Page 25 - SpringBoard_Writing_Workshop_Grade7_Flipbook

Writing Workshop 2 (continued)
ACTIVITY 3
Writing an Argumentative Essay with Peers
WRITING PROMPT: Within discussion groups, your task is to choose one of the following:
• Adopt the opposing viewpoint of your class-constructed essay and persuade the
same audience of your new point of view.
• Choose an entirely new argumentative topic that is important to your group
(e.g., using cell phones in the classroom, convincing the adults in your life to take you to a place that you really want to visit, or anything else that you care about). The point is to write an effective argument that would persuade an audience to your point of view about the topic.
Refer to the Scoring Guide for this writing task. It will help you understand where to focus your attention and efforts. Also refer to the criteria for writing an argumentative essay on page 4.
Prewriting/Drafting
1. With your writing group, review the writing steps from the class-constructed argumentative essay and apply them to your group-constructed essay.
a. Brainstorm and choose a topic.
b. Generate reasons that support your thesis.
c. Anticipate audience concerns and counterarguments.
d. Build a bank of evidence. Identify opportunities for pathos and logos. e. Generate an outline for the essay.
f. Draft an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.
Revising/Editing
2. After rereading your group’s draft, use the following strategies for revision: Adding: Are there changes you could make to strengthen the argument? Does
anything need to be reorganized or explained more clearly?
Rearranging: What revisions should be made to the structure of paragraphs or sentences?
Deleting: Are there redundancies that could be eliminated? Is there information that does not directly support the central argument?
Editing: Are there mistakes in conventions that should be corrected before the draft can be considered polished?
3. As you revise, also consider the sentence complexity in your draft. When appropriate, vary the sentence complexity to reflect the complexity of the ideas being expressed in the sentences themselves.
Peer Review
4. You will evaluate and provide feedback for another group’s essay, based on criteria established in the writing prompt and the Scoring Guide. Another group will review the work your group has done. Use the revision checklist that follows to guide your peer review.
10 SpringBoard® Writing Workshop with Grammar Activities Grade 7
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.