Warm-up: Take a minute to reflect upon the communication
abilities that you have acquired throughout the year. Then,
come up with a statement, a question or a scenario that
explains the importance of communication.
Example: Good communication skills are like driving a Rolls Royce; both
can get us where we want to go– in style.
Example: Imagine what it would be like to live alone in a sound-proof
room, without being able to talk to, write to or hear another living
being...
Then, in 1-2 more sentences, explain this statement, question or
scenario that you came up with.
IMPORTANT: When we return from break, bring the
following assignments from my class to put in your
portfolio:
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Black Boy Conflict Journals OR A Separate Peace dialectical
journals.
Autobiographical Incident Essay
And of Clay Are We Created in-class essay.
Period 3: The first Book Report due date is December 2nd
Writing Strategies 1.3: Structure ideas and
arguments in a sustained, persuasive, and
sophisticated way and support them with
precise and relevant examples.
This week, we will be writing our PORTFOLIO
ESSAY!!! 
Let’s review the prompt…
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After you receive a writing prompt, the first things
that you want to do are:
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Figure out what you are being asked to do.
Find out what each of your three body paragraphs (you
three main points) will be about.
Write a thesis statement that answers the questions on the
prompt by including the three main
points that you will be discussing. The
next thing you need to do is structure
your essay in a logical, clear, smoothlyflowing way.
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HOOK: make a GENERAL statement about your
topic– communication skills (no need to even
mention yourself yet).
EXPLAIN: Expand upon the idea that you presented
in the first sentence.
BRIDGE: connect your topic to yourself in a general
way. (Do not yet mention your three skills).
THESIS: State how you have developed in three
skills (actually list what they are) in your classes
(actually list what they are too).
1) TOPIC SENTENCE: Make a statement about one of the three
skills mentioned in your thesis statement. (This will be the topic
of this paragraph.)
2) EXPLAIN: Explain/expand on first sentence .
3) EVIDENCE: Provide your first example of a class task/activity
(from your portfolio, if possible) helped you to expand upon this
skill.
4) EXPLAIN: Describe in detail a.) what the task/activity was and b.)
how it helped you to learn this skill. (May need 2-3 sentences)
5) EVIDENCE: Provide a second example of a class that helped you
to grow in this skill.
6) EXPLAIN: Describe in detail a.) what the task/activity was and b.)
how it helped you to learn this skill.
7) CONCLUSION: Sum up how your life is improved
from developing this skill (how has it/will it
impact your life) AND connect it to your hook.
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REVISIT: Restate your thesis statement in different
words.
REVIEW: Briefly review what you have gained as a
person as a result of developing these three skills.
APPLY: Apply these ideas to the real world (i.e. the
future).
CONCLUDE/WOW STATEMENT: State what
lesson/main idea we (as readers of the literary work)
should learn from the ideas presented in your essay.
1. What are we being asked to
do?
2. What three statements can we
prove (3 body paragraphs)?
3. How can we use these three
statements to create a thesis
that answers the prompt?
If you haven’t already, spend 10
minutes filling out your
portfolio essay pre-writing
sheet (due tomorrow).
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You want an essay that stands out from the crowd and an
essay that reflects YOU and your personality.
This is why your first sentence will be very hard to write:
you need to figure out what you would like to say to
represent yourself AND do so in a way that wows the
judges.
If you are stuck, consider the following ways to start:
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A quote that you strongly believe about communication
A description of what you want to do with your life (followed by an
analysis of how communication skills are required for this)
A scenario that displays the woes of failed communication
A review of how important communication is in our world
A brief biography of a master of communication
NOTE: MAKE SURE THAT YOUR INTRO. IDEAS CAN BE
CARRIED OVER TO YOUR BODY PARAGRAPHS!!!