Think, Then Write (Volume 5): Short Reports and Essays Arguing a Case or Seeking to Persuade

Description

In this resource – Volume 5 of our popular Think then Write structured writing program – we teach students to write short reports and essays on topics requiring students to consider more than one perspective.

This 138-page resource is made up of six sections or modules with scaffolds, each with structured practice exercises:

1. Writing short reports comparing and contrasting physical objects using semantic feature analysis.
2. Thinking and writing about topics and issues from more than one perspective by brainstorming and writing pros and cons.
3. Expressing personal opinions on topics with reasons, while acknowledging multiple perspectives using the subordinating conjunctions “because”, “although”, and “while”.
4. Expressing arguments for and against topics, and then reaching a conclusion supported by arguments.
5. Writing strong introductory paragraphs when arguing a case or seeking to persuade readers.
6. Bringing it all together: short reports arguing a case, considering other perspectives, expressing a view with reasons and evidence, and reaching a conclusion.

Think, Then Write Volume 5 is designed to be curriculum neutral and does not assume detailed technical knowledge of specific topics. You can use the resource with students who are in Year/Grade 3 or above, and we have even used it with senior high school students who have yet to learn how to write a report or essay requiring consideration of multiple perspectives.

For each topic, we provide a scaffold and several practice exercises to build confidence, step-by-step. The writing scaffolds are designed to be used to help students plan, structure, and write any short school report or short essay.

Looking for additional structured writing resources?

If you haven’t done so already, please check out other volumes in the Think, Then Write Program:

• Think, Then Write Foundations: writing simple and compound sentences
• Think, Then Write Volume 1: writing compound and complex sentences that require verbal reasoning
• Think, Then Write Volume 2: writing paragraphs
• Think, Then Write Volume 3: writing transitions and short reports expressing a personal opinion
• Think, Then Write Volume 4: writing narratives (new edition soon to be published)

In early 2022, we will publish Think, Then Write Volume 6: writing short responses to exam questions containing academic verbs.