladjldjfalj asdjflajdfaljj adflal jlklkdsjalddljfj ajfjad ;la dsajlal kj adj faakds |

|pencil because as you do more research, you may need to make |dfld ll aldf dj l ladjf;ladjf ladjldjfalj asdjflajdfaljj adflal jlklkdsjalddljfj |

|some changes. Now the slugs on your cards should match the |ajfjad ;la dsajlal kj adj faakds dfld ll aldf dj l ladjf;ladjf |

|slugs on your outlines – exactly, including the Roman |ladjldjfalj asdjflajdfaljj adflal jlklkdsjalddljfj ajfjad ;la dsajlal kj adj faakds |

|numerals and letters. |dfld ll aldf dj l ladjf;ladjf ladjldjfalj asdjflajdfaljj adflal jlklkdsjalddljfj |

| |ajfjad ;la dsajlal kj adj faakds dfld ll aldf dj l ladjf;ladjf |

| |ladjldjfalj asdjflajdfaljj adflal jlklkdsjalddljfj ajfjad ;la dsajlal kj adj faakds |

| |dfld ll aldf dj l ladjf;ladjfjlklkdsjalddljfj ajfjad ;la dsajlal kj adj faakds dfld |

| |ll aldf dj l ladjf;ladjf |

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