General Outline - Paper 1

• Hook with an eye on the topic → make it interesting, but focused

• Identification of text, text type, author and audience → summarization of text, including TAP

• Clear thesis statement with the language of the GQ and rich ideas → essentially, your thesis should answer the guiding question on the basis of the message of the text, pick three distinct things to focus on

Introduction

1. Clear topic sentences with a rich idea that echos ideas from the thesis → what is this paragraph about and how does it connect to the message of the text?

2. Precise textual references → pick out an example from the text to support your statement

3. Each reference “pinned” to a literary, visual, or structural authorial choice → pin this to an authorial choice

4. Clear and accurate labeling of authorial choices → clearly define the authorial choice

5. Explanation of how authorial choices shape meaning for the reader → explain how this authorial choice gives meaning and helps push the message of the text, on the basis of the reader

6. Inferences, implications, or conclusions the reader can draw from “reading between the lines” → this is the deeper meaning, the poetic, genius affect it gives to the rich idea

7. Evaluation of the effectiveness of authorial choices with respect to authorial purpose → explain how well it works to push the author’s message onto the reader and why

8. Concluding sentences the link to the language of the GQ and rich ideas from the thesis → refer back to the question and the rich idea of the text, your mini ending

→ 3x for each section of the thesis, Transition words between ideas within paragraphs, Transitional phrases between ideas between paragraphs

Body Paragraphs

• Restate the thesis in a new and insightful way → what does it mean now that you’ve explained it further?

• Synthesize - not summarize - the main ideas of each body paragraph → show relationship between the key points and how they work together to push the rich idea

• Final thought that links out to further implications of the text

Conclusion

• Clear academic register with no casual slips into colloquial language

• Grammatical accuracy

• Mix of simple and complex sentences

• Carefully chosen academic vocabulary

• Voice throughout the paper to increase readability

Language