2013 Thinking Maps Lesson
English 4/Pre-AP10
Argument Essay
Essay Timeline
Day 1: Circle Map (brainstorm ideas)
Day 2: Flee Map (organize ideas)
Essay Body Rough Draft
Day 3: Brace Map (intro & conclusion)
Day 4: Tree Map (sentence fluency)
Bridge Map (word choice)
Day 5: Final Draft – in class only
Circle Map
Circle Map
source
idea/quote
source
idea/quote
idea/quote
Essay
Topic
source idea/quote
source
idea/quote
source
idea/quote
source
idea/quote
source
Circle Map
HOW do you know
what you know –
personal experience,
research data, expert
testimony, etc.?
source
WHAT does this map reveal?
What conclusions can you
draw from the information
here?
source
idea/quote
idea/quote
idea/quote
Essay
Topic
source
idea/quote
source idea/quote
source
idea/quote
source
idea/quote
source
WHY is this information important?
Flee Map
Flee Map
Essay Topic & Stance
Paragraph 1
Topic
Paragraph 2
Topic
Paragraph 3
Topic
Flee Map
Essay Topic & Stance
Paragraph 1
Topic
Paragraph 2
Topic
Paragraph 3
Topic
Supporting details, elaborations, direct quotes,
paraphrases, emotional & logical appeals, etc.
Flee Map
WHAT do these
particular details reveal
about the topic?
HOW do details support or
prove your stance?
Essay Topic & Stance
Paragraph 1
Topic
Paragraph 2
Topic
Paragraph 3
Topic
Supporting details, elaborations, direct quotes,
paraphrases, emotional & logical appeals, etc.
WHY are these details particularly important to note in your essay?
Ethos – Pathos - Logos
Ethos – ethical appeal – Prove your credibility by
using academic voice, strong vocabulary, correct
grammar
Pathos – emotional appeal – Appeal to emotions
by using connotations and emotional stories and
examples
Logos – logical appeal – Convince audience by
using logic or reason – Cite facts, statistics, &
authorities – Use historical and literal analogies
– Construct logical arguments
Brace Map
Hook
Introduction
Background
Topic
Thesis
Stance
Focus/STs
Brace Map
HOW will this “hook”
engage my reader?
Hook
Introduction
Background
Topic
Thesis
WHY is this
background
information
important?
Stance
Focus/STs
WHAT does this thesis tell my reader
about the essay to follow?
Brace Map
Restate topic & stance
1 sentence re. Paragraph 1 topic
Conclusion
1 sentence re. Paragraph 2 topic
1 sentence re. Paragraph 3 topic
Logical conclusion to discussion
Brace Map
WHY is it
important to close
with these
particular points?
Restate topic & stance
1 sentence re. Paragraph 1 topic
Conclusion
1 sentence re. Paragraph 2 topic
1 sentence re. Paragraph 3 topic
HOW does this
conclusion create
a sense of closure
for my reader?
Logical conclusion to discussion
WHAT emotion will this closing
likely evoke in my reader?
Tree Map
Body Paragraph ___ Fluency
Simple
Sentences
Compound
Sentences
Complex
Sentences
Write sentences on these lines. Then combine and
separate to balance the lists and increase fluency.
Tree Map
WHAT types of structures do
you use the most in this essay?
HOW do these structures affect
the essay’s flow or fluency?
Body Paragraph ___ Fluency
Simple
Sentences
Compound
Sentences
Complex
Sentences
Write sentences on these lines. Then combine and
separate to balance the lists and increase fluency.
WHY is it important, in terms of your ethical appeal (i.e., credibility as an
author), to revise the sentences in this particular paragraph?
Bridge Map
is a more
effective
word choice
than
New
word
Original
word
as
New
word
Original
word
as
New
word
Original
word
New
word
as
Original
word
as
New
word
Original
word
Bridge Map
WHAT types of word choice
issues did you find in your essay –
ambiguity, clichés, informality,
repetition, incorrect terms?
is a more
effective
word choice
than
New
word
Original
word
as
New
word
Original
word
HOW do your original word
choices affect the essay’s tone,
mood, and/or effectiveness?
How will your substitutions
affect these elements?
as
New
word
Original
word
New
word
as
Original
word
as
New
word
Original
word
WHY is it important, in terms of your ethical appeal (i.e., credibility as
an author), to make these substitutions?